Vegetation Program Specialist I/II

$118,331 - $151,445/Yr

Santa Clara Valley Water District

Full-time - Entry Level

501-1,000 employees

Utilities

About the position

The Vegetation Program Specialist I/II at Valley Water is responsible for managing arborist duties, including tree risk assessments, coordinating tree work, and providing customer service related to tree requests. This role is integral to maintaining vegetation in riparian areas throughout Santa Clara County, ensuring safe and healthy environments for the community.

Responsibilities

• Performing site visits and tree risk assessments, quantifying work to be performed and estimating impacts of work.
• Managing routine maintenance pruning program for access along Valley Water maintenance roads and fence line paths.
• Responding to customer concerns using Access Valley Water System; consultations with customers on-site.
• Collecting tree inventory data using GPS applications and associated GIS tools.
• Coordinating tree work between contractors and the public as needed, overseeing contractors and reconciling invoices.
• Emergency response to tree-related issues on Valley Water properties, coordinating internal or contracted staff to address emergencies.
• Preparation of work orders, photo documentation, maps, technical reports, and associated documents.
• Assisting with obtaining regulatory permits for tree work.
• Quarterly reporting and database management for Vegetation projects; reporting work accomplished and weekly schedules of work to be performed.

Requirements

• Three (3) years of experience in integrated vegetation management, ecological restoration, horticulture, arboriculture, forestry, or field maintenance planning for Vegetation Program Specialist I.
• Five (5) years of experience in integrated vegetation management, ecological restoration, horticulture, or arboriculture or silviculture, with two (2) years of lead experience for Vegetation Program Specialist II.
• Experience utilizing GPS and GIS.
• Experience using Maximo and Oracle database systems or similar.
• Program development and lead experience is a plus.
• Arborist Certificate from International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).
• Equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in biology, botany, horticulture, forestry, silviculture, environmental sciences, natural sciences, or a related field.

Nice-to-haves

• Strong project and data management skills in administering complex, technical, and sensitive vegetation field operations projects.
• Ability to evaluate and develop improvements to vegetation field operations procedures, policies, or methods.
• Experience conducting complex vegetation field operations research and preparing effective technical reports.
• Knowledge of plants, trees, and wildlife native and non-native to Santa Clara County.

Benefits

• Vacation, holidays, and sick leave
• Medical, dental, vision, EAP, life and disability insurance
• Participation in the California Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS)