Location: Bellingham,WA, USA
Park Stewardship Coordinator
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Park Stewardship Coordinator
Salary
$28.65 Hourly
Location
City of Bellingham, WA
Job Type
Full Time
Job Number
24-Park Stewardship Coord
Department
Parks and Recreation
Division
Park Operations
Opening Date
10/18/2024
Closing Date
11/4/2024 8:30 AM Pacific
FLSA
Non-Exempt
Bargaining Unit
Local 1937
+ Description
+ Benefits
+ Questions
Nature of Work
The City of Bellingham's Parks and Recreation Department is recruiting for a Park Stewardship Coordinator! Do you have experience working in Program Coordination, Volunteer Coordination, Ecological Restoration, or Community Garden Programs? Apply today!
The Park Stewardship Coordinator, under the direction of the Park Stewardship Supervisor, coordinates the operation, maintenance, and monitoring of community garden locations and mitigation sites on park properties throughout the City. Responsible for field duties associated with the community garden program and wetland mitigation. Supports identified stewardship programs such as plant nursery projects, integrated pest management program, climate resiliency actions, or alternative restoration techniques for the Park Operations Division. Assists in planning and implements public outreach and education activities for park stewardship programs and projects. Coordinates with other City departments and other local agencies on efforts as directed.
This position will start at Step 1 ($28.65 hour). Employees receive step increases annually in accordance with the Guild of Pacific Northwest Employees, Local 1937 Collective Bargaining Agreement ( and City policy. The full hourly range for this position is $28.65 - $35.27. For internal candidates, placement within the range is based on City Pay Placement Procedures.
City of Bellingham employees receive medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as life insurance and long-term disability. Additional benefits include flexible spending accounts, a medical insurance opt-out program, and access to our employee assistance program. All eligible City employees are enrolled in a Washington State Department of Retirement Systems ( pension plan. Additionally, employees may elect to participate in the Citys 457 deferred compensation retirement savings plan.
Employees will receive 12 paid holidays in addition to one paid floating holiday each year. Employees accrue 8 hours total of contract and state sick leave per month in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement and Washington State Law. At the time of hire, employees will accrue 7.33 hours of vacation per month. Vacation accruals increase based on years of service. Leave accruals are based on 1.0 FTE, accruals are pro-rated if part-time and require employee to be in paid status at least 120 hours/month.
For additional information regarding benefits and compensation Information please visit the following:
+ Labor Agreements, Pay Schedules and E-Team Employee Handbook - City of Bellingham (cob.org) (
+ Employment Benefits - City of Bellingham (cob.org)
Closing Date/Time: Mon. 11/4/24 8:30 AM Pacific Time
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE JOB:
+ Recommends, plans, implements, organizes, and oversees the Citys community garden program. Administers garden plot registration and renewals. Conducts inspections and evaluations of garden plots. Advises on policies, rules and regulations, issues warnings and takes formal action to address concerns and violations of garden rules. Answers all inquiries regarding fees, gardening techniques, or garden requirements. Promotes and supports the departments goals regarding food resiliency as it relates to the community garden program. Serves as primary point of contact for the Department in program area.
+ Under the guidance of the Park Stewardship Supervisor, coordinates, implements, and monitors the wetland mitigation program for the Department. Monitoring activities include tracking maintenance, record keeping of regression or progression of restoration, and completing required permits for mitigation program projects. Schedules and conducts quality assurance and quality control measures. Monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of the mitigation program against established state and City standards. Works collaboratively with other Park Operations Division and other Department staff to ensure that monitoring and maintenance standards are met and consistent with the City Parks and Recreation strategic plans.
+ Identifies and supports other park stewardship program priorities such as plant nursery projects, integrated pest management program, climate resiliency actions, or alternative restoration techniques. Assists the Park Stewardship Supervisor in identifying and establishing program needs and methods of implementation working within state and City regulations. Collaborates with designated staff to develop agreements with community groups.
