Department: General Services Start Here. Grow Here. Stay Here. Love working outdoors and getting your hands dirty? If you’re passionate about creating beautiful, well-maintained landscapes, this role is perfect for you. You’ll play a key part in keeping our grounds, rights-of-way, and medians looking their best- free of weeds and pests- using the latest tools and techniques in landscape maintenance. Bring your energy, pride in your work, and love for the outdoors to help us create vibrant, clean, and welcoming spaces every day! Apply today and start a job you love- with all the great benefits Sarasota County has to offer! Weekly weed removal in lawns, landscape beds, and planters using hand methods and mechanical tools like scuffle hoes and string trimmers. Edging of landscape beds with hand or gas-powered tools and application of mulch using various equipment including wheelbarrows and small trucks. Pruning of trees, palms, shrubs, and ground covers with hand tools, gas-powered shears, and saws, sometimes requiring ladders. Removal of trash and dead plants, replacement of plants as needed, and application of herbicides (pre-, post-emergent) using various sprayers and spreaders. Fertilizing landscape beds, trees, and palms with calculated rates, and inspecting irrigation systems for issues to report to supervisors. Perform weekly IPM inspections at assigned County facilities, applying appropriate insecticides and fungicides to control pests. Respond promptly to customer inquiries and ensures compliance with all relevant pest management regulations and standards. Work Hours: Monday - Friday. 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. On-call required. About You Minimum Qualifications: High School Diploma or its equivalent. One (1) year of experience performing landscaping, mowing, or landscape grounds maintenance. Ability to obtain a Limited Lawn and Ornamental license within six (6) months from the time of hire. Valid Florida Driver's License at time of hire. Preferred Qualifications: Knowledge of growth habits of Florida friendly/native trees, bushes, and plants. Must be able to identify plants and know the environments in which they thrive. Must be able to diagnose plant diseases, parasites, fungus and apply treatments accordingly. Able to use hand tools, cordless power tools, and lawn equipment (hand blowers). Physical Demands: Must frequently lift and/or move more than 50 pounds. CJIS Clearance: The successful candidate will be subject to an extensive background check(s) as a part of the hiring process. Subject to Passing Substance Screening: This position is subject to passing a pre-employment substance screening. An applicant who fails to pass a required drug screening test shall be disqualified from employment in any class for a period of five (5) years. About Everything Else Starting Pay Range: $18.21 (Step 1), depending on qualifications Our interview process could include phone interview(s), Microsoft Teams video interview(s), and/or in-person interview(s). If you are selected to join our team, please click on this link to review the Required First Day Documents. You will need to present the following items on your first day: 1. I-9 Acceptable Documents to show your identity and authorization to work. Use this link to learn more and review the different document options: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents If your position requires a Florida Driver’s License, this must be one of your documents. (Your Florida Driver’s License can serve as one of your documents listed in link above – List B Documents.) 2. U.S. Social Security Card (signed, physical card). This is a requirement of our Payroll Department and failure to provide this document could jeopardize timely compensation. (Your U.S. Social Security Card can serve as one of your documents listed in link above – List C Documents.) Benefits: Enjoy great benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, Short-Term and Long-Term Disability, Flexible Spending Accounts, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Florida Retirement System (FRS) and many, many more! Choose one of three great medical plans, including one with a $0 premium option, with completed preventative visits! For more information about employee benefits, please click this link or visit SCGov.net for additional information. Utilize our award-winning wellness program including free gyms at multiple Sarasota County Government locations. Enjoy 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days and 16 paid vacation days in the first year of full-time employment with increasing accrual rates with years of service. (That adds up to a possible 30 days off in your 1st year!) A different blend of voices prompt better conversations, choices and results for everyone. Sarasota County – Many Voices, One Team. We celebrate and value the experiences, backgrounds, perspectives, talents and strengths that make us different. Our vision is to attract, develop, retain and engage a talented workforce broadly representative of the citizens and communities we serve. To further value creativity, innovation, collaboration and great customer service – internally and externally. A job applicant with a disability who requires reasonable accommodation to participate in the application/selection process is requested to make known the need for an accommodation to Human Resources or appropriate county staff members. For assistance with the application, please call 941-861-5353. Sarasota County prohibits discrimination in all services, programs or activities. View the complete policy at scgov.net (keywords: ADA Compliance). Sarasota County Government is a Tobacco-Free/Drug-Free Workplace. Do you like leaving things better than you found them? We serve the greater good! Our team is here to make Sarasota the premier community to live, work and play! Sarasota has 37 miles of award-winning beaches, over 80 parks and 100 golf courses, and is known as the cultural capital of Florida with museums of art, theaters, an aquarium, botanical gardens and the annual international film festival. Unsurpassed beauty, rich cultural offering, diverse educational opportunities, wide-ranging recreational possibilities make Sarasota a great place to live and work! We believe in work-life balance with a generous leave plan. “US News & World Report: Sarasota is No. 1 in Florida and No. 18 in the country for best place to live.” We need YOU to help create wonderful experiences for residents and vacationing guests enjoying Sarasota! Apply today!