Urban Forester Jobs

This is a professional position directing duties related to the sustainability of the City of Coral Gables’ renown and valuable urban forest in public right of way, private property, and parks. The City has maintained the esteemed Arbor Day Foundation ‘Tree City USA’ designation since 1985, and maintains a dense tree canopy coverage of over 40%. The position is supervised by the Assistant Public Works Director for Greenspace Management and assists the Superintendent with maintenance tasks in the field as required. The position requires technical knowledge and professional management skill to apply arboricultural industry standards, City codes and ordinances to manage the urban forest consisting of over 42,000 trees and approximately 300 public green spaces. The position requires full supervision of the City’s tree pruning and landscape maintenance contractors. The position manages tree removal, relocation and pruning permits interacting with the public and elected officials on a regular basis.

The following duties are normal for this position. The omission of specific statements of the duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification:

Oversees, directs, and plans daily activities for contracted and in-house crews performing duties related to the maintenance of the City’s urban forest in the public right of ways and parks. Supervises and trains foremen, equipment operators and crew workers. Monitors contracted crew and City employee work performance. Conducts safety meetings and trainings.

Responds to public inquiries for tree pruning requests and manages tree maintenance and landscape maintenance contractors for completion of work orders. Works with administrative staff on customer service inquiries, retrieving phone messages and answering emails in a timely fashion for customer service excellence.

Manages specific tree maintenance projects such as the City’s Black Olive treatment of approximately 2,000 Black Olive Trees per year. Keeps records of trees scheduled for treatment, supervises contractual agreements, performs site inspections during treatment, and monitors success of treatments with written reports.

Reviews and executes permits for tree removal, tree mitigation and pruning for private property as well as public right of way following City codes. Performs technical review of architectural and tree disposition plans for tree removal/ mitigation, landscaping and irrigation systems. Performs field inspections to enforce compliance of issued permits for final close out of permits. Works closely with the City’s code enforcement officers and attends regular meetings of the Code enforcement board to testify on behalf of the City in tree violation code cases.

Assists in organizing City special events such as the annual arbor day celebration, and participates in public speaking engagements with garden clubs, City boards, and at educational community-planned events.

Prepares incident reports, accident reports and various division reports. Maintains files and records using the City’s digital software for site asset maintenance and records quantities of trees pruned, removed, replaced and treated for specific diseases within a digital GIS database program. (Cartegraph). Maps the City right of way zone tree pruning schedule within a GIS database.

Provides technical expertise and assistance regarding urban forest risks and hazards, proper tree care practices, plant species selection, proper siting and installation, insect and disease identification treatment and prevention, and distribution and growth of the city’s urban forest.

Coordinates tree pruning near powerlines with Florida Power and Light (FPL) and coordinates with outside agencies where necessary.

Responds to non-routine tree-related accidents or work orders on weekends and irregular hours. Is required to attend emergency operations meetings during hurricane season. Works as an emergency operations team member for storm events requiring tree removal and clean up. Coordinates with contractors and outside agencies for debris removal and monitoring during storm events.

Supervises the assignment, operation, maintenance and repair of equipment. Responds to preventive maintenance schedules working with the City fleet management division of public works.

Performs other related tasks as required.

Bachelor's degree or college level coursework in Urban Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, Agriculture, Arboriculture, or related field required.
International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) arborist certification is required.
Five (5) years of experience in arboriculture and landscape maintenance to include minimum three (3) years of supervision.
Possess or obtain within 180 days from hire, State of Florida restricted use pesticide license.

HOLIDAYS: 14 days including 3 floating days.

SICK LEAVE: 96 hours annually.

ANNUAL LEAVE: 80 hours in the first year of employment, increasing up to 188 hours after 25 years. Employees must take 40 hours of annual leave each year.

BEREAVEMENT LEAVE: 5 or 10 work days for the death of a family member in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement and the City's Personnel Rules & Regulations.

MEDICAL INSURANCE: Fully paid by the City (HMO Select). Coverage becomes effective 1st of month following 30 days. Employee may purchase coverage for eligible dependents at a cost of approximately 50% of the premium.

DENTAL INSURANCE: Available to all employees through payroll deduction.

LIFE INSURANCE : Term Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment equal to 1 x annual salary, fully paid by the City (up to $200,000).

VOLUNTARY BENEFITS: Several plans available, such as Short-Term Disability, Life Insurance and Critical Illness policies through payroll deductions.

LEGAL SERVICES: Legal Service plan available at a cost to employees through payroll deductions.

DEFERRED COMPENSATION: Employees are given the option to defer a portion of their pre-tax salary into the 457 Deferred Compensation Program.

UNIFORM ALLOWANCE: $500 annually where required in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.

TUITION REIMBURSEMENT: $1500 per semester ($6,000 maximum annually) for approved college coursework.

SAFETY GLASSES: Required safety glasses are provided every 2 years.

RECREATIONAL USE: Employee, spouse and immediate family members seventeen (17) years of age and under are entitled to the benefits below:

• Tennis Centers – No charge for daily court fees.
• Venetian Pool – No charge for daily admission.
• Youth Center – 50% off residential rates for memberships and 50% off camps and other programs.

Golf at Biltmore & Granada:

• After Noon – No charge
• Monday through Friday – no charge.
• Saturday, Sunday and Holidays:
• Before Noon – Twilight fees apply

***Note: Benefits subject to change.***
Please refer to the collective bargaining agreement for current benefits.