Grounds Keeper I

Position: Grounds Keeper I Reports to:Director of Facilities Support Terms of Employment: 12 months Pay Grade: 59 FLSA Status: Exempt NATURE OF WORK An employee in this class uses a variety of tools and equipment to maintain grounds including planting, cultivating, spraying, pruning, and cutting plants, trees, shrubs, grass, and flowers, and provides on-site leadership. This employee determines the care and treatment necessary to maintain grounds in good condition. To assure an attractive and orderly landscape, non-routine problems concerning the selection, placement, care, and treatment of plants are referred to a supervisor or nursery dealer for advice. Errors may be quickly revealed, or may only be revealed upon loss of plant life, and may be expensive. Limited supervision is given. The employee serves as a lead worker in providing direction to crew members ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF WORK - Cuts lawns. Trims and edges. - Prunes shrubs and trees to shape and improve growth. Removes damaged leaves, branches, or twigs. - Sprays lawns, plants, shrubs, and trees with fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides, using hand or automatic sprayer. - Conditions and prepares soils and transplants or plants seeds, seedlings or bulbs according to instructions and planned design of landscaped area. - Plants grass, flowers, trees, and shrubs following sketches and designs when available. Waters lawns, shrubs, and flowers. - Maintains paths or road surfaces. - Performs ground maintenance duties, using tractor equipped with attachments, such as mowers, lime or fertilizer spreaders, lawn roller, and snow removal equipment, and operates heavy power equipment. - Drives dump trucks and transports tractor and ground maintenance equipment. Makes minor repairs to mowers and other equipment. - Sharpens tools. Trains employees. - Assigns work to crew members. Observes work in progress. - Gives directions for corrections as needed. - Reports outstanding or unsatisfactory work and behavior to supervisors. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES - Working knowledge of grounds keeping and elementary horticultural practices. - Working knowledge of planting, cultivating, pruning, spraying, and trimming requirements of flowers, shrubs and trees. - Skill to drive dump trucks. - Skill to transport tractors and other maintenance equipment. Skill to operate heavy power equipment. - Ability to use, sharpen and make minor repairs to tools and equipment. Ability to follow oral or written instructions. - Ability to follow simple landscape sketches and designs. - Ability to coordinate the efforts of a group of employees. - Ability to train other workers. - Ability to provide leadership to employees in this class. SUGGESTED TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE Considerable experience in the care and maintenance of plants, trees, flowers, and shrubs. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS The employee must hold a pesticide applicator's license based on State requirements, as directed by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. This employee must hold an appropriate North Carolina drivers license for the weight and type of vehicles operated as required by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Evaluation: Performance of this job will be evaluated in accordance with provisions of the Board and local policy on evaluation of personnel. Disclaimer The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job. As such, it is not intended to contain all of the duties and qualifications required of an employee in a single position (job). Consequently, it is not to be perceived as a position (job) description or as identification of essential functions as req ired by ADA. **By submitting your application you are indicating that you have read the above position description of the job for which you are being recommended. In addition, you are indicating that you are aware of the essential duties of the position and that you can perform the essential functions of the job. You agree to perform each of the duties identified on this job description and understand that failure to perform any of the duties may lead to reprimand up to and including dismissal by the Craven County Schools Board of Education. *In compliance with Federal Law, Craven County Schools administers all education programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination against any person on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age or disability.