Entry level of the Journeyman series in field and grounds maintenance work. Employees in this class maintain large multi-sport athletic fields and care for lawns, trees, shrubs, and flowers. Work involves assignments of increasing scope and complexity as the employee gain familiarity with the work environment. Significant to the work is the operation and maintenance of mechanical equipment utilized in the performance of these duties.

Essential Functions

• Maintains full athletic facilities including the track, adjacent areas, and locker rooms; cleans athletic field areas before and after athletic events; deposits clay on athletic fields and marks boundaries.
• Repairs and paints spectator seating areas and athletic equipment such as hurdles and goal posts; replaces tennis nets as needed; cleans and maintain athletic facilities including locker rooms, showers and lavatories.
• Provides expert care of lawns and turf; seeds, plants, fertilizes, sprays, weeds, fill holes, and remove hazardous growths from grounds; cuts, rakes, edges grass and prunes trees; disposes of refuse in an appropriate manners.
• Uses chain saws, power mowers, edgers, sprayers, and other power gardening tools and equipment; drives dump trucks and other vehicles; operates tractors with attachments; shovels snow and salts walkways and other assigned areas.
• Performs preventive maintenance and minor repairs on mechanical equipment including lawn mowers, tractors and snow blowers; checks oil and fluid levels as well as blades.
• May oversee the work of trainees.
• Adheres to established safety codes and procedures.

Other Functions

• Performs incidental work as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Considerable knowledge of the methods and procedures for the care and maintenance of athletic fields as well as tracks, tennis courts, and related fields.
• Considerable knowledge of the methods and procedures needed to prepare baseball, football, and soccer fields, as well as tennis courts and tracks for competitive events.
• Considerable knowledge of the methods, materials, tools, and equipment used in the care of lawns, turf, trees, shrubs, hedges, grass and flowers.
• Knowledge of the occupational hazards and safety precautions of the trade.
• Skill in the use and care of tools and equipment of the trade.
• Ability to drive and operate tractors, dump trucks, and other vehicles and equipment in the performance of field and grounds maintenance tasks.
• Ability to perform a variety of manual tasks.
• Ability to follow oral and written instructions accurately.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates and superiors.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Nondiscrimination

The School District of Philadelphia provides to all persons equal access to all categories of employment in this district, regardless of race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, ancestry, national origin or handicap/disability, gender identity, or genetic information. Please refer to Board Policy 104 for further information regarding the District's commitment to Nondiscrimination in Employment Practices.

Minimum Requirements

• Education equivalent to the completion of the twelfth school grade.
• Three years of full-time, paid experience learning the fields and grounds mechanic trade as an apprentice.

Certificates/Licenses

• Possession of a Class B Commercial Driver’s License valid to operate a motor vehicle in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania prior to appointment and during tenure of appointment.