+ Under the guidance of the Park Stewardship Supervisor, designs and implements education and outreach information programs. Leads a variety of public forums such as workshops, tours, field trips, and public meetings to meet public outreach goals of supporting and motivating community members to adopt behaviors that protect, conserve, and restore park properties. Uses appropriate analysis and information gathering processes to obtain information and feedback about assigned projects.
+ Maintains communication with the community garden committees and creates a framework for regular communication using social media tools, newsletters, and mailing lists. Organizes annual meetings for the community garden program as needed.
+ Recommends process improvements and repairs to existing garden and mitigation sites. Implements approved plans and works with identified City staff to evaluate opportunities for expansion.
+ Provides oversight and day to day direction to Washington Conservation Corp crews assigned to assist with community garden and wetland mitigation program areas. Collaborates regularly with partner agencies and neighborhood associations. Leads efforts working with park volunteers and others to establish pollinator gardens and maintain Bee City USA initiative where appropriate.
+ Performs general administrative duties in support of the Park Stewardship Program. Interprets rules, regulations, laws, and policies related to program area. Assists with training and provides on-site direction to field support crews such as extra labor employees, field work students, and volunteers.
+ Responds to questions and concerns from City staff, as well as local agencies, organizations, and the public. Meets with members of the public, professional associations and community groups as directed. Refers to Park Stewardship Supervisor or designee for guidance as necessary.
WORKING ENVIRONMENT:
Work is performed both in an office setting and outdoors in a variety of public parks including developed and undeveloped areas. Frequent exposure to inclement weather, noise, fumes, construction, traffic hazards, and environmental hazards. General safety precautions are taken into consideration for these hazards. Frequently interacts with the public and with professionals in the field. May be exposed to hostile, offensive language, or interactions with angry or volatile individuals. Employees are required to use appropriate safety equipment and follow standard safety practices.
Experience and Training
+ Two years of experience in program coordination including responsibility for community outreach or engagement required.
+ One year of experience working with volunteers in parks or mitigation sites required.
+ One year of experience with organic gardening or plant nursery operations preferred.
+ A bachelors degree in horticulture, natural resource management, environmental science, parks and recreation or a closely related field preferred.
Necessary Special Requirements
+ Employment contingent upon passing a criminal convictions check and child and vulnerable adult abuse records check (See Fair Hiring Practices).
+ Valid Washington State drivers license and good driving record. Must submit a three-year driving record abstract prior to hire.
+ Must possess or obtain First Aid and CPR certification within one year of hire and maintain currency throughout employment.
Selection Process
**You are encouraged to print a copy of this job announcement for your reference as the process moves along**
Please ensure your application is complete and all required information has been provided. Standard completeness means all application fields (contact information, personal information, education, work experience, references, and required supplemental questions). Provide as much detail as you believe will fully describe your experience and training.
Application Review Process:
+ Application Review Process:
+ Minimum Qualifications: Applicants must provide specific, detailed information so an initial determination can be made regarding your level of qualifications for this position. Applicant status will be updated on or around November 6, 2024.
+ All applications that meet Minimum Qualifications will go through an Application Review. Relevancy of your experience and training, together with composition, grammar, spelling and punctuation will be considered when evaluating responses. Applicant status will be updated on or around November 20, 2024.
+ The top 8 scoring applicants from the application review will be invited to the Oral Board Interviews.
+ The top 8 scoring applicants from the application review will be invited to the Oral Board Interviews, tentatively scheduled for the December 5, 2024.
+ Applicants will be notified via email of Final Scores & Ranks. The final ranking of the register will be based on total scores for the following:
+ The Application Review will be 30% of the overall score and the Oral Board Interview will be 70% of overall score.
+ Candidates must achieve at least 60% passing score on the oral board to be placed on the eligibility list.
Final candidates will be referred to the department for additional examination, assessment, or test.
