Howard County
Conveniently located in the heart of central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington, Howard County offers the charm of a historic past mixed with the excitement of a cosmopolitan community.

Howard County Government
Howard County Government is a leader in innovation, sustainability, and consistently ranked as one of the best places to live and work in the country. In 2023, Howard County Government received a record-breaking 51 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) – the most in the state of Maryland. NACo is the leading organization representing county-level government operations. These awards recognize innovative and transformative programs that provide new services for county residents, improve existing programs, upgrade working conditions, and enhance citizen participation and public policymaking.

What are we looking for?
We are looking for outstanding individuals to join our team and contribute to excellence in Howard County operations.

What you'll like most about working at Howard County Government:

• We are committed to workplace excellence in every area of County government.  
• We have a highly talented, diverse, and inclusive workplace.  Your input will not only be heard, but it will be encouraged!  
• We offer competitive compensation and great benefits including medical, retirement, and wellness programs. 
• As a member of the Howard County Government team, you'll be helping drive our culture and directly impact what makes us an amazing place to work.

Include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.

Works and cooperates with co-workers and supervisors at all levels.

Learns and performs all essential job functions accurately.

Performs park maintenance activities such as grounds and turf maintenance, pavilion and picnic area maintenance and cleaning, facility renovations and repairs, and sports field maintenance in an assigned park region.

Performs trail construction and maintenance.

Removes graffiti and vandalism.

Performs minor plumbing, janitorial, painting, electrical, and carpentry work in the maintenance of parks and facilities.

Performs landscape/horticultural maintenance, including pesticide applications, trimming, edging, pruning, and mulching of beds and trees.

Operates and performs preventative maintenance on tractors, mowers, skid loaders, steam cleaning rigs, trucks, and trailers.

Utilizes hand and power tools, trimmers, chain saws, blowers, snow blowers in performing the above referenced tasks.

Performs playground inspections and maintenance.

Assists Department programmers with program and event logistics.

May lead the work of subordinate crew members, part-time staff and volunteers.

Requires considerable public contact including: communicating with tournament directors and staff during tournaments, conflict resolution, picnic shelter disputes, questions and comments.

Develops supply requisitions for supervisor’s approval. Is responsible for informing Supervisor when tools, supplies/materials, and chemicals need to be replaced or re-ordered.

Administrative duties include: incident reports, police reports, timesheets, department requisitions, park and playground inspection forms, chemical application cards, daily park, pavilion and vandalism journal entries.    

Responsible for identifying and applying good sustainability practices into all aspects of Department operations.

Serves on committees as assigned.

Performs snow removal duties and assists during inclement weather conditions to include working for Public Works if needed.

This position is considered essential and will be required to work in emergency situations.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
This job has no supervisory responsibilities. May lead the work of subordinate crew members, part-time staff and volunteers.

Any combination of education and experience equivalent to completion of the 10th grade plus one (1 ) year of experience in landscaping, park maintenance, or a related field; or, completion of course work in horticulture or park/resource management plus one (1) year of general laboring experience.

PREFERRED EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
One (1) year certificate from college or technical school; or related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; and use hands to touch, handle, or feel.   The employee frequently is required to sit, reach with hands and arms, and climb or balance.  The employee is occasionally required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear.  The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 100 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to wet and/or humid conditions and outside weather conditions.  The employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts.  The employee is occasionally exposed to high, precarious places; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; extreme cold; extreme heat; risk of electrical shock; and vibration.  The noise level in the work environment is usually loud.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.   
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.  
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

 MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.   
• Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY:

• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. 
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Possession of a valid Driver’s License.  License must be valid as long as individual is employed in this class.

Obtain Maryland Pesticide Applicator Certification within two (2) years of employment.

Obtain CPR and First Aid Certification within one year of employment.

Maryland Boater Safety Operator Certification may be required depending on location.



 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

TO APPLY:  You must complete an employment application online to be considered for this recruitment. Resumes cannot be substituted for completion of the job application work history. No paper applications will be accepted. 

Selected candidates may be subject to drug screening, background screening, and reference checks.       

At time of application, please submit a copy of any college degree, coursework, licenses, or certifications that you have referenced on your application. Applicants who have education obtained outside of the U.S. may need to provide proof of the equivalent U.S. education as determined by a foreign credential evaluation service, such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (http://www.naces.org) or World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation (https://www.wes.org/).

Howard County Government is not sponsoring employees in application of the H-1B Visa or providing an extension of an existing H-1B Visa. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Howard County is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.  The County prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, ancestry, creed, national origin, disability status, genetics, marital status, military service, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.  Applicants requiring accommodations during the hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources directly at  hripkin@howardcountymd.gov.  Requests for accommodations should not be attached to the application.