Sports Turf Technician

Summary:

The Sports Turf Technician is a full-time position within the Facility Services, Grounds department, responsible for the upkeep of athletic fields and facilities. Reporting to the Director of Campus Grounds, the technician performs tasks such as mowing, watering, pest and weed control, edging, field painting, turf cultural practices, landscape maintenance, and snow removal. The role requires operating various equipment and vehicles and carrying out assigned duties to uphold the standards of collegiate athletic fields.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Operate turf mowing equipment such as reel and fixed blade type
• Control turf overgrowth with weed trimmers around fences, sidewalks, fixtures and borders
• Operate vehicles such as tractors, trucks, golf cart, or utility type vehicles
• Maintain sidewalks, curbs, and drives using power edging equipment
• Stripes athletic fields with field painting equipment
• Maintains infields and skinned areas of baseball and softball fields
• Maintains track and field facilities
• Performs synthetic turf maintenance and repairs
• Applies pesticides for weed, insect and disease prevention and control
• Installs turf through seeding, sprigging, or sodding
• Maintain, install, and repair turf and landscape irrigation systems and water schedules
• Maintain flower and landscape beds through soil preparation, planting, watering, fertilization, weeding, trimming, renovation, mulching, and edging
• Perform cultural practices using specialized equipment and implements such as aerating, seeding, verti-cutting, fertilizing
• Collect trash and maintain receptacles
• Make minor repairs to sidewalks and parking lots
• Sweep and/or blow debris from sports fields, track surfaces, walks, trash areas, shop areas, bleachers, stadiums, and parking lots
• Performs and maintains trees and shrubs; planting, pruning, limb pick up, chipping, mulching, and leaf collection
• Clear snow and ice from walkways, roads, parking lots, bleachers; Apply salt/sand and ice melt products
• Perform duties safely and per departmental policies and participates in safety training programs
• Performs event and game setup as directed; moves furniture, tables, chairs, portable bleachers, athletic training equipment, setup/teardown of tents, etc.
• Report varying turf and landscape conditions to supervisor
• Cooperates and communicates with staff, students, faculty, administrators, and visitors in a professional manner
• Performs other duties as assigned by supervisor

Qualifications/Skills Required:

• Working knowledge of the maintenance of athletic field turf; including mowing practices, fertilizer and pesticide applications, irrigation management, trouble shooting, and water scheduling, seeding and planting practices, and the management of all infield clay surfaces.
• Knowledge of collegiate sports and rules.
• Knowledge of landscape plant material.
• Knowledge of equipment used in maintaining turf at a professional quality, including all mowers, tractors, aerators, verticutters, and top dressers.
• Valid state driver's license.
• State pesticide applicator license or the ability to obtain.
• Ability to follow written and verbal communication and perform basic mathematical calculations
• Ability to perform basic computer functions such as email and work order management systems.
• Willingness to pursue training for job skill and safety improvements
• Ability to maintain a professional attitude and appearance
• Carry a phone for contact with Facility Services for direction or emergencies
• Willingness to work overtime or flexible scheduling as needed after hours or weekends to support athletic practices or games.
• On-call availability including overtime and weekends for maintenance, snow removal or other weather-related situations
• Maintain clean work areas for safety and consideration of others
• Understand and commit to the spiritual mission of MidAmerica Nazarene University

Education and Experience:

• High School Diploma or GED
• 3 years of experience in commercial or residential grounds and/or landscape maintenance, or equivalent education, training, or experience suitable for the position and the university needs.

Physical Demands:

• Operate equipment and hand tools efficiently; lift objects over 100 pounds regularly.
• Required vision: peripheral, depth perception, focus adjustment.
• No allergies affecting outdoor work (fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, plants, pollens).
• Stand, walk, sit; carry hand-held power equipment for extended periods.
• Perform physical tasks: climbing, bending, twisting, stooping, kneeling, crawling, stretching, lifting, pushing, pulling.

Work Environment:

• The described work environment is typical for this job.
• A grounds worker must work in all weather conditions.
• Noise levels are usually loud due to equipment use.
• The employee often works in wet, humid conditions and with mechanical parts, occasionally encountering extreme temperatures and airborne particles.

Application: To apply for this position, attach the following documentation to your application:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Personal Statement of Faith (see below)

Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Statement of Faith: MidAmerica Nazarene University is an intentionally Christian Community and desires that all employees in positions of leadership reflect a foundational Christian position in word, attitude and action.  While there is no predetermined length or format for the Personal Statement of Faith, the norm is a one or two page narrative document describing the applicant’s central Christian beliefs, significant formative influences in the applicant’s Christian experience (e.g., religious experiences of conversion or the affirmation of one’s faith, one’s family and/or home life, spiritual aspirations), and ways in which the applicant’s faith is being demonstrated in daily patterns and practices.

MNU is interested in reviewing applications from qualified members of traditionally underrepresented groups in America, including women and racial and ethnic minorities. MidAmerica Nazarene University policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion*, age, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, marital status, disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected class in the recruitment and admission of students, in the hiring process, during employment, and in the operation of all university programs, activities, and services.

*Christian faith and employment at MidAmerica Nazarene University: MidAmerica Nazarene University is an expression of the Church of the Nazarene. It reserves the right to prefer employees based on religion (Title VII, Section 702-703, U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964). Preferred candidates demonstrate a strong commitment to the Christian faith, active participation in a local church, and a philosophy of Christian higher education consistent with the Wesleyan tradition.

Read the university’s full Non-Discrimination/Equal Employment Opportunity Statement at www.mnu.edu/employment.