Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below.

Application Opening: Friday, October 13, 2023
Application Deadline: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Compensation Range: $81,016 - $110,994 Annually
Recruitment ID: RTF0140641-01136724

Appointment Type: Temporary Provisional (TPV). This is not a permanent appointment. A provisional appointee must participate and be successful in a Civil Service examination for this classification and be selected through an open competitive process in order to be considered for permanent appointment. Provisional appointments may not exceed three (3) years.

San Francisco Public Works (Public Works) has a far-reaching portfolio with a $453 million annual operating budget, an active capital portfolio that exceeds $3 billion and a workforce of 1,700-plus employees. The department operates around the clock, touching every neighborhood in San Francisco. The staff designs and manages the construction of civic buildings and streets; cleans and greens the right of way; maintains civic buildings; manages multi-million-dollar bond programs; trains people for jobs; keeps the right of way free of hazards; paves the roads; repairs bridges and public stairways; expands accessibility; and works at the forefront addressing some of San Francisco’s biggest challenges. With a mission to enhance the quality of life in San Francisco for residents, visitors and business owners, Public Works is committed to providing outstanding public service through an equity lens.

The Bureau of Urban Forestry
We oversee the median maintenance, tree planting, maintenance of 124,000-plus City-owned trees through the voter-backed  StreetTreeSF program. San Francisco Public Works is developing StreetTreeSF into an efficient and cost-effective system to routinely and proactively maintain street trees, ensuring that all public trees are inspected and pruned on a regular basis. In addition, crews repair sidewalks and build curb ramps to advance safety and accessibility.

Please visit the “About Us” section of our website at https://www.sfpublicworks.org/about to learn more about the department’s core values, Racial Equity Initiative, leadership team, history, budget and more.

Public Works currently has vacancies for the position of Arborist Technician (3434) within our Urban Forestry Division.

Under general supervision, as an Arborist Technician (3434) you will perform various urban forestry maintenance tasks and duties. This includes the removal of trees and other vegetation while performing related duties as needed.

Important and Essential Duties:
As an Arborist Technician, your duties may include but are not limited to the following:

• Assess and evaluate conditions of trees and other vegetation; maintain tree inventories.
• Climb trees and remove dead, diseased or otherwise damaged or unwanted limbs or treetops.
• Prune, cut up trees, and pile trimmings for disposal.
• Perform various types of rigging; operate chain and hand saws, aerial ladder truck, and chipper.
• Drives and operates heavy equipment.

Working Conditions:
Nature of the work involves exposure to a high risk of physical injury to the employee and constant vigilance to public safety. Positions in this job code require considerable physical demands, manual dexterity with frequent exposure to arduous and disagreeable working conditions, including inclement weather.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:
Possession of a high school diploma or equivalent (GED or High School Proficiency Examination).

Experience:
Three (3) years of verified journey-level experience as a tree work professional. Duties must have included climbing trees of considerable height for the purpose of removing tree limbs, treetops or entire tree in accordance with safety standards. Experience in pruning trees from a ladder is not qualifying experience.

License and Certification:
Possession of a valid California Class C driver’s license at the time of application; AND

Possession of a valid California Class B driver’s license with no air brakes restriction is required upon completion of the probationary period.

Substitution:
Successful completion of an Arborist Technician Apprenticeship Program approved and registered with the California Division of Apprenticeship Standards.

Note(s):
One-year full-time employment is considered equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

• A valid out-of-state driver’s license is acceptable during the application process. A valid California driver's license must be obtained prior to appointment and maintained throughout employment.
• Some positions require employees to obtain a class B Driver's License within one year of hire.
• Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Desirable Qaulifications:
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Possession of any International Society of Arboriculture credential such as Certified Arborist or Tree Worker Climber Specialist.
• Completion of an accredited Arborist training program

Verification:
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. 

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores. 

Selection Procedures:
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ):
Candidates may be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

DRUG TESTING REQUIREMENT:
Applicants for positions in this classification who are not currently employed by the City and County of San Francisco in a safety-sensitive position represented by (Laborers, Local 261), are required to pass pre-employment drug and alcohol testing. All employees in this classification may also be subject to drug and alcohol testing upon reasonable suspicion or after a work-related accident. Applicants with a positive result from a pre-employment drug test will be restricted from hire in safety-sensitive function positions for six-months after the date of the positive test.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: At the City and County of San Francisco, we share a commitment to a diverse, inclusive and equitable community. Each member of our organization is responsible and accountable for what they say and do to make San Francisco an inclusive and equitable place to live and work by employing fair and just practices to and for all.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the Analyst, Lateef Taylor [email protected].

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.