This recruitment process will create a Civil Service eligibility register that will be used to fill current and future vacancies as they become available. There is currently 1 full-time vacancy in Parks - Operations. This position is represented by a union.
If you wish to claim Veterans Preference Points, please complete the Veterans Scoring Criteria Declaration Form ( and upload it to your application with your DD214.
Please Note: Candidates will receive updates regarding application status via email. Please be sure to check your email frequently, including your spam folders for messages filtered by your email providers
Equal Opportunity:
Our environment is characterized by respect for cultural backgrounds, belief systems, and ethnic diversity. The City of Bellingham is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in its work force. We do not make decisions on the basis of an individual's race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, age (40+), disability, retaliation, sexual orientation or gender identity, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal law. All are encouraged to apply for employment.
Fair Hiring Practices
+ The City provides individuals who have been arrested or convicted of a criminal offense an equal and fair opportunity to obtain employment.
+ The City will not inquire about an applicant's criminal history until after a conditional job offer has been made.
+ The City will disregard the prior arrest and conviction record of an otherwise qualified individual unless the offense is directly related to the job position for which the individual has applied.
+ The City will notify an otherwise qualified applicant about a potentially disqualifying conviction and give the applicant an opportunity to submit information regarding the accuracy of the criminal records as well as evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation, as appropriate.
There are many good reasons for working at the City of Bellingham. The work is rewarding and you have an opportunity to serve your community. Another good reason is the great benefits that the City offers its employees. See our benefits section ( for additional information.
This position is represented by The Guild of Pacific Northwest Employees, Local 1937 bargaining unit. Specific benefit information including Holidays, Vacation Accruals, Health, Dental and Vision Plans with cost sharing and Deferred Compensation Match can be found in the Local 1937 labor agreement ( .
This position is covered by the State of Washington Department of Retirement Systems PERS plan. PERS requires mandatory employee and City contributions. Please visit the DRS website ( for more information on PERS.
Civil Service Information
This position is subject to the Bellingham Civil Service Commission. When a vacancy occurs, the top fifteen candidates or the top 25% of the register will be forwarded to the department for further consideration. All new Civil Service employees are subject to a one-year probationary period. A candidate may challenge the scope, content, or method of an examination or test, and a protest may be filed in writing with the Examiner within five (5) days following the date of the challenged examination. A candidate may also challenge the scoring of an examination or test, failure of the candidate on any part of an examination, or clerical error in examination results of any examination or test, and a protest may be filed in writing with the Examiner within five (5) days of notification of the challenged result. The Examiner shall consider all timely filed protests and make appropriate corrections if an error is demonstrated.
Veteran's Scoring Criteria
Applicants who have been honorably discharged from active military duty may be eligible to receive veteran's scoring criteria points as provided by Washington State Law (RCW 41.04.010). If you wish to claim Veterans Preference Points, please complete the Veterans Scoring Criteria Declaration Form ( and upload it to your application with your DD214.
01
Do you have at least two years of experience in program coordination, including responsibility for community outreach or engagement? (Experience must be reflected in your Work History within your application.)
+ Yes
+ No
02
Do you have at least one year of experience working with volunteers in parks or mitigation sites? (Experience must be reflected in your Work History within your application.)
+ Yes
+ No
03
Do you have or are you willing to obtain a Washington State drivers license and provide a 3-year driving history prior to hire?
+ Yes
+ No
04
Do you have or are you willing to obtain First Aid and CPR certifications within one (1) year of hire?
+ Yes
+ No
05
Please describe your experience coordinating and/or leading volunteer work.
06
Please describe your experience in Program Coordination and Public Outreach, including any relevant experience involving community gardens.
07
Please describe your experience with Ecological Restoration, Wetland Mitigation, and/or Monitoring.
Required Question
Agency
City of Bellingham
Address
104 West Magnolia Street Bellingham, Washington, 98225
Phone
360-###-####
Website
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