Landscape Gardener

Job Characteristics

***OPEN AND PROMOTIONAL JOB OPPORTUNITY***
Landscape Gardener

***A 5% salary increase is scheduled for July 7, 2025***

The City of Concord is seeking an experienced Landscape Gardener in the Public Works Department.

What you will do in this role:

The Landscape Gardener performs parks maintenance, gardening, weed abatement, and grounds keeping work in assigned areas, such as parks, traffic medians, open space, public rights-of-way, and ball fields to ensure that these City resources are in an aesthetically pleasing condition and are available to meet the diverse needs for active and passive recreation and leisure activities. The Landscape Gardener measures results and data related to desired program outcomes daily and should make suggestions for improvements to processes and services as needed.

This position is differentiated from the Maintenance Worker in Parks by the higher level of professional service provided and the additional lead responsibilities that may be assigned.

We are looking for someone who:

• Has a background in horticulture.
• Has experience in the repair and maintenance of tools and equipment used in landscape maintenance.
• Enjoys working outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Can provide lead direction to assigned work crew.
• Is proactive in identifying problems and suggesting solutions.
• Provides highest level of customer service.
• Has excellent communication skills.
• Is comfortable working independently and as a team.
• Embraces and embodies the City's Mission, Vision, and Values.

What we offer:

The City of Concord offers the opportunity to take part in a collaborative and exciting work experience, where you can grow in your career while working alongside the community to make Concord a city of the highest quality. The City is an employer that invests in its employees’ professional and personal development, values work-life balance, is dedicated to employee wellness and provides numerous benefit and retirement options, to include the following:

• A variety of health care plans or a cash-in-lieu benefit if waiving coverage
• City-paid dental insurance; employee-paid vision insurance
• Vacation with tiered accrual increases, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year
• Both 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans
• Participation in CalPERS pension
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for healthcare, dependent care and commuting costs
• Life and disability insurance
• Tuition reimbursement program
• A wellness program that offers yoga and fitness classes, annual health expos, health and nutrition education, as well a variety of mental health resources

*Salary is negotiable within the advertised range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found at www.cityofconcord.org .

SELECTION PROCESS

1. Submit a completed City of Concord employment application and the required supplemental question responses online at www.cityofconcord.org/jobs. Only application materials submitted online will be accepted.

2. All qualified applications and supplemental responses will be competitively evaluated, and only those candidates demonstrating the strongest desired qualifications for the position will be invited to participate in a panel interview. If you are selected to participate in the panel interview and are unavailable, we regret that we will not be able to reschedule you.

3. Successful candidates will be placed on the hiring list, based on rank, for further consideration to fill the current regular vacancy, as well as others occurring over the next 12 months.

Driving History:

This position requires a current California DMV history report dated within 3 months of the closing date of this recruitment. Candidates must have a clean driving record for the previous seven year period. To obtain your DMV history report you may visit any DMV location or you may submit a request online at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/customer-service/request-vehicle-or-driver-records/online-driver-record-request/. You can submit the DMV history report by attaching it to your application or emailing it to sara.castro@cityofconcord.org .

Conviction History:

If you receive a conditional job offer, you will be fingerprinted, and your fingerprints will be sent to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The resulting report of your conviction history (if any) will be used to determine whether the nature of your conviction conflicts with the specific duties and responsibilities of the job for which you have received a conditional job offer. If a conflict exists, you will be asked to present any evidence of rehabilitation that may mitigate the conflict, except when federal or state regulations bar employment in specific circumstances. Having a conviction history does not automatically preclude you from a job with the City of Concord.

Helpful tips when applying:

• It is important to carefully read the complete job bulletin before submitting your application so you are aware of all requirements of both the position and the process.
• When preparing your application, consider reviewing the job announcement and classification specification so that you may emphasize work experience relevant to the position for which you are applying.
• Job duties should be an accurate reflection of the work you completed. Copying and pasting from your job description is not recommended as there may be duties listed that you did not perform.
• Answer all required supplemental questions completely and honestly. The information you put in the supplemental questionnaire must also be verified in your work history so if you say you have certain experience in the questionnaire, make sure we can see it listed in your job history as well so we know where you performed those functions and for how long.
• Carefully review your application prior to submittal to ensure its content is accurate and all required documents are attached, and submit it before the closing date.

