Forestry and Natural Resources Specialist

Position Details

Status: Full-time regular position, non-exempt

Salary: $31.51 to $40.95 per hour (depending upon qualifications)

Benefits: Qualifies for full-time benefits date of hire

Location: Maintenance Facility

Hours: Standard business hours (7am-3:30pm), but will vary based on business needs

Reporting Relationship: Reports to Forestry and Natural Resources Supervisor

Parks and Natural Resources

The Parks and Natural Resources Division is responsible for providing the citizens and users of the City’s park system with safe, properly maintained, and high quality facilities. The Division is responsible for developing and maintaining the park and open space system with facilities that meet the community needs. Wildlife, forestry and natural resources management are a top priority of this division.

Position Responsibilities

The Forestry and Natural Resources Specialist is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the City’s forestry and natural resources projects and programs. The primary position responsibilities and areas of impact are:

Coordinates and implements the City diseased tree program; identifies trees during on-site visits or through laboratory tests; notifies owners of the removal process; consolidates program information for annual forestry report.
Trains, mentors, and assigns duties to seasonal Forestry Interns; monitors quality of work and determines level of responsibility each employee is capable of handling; trains and reviews information to increase skill levels; coordinates State testing as needed.
Provides consultations to residents regarding: tree, shrub, insects, diseases, and other natural resource management issues; provides diagnosis and remedy options to property owners.
Inspects and resolves tall grass/weed complaints and issuance of violation notices; compiles information and submits annual control report; determines species and composition of plants utilizing State and County weed database.
Coordinates volunteer groups to ensure they have proper direction and resources to achieve successful volunteer projects.
Assists with the coordination of fire management burns on City conservation and conversion areas to restore/invigorate native species and to control undesirable invasive plants; coordinates and implements invasive species control programs and reports annual biological control to MN DNR.
Must maintain valid driver’s license.

While these areas are the primary focus of the position, we believe strongly in teamwork and employees will be called upon to perform a variety of duties as a part of their role with the City.

Position Requirements

Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Forestry, Forest Resources, Natural Resources Management or other closely related field, or equivalent combination of Associates degree and relevant work history; Minnesota DNR Tree Inspector Certification or ability to obtain within 3 months required; ISA Certified Arborist preferred.

Work Experience: Minimum of two years related work experience with applicable Bachelor’s degree or minimum four years related work experience with Associates degree required; Experience working with surveying equipment preferred; Experience planning and coordinating Forestry and Natural Resources events preferred; Experience coordinating fire management burns preferred; Experience working with the State and County Weed database preferred.

Technical Skills: Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook), GIS and ArcMap preferred; Valid driver's license with good driving record required.

Physical Requirements: Physical effort is light for the majority of work with lifting or carrying limited 25lbs with the occasional need to lift/pull/push/move/carry up to 50 lbs. The majority of the work is in the field with the need to bend/stand/reach. There are intermittent visits to City Department locations, some of which are in other areas of the city. There is a need to keep detailed reports this sometimes requires occasional use of a keyboard. Work interruptions are frequent.

Working Conditions: The majority of the work is in the field with winter/offseason work occurring in a normal office environment. Frequent driving or riding is required to do daily work during the spring/summer/fall months.

City of Eden Prairie Values

We are a service organization. We take pride in what we do. We cultivate a supportive, encouraging and productive culture with a strong customer focus. We promote wellness and plan work/life balance into our goals. We value differences and foster inclusion. We achieve success by exhibiting our core values: collaboration, innovation, integrity, performance and relationships.

Position Specific Expectations

Communication: Able to convey a message to get a point across; communicates in a clear and concise manner; able to write clearly and succinctly; tailors message to a variety of communication settings and styles.

Attention to Detail: Able to find errors in work and solve problems; anticipates issues and performs at a high level of accuracy; sets up systems to ensure errors are not repeated.

Accountability: Follows through on commitments; focuses on appropriate tasks throughout the shift; takes responsibilities for actions both as an individual and on behalf of the organization; actions and words are in sync; follows all policies and procedures; maintains confidentiality; is prepared and punctual to all scheduled shifts.

Organization: Ability to coordinate several activities, responsibilities, and tasks simultaneously in a polite and professional manner; prioritizes what needs to get done; keeps things neat and orderly; utilizes tools for efficiency; factors several considerations when planning; establishes methods to ensure routine tasks are completed.

Composure: Exhibits self-confidence and asserts self appropriately to advocate a point of view; maintains professionalism while under pressure; can be counted on to hold things together during tough times; can handle stress; maintains balance even when unexpected circumstances arise; able to identify and manage crisis situations; faces adversity head on; energized by tough challenges.

Problem Solving: Ability to tackle a problem by using logical, systematic, sequential approach; makes a systematic comparison of two or more alternatives; notices discrepancies and inconsistencies in available information; identifies a set of features, parameters or considerations to take into account in analyzing a situation or making a decision.

City of Eden Prairie Pre-Employment Process

The City of Eden Prairie conducts the following pre-employment checks for the Forestry and Natural Resources Specialist position:

Professional Reference Checks
Work History and Education Verification
Background Check and Driver's License Check

All final candidates must successfully complete and pass the City’s evaluation of the pre-employment process before their first day of employment.

City of Eden Prairie Application Timeline

To be considered for this position, interested candidates may submit an application, via the City’s website (www.edenprairie.org/employment-opportunities) by the deadline listed below.

Application Posted: Monday, May 15^th, 2023

Application Deadline: Monday, June 5^th, 2023, at 8:30am

Review Applications: Week of June 5^th, 2023

First Round Interviews: Week of June 12^th, 2023

Final Round Interviews: Wednesday, June 21^st, 2023

Pre-Employment Process: Week of June 26^th, 2023

Estimated Start Date: Early July 2023

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