Groundsworker

Salary and Benefits

PLEASE NOTE: The starting salary placement depends on qualifications and experience and is anticipated to be in the range of $3,722.00 per month to $5,840.00 per month.

Cal State East Bay offers a broad range of benefits that includes medical, dental, vision, retirement (CalPERS), 401k, 457, 403(b), dependent and health care reimbursement accounts, life insurance, vacation and sick, 14 paid holidays, one personal holiday and tuition fee waiver.

For more information on the benefits program, please visit our benefits website. The CSU Total Compensation Calculator demonstrates the significance of our benefits package.

Classification

Groundsworker

About Cal State East Bay

Cal State East Bay's beautiful main campus is located in the Hayward hills with panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay shoreline. Situated above the city of Hayward, the campus offers an ideal setting for teaching and learning and yet easy access to the many cities along the bay. The University has a satellite campus in Concord, a professional development center in Oakland and a significant presence online. Founded in 1957, Cal State East Bay is one of 23 universities of the California State University system (CSU). Cal State East Bay is recognized as a regionally engaged and globally oriented university with a strong commitment to academic innovation, student success, engaged and service learning, diversity, and sustainability.

About the Position

The main function of the Groundsworker position is to maintain the campus grounds in a way that provides a safe and aesthetically pleasing environment for the staff, faculty, students and the community. Under general supervision, this position performs work involving some or all of the following: planting, cultivating, fertilizing, spraying and watering ornamental plants, shrubs, hedges, trees, lawns and flowers. The Groundsworker is also responsible for raking, removing weeds, cleaning trash from assigned areas including parking lots; preparing and treating soils for planting, maintaining hoses, sprinklers, tools, supplies and equipment in proper condition and repair. Additionally, trimming of trees, hedges, shrubs, and installing tree supports. This position may operate and perform minor repairs and maintenance on power equipment such as lawn mowers, edger’s, and weed eaters and assist in preparing athletic fields for events. The Groundsworker may occasionally assist in sprinkler repair, spraying, tree trimming, or nursery functions, operate trucks and other equipment in performance of assigned duties. In addition, this position may construct flower beds, maintain drainage systems, remove brush and trees, collect trash, and help to install concrete and asphalt.

Responsibilities

Turf Area Maintenance:

• Daily litter pick-up
• Edge along sidewalks, around valve boxes, drains, and planting beds
• Trim and mowing edges, around trees and other obstacles in lawn
• Hand trimming or weed whipping tall grass where inaccessible to mower
• Fertilize lawns

Shrub and Flower Bed Maintenance:

• Daily litter pick-up
• Weed flower and shrub beds
• Prune shrubs and small trees
• Plant annuals, perennials, ornamental shrubs and small trees
• Fertilize

Hardscape (Parking Lots/Roads/Walks/Stairs/Patio) Maintenance:

• Daily litter pick-up
• Sweep & Blow leaves & debris
• Pressure Wash concrete & hard surfaces
• Repairs to asphalt (potholes) and concrete grinding to repair trip hazards
• Vacuum

Irrigation Systems Maintenance:

• Power trimming grass from around sprinkler heads and valve boxes
• Repair / replace broken sprinkler heads or other small irrigation repairs
• Report any malfunctioning sprinkler heads to leads/irrigation technicians
• Place portable sprinklers in dry spots and hand watering as instructed

Other Duties as Required:

• Assist with In-House Landscape upgrades
• Report hazards or emergencies to manager
• May be called back in after hours for emergencies
• Nursery work - potting plants and maintaining nursery stock
• Athletic Fields and stadium maintenance
• Report monthly absences
• TMA time card entry
• Train when required
• Landscape - removal of old/dead plants
  • Add new soil, amendments and wood chips
  • Shape of terrain and planting material as instructed

Minimum Qualifications

Experience:

• One year of experience in the care and maintenance of landscaped areas or in general grounds maintenance work, or in related manual labor.

Abilities:

• Ability to recognize the more common species of ornamental shrubs, trees and flowers grown in California.
• Perform strenuous physical work as described in this classification.
• Utilize mechanical aptitude and motor coordination.
• Learn to skillfully operate small trucks and power-driven grounds equipment.
• Read and write at a level appropriate to the duties of the position.
• Follow simple oral and written instructions.

Knowledge:

• Thorough knowledge of general gardening and grounds maintenance methods.
• General knowledge of proper methods of planting, cultivating, and caring for hedges, ornamental trees, shrubs, lawns, and flowers, and the use and care of gardening materials, tools, and equipment.

Required Qualifications

• Ability to communicate with other staff and share pertinent information as required.
• Ability to work in a team setting as well as independently.

License & Certification Requirements

• This position requires the operation of State vehicles and equipment.
• Valid State of California Class C Driver's License is required.

Preferred Skills and Knowledge

• More than three years of progressive experience in a grounds working function.
• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Proficiency of English grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Special Conditions & Physical Requirements

• Employees are required to perform tasks requiring a relatively high degree of physical strength and endurance.
• Need to stand and walk for long periods of time.
• Reach above and below waist level.
• Be able to adequately climb, stoop, kneel, crawl, and traverse rough uneven terrain.
• Safely lift, carry, push and pull objects weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to work beyond daylight hours and in dark surroundings as well as inclement weather conditions.
• May occasionally experience exposure to hot, cold, wet, humid, or windy weather conditions.

Condition(s) of Employment

Satisfactory completion of a background check (including LiveScan, as appropriate), that may include, but is not limited to: criminal records check, verification of academic credentials, licenses, certificates, credit history, professional references and/or verification of work history is required for employment. Cal State East Bay will issue a conditional offer of employment to the selected candidate, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Unsatisfactory results may also affect the continued employment of current Cal State East Bay employees who were conditionally offered the position.

All background checks are conducted through the university's third party vendor, Accurate. LiveScan is conducted through the University Police Department.

EEO Statement

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Cal State East Bay does not discriminate on the basis of any protected categories: age, ancestry, citizenship, color, disability, gender, immigration status, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran's status. The University is committed to the principles of diversity in employment and to creating a stimulating learning environment for its diverse student body.

Other Information

All California State University campuses, including Cal State East Bay, are smoke and tobacco-free. For more information, please visit our website here.

In compliance with state and federal crime awareness and campus security legislation, including The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act, the Cal State East Bay Annual Campus Security Report is available here.

Sponsorship

Cal State East Bay is not a sponsoring agency for Staff or Management positions and we are not an E-Verify employer.

Mandated Reporter

The incumbent in this position may be considered a mandated reporter under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and will be required to comply with requirements set forth in the CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

Advertised: August 14, 2024 (9:00 AM) Pacific Daylight Time
Applications close: December 16, 2024 (11:55 PM) Pacific Standard Time