Examples of duties include, but are not limited to

Ensures that work assignments are accomplished; reports reasons for any delays; reports the time and tasks performed and materials used on a daily basis. Measurement of results and data related to desired outcomes are constantly accumulated and used to design improvements to processes and services.Waters, fertilizes, mows, weeds, edges and replaces turf pursuant to established maintenance schedule or after assessment of needs.Plants, waters, and maintains ornamental plants, shrubs, hedges, and flowers as defined in standard practices manual.Picks up rubbish and litter; cleans walkways, driveways, parking areas, and drainage facilities; keeps restrooms, play equipment, and picnic and recreation facilities clean and orderly.Prepares soils for various kinds of planting and cultivates around plants, shrubs, and trees.Performs routine inspection and maintenance of irrigation systems, such as cleaning and relocation of sprinkler heads and cleaning and repairing of automatic valves; assists in major mechanical maintenance and repairs. May program automatic controllers for sprinkler and irrigation systems.Monitors condition of turf, ornamental plants, shrubs, hedges, flowers, and trees and reports the presence of turf, plant and tree diseases and pests.Performs other parks maintenance tasks, such as installing header boards along paths flower beds; assembling portable picnic tables; assisting with the repair of barbecue pits; and installation of project barricade fencing; and assisting with rough carpentry and concrete work.May prepare and apply or assist in the preparation and application of fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides.May propagate flowers, shrubs, or trees.May answer emergency or complaint calls regarding conditions in parks or other landscaped areas; and observe and report parks facilities or buildings that need repair.

Qualifications

Knowledge and Abilities:

Working knowledge of methods, tools, materials and practices used in parks and ground maintenance activities; knowledge of common names and requirements of plants, trees and shrubs, knowledge of the characteristics of typical plant diseases and pests and their control; basic knowledge of irrigation systems, including installation, operation, maintenance, and routine repair; basic knowledge of fertilizers and fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides.

Ability and willingness to adapt to changing work assignments; to operate equipment and to use the tools and materials encountered in parks maintenance activities with efficiency and safety; to input and retrieve data on electronic devices including computer terminals; to plant, fertilize, edge, trim, mow, weed, and water lawns, plants, shrubs and/or trees; to follow oral and written instructions, to work effectively without close supervision; to work outdoors in all weather; to provide lead direction to assigned work crew, to practice the highest level of customer service; to understand and practice concepts of team work, accountability, and seamless services; and to establish and maintain cooperative and effective relationships with individuals from a variety of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds contacted in the course of work.

Education/Experience:

Education: Satisfactory completion of high school or equivalent supplemented by 9 units of coursework in ornamental horticulture or a related field, or other specialized training or certificates.

Experience: Three years of employment in grounds maintenance.

Other

A California Driver's License and a satisfactory driving record are conditions of initial and continued employment.

Requires supplemental certification or licensure relevant to the assigned landscape program area within the probationary period as an additional condition of continued employment in this position.

EEO/ADA: The City of Concord is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant employer, committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants.

If you have a disability and require accommodations in the testing process, please contact Human Resources at 925-671-3308 or hrdept@cityofconcord.org prior to the final filing date.

The City of Concord takes pride in offering a generous benefits program that provides flexibility for the diverse and changing needs of our qualifying employees.

For a complete overview, click here .
Below is a brief listing of what the City offers:

• Dental & Vision Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Health Insurance
• Holidays
• Life Insurance
• Pre-tax Savings Benefits
• Retiree Medical (3 levels based on date of hire)
• Retirement Program
• Short-term Disability*and Long-term Disability
• Social Security/Medicare
• Vacation & Sick Leave

*Not available for sworn personnel.

Closing Date/Time: 7/23/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

• 

• City of Concord

• 925-671-3407

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