PARKS/RECREATION SPECIALIST - HORTICULTURE/NATURAL RESOURCES

PARKS/RECREATION SPECIALIST - HORTICULTURE/NATURAL RESOURCES

Salary: $27,726.40 - $31,824.00 Annually Location: Ohio 45202, OH Job Type: Part-time Unclassified Job Number: 26-02554 Department: Parks Opening Date: January 12, 2026 Closing Date: August 31, 2026 11:59 PM Eastern

General Statement of Duties

Parks seeks reliable and customer-focused individuals to join our team as part-time Parks/Recreation Specialist. This position may report to the Operations or Natural Resources Divisions to assist in maintaining Park Board-controlled properties. Duties may include general landscape/lawn care, forest restoration, and/or horticultural services. In this role, you will provide excellent customer service to park visitors, address inquiries, and ensure a positive experience for all patrons.

Hours:

• Part-time employees work up to 30 hours per week.
• Some positions may work weekends, holidays, and evenings.

Job Summary

We are seeking a part-time Parks/Recreation Specialist to join our team. As a Parks/Recreation Specialist, you will be responsible for maintaining Park Board-controlled properties, providing excellent customer service, and ensuring a positive experience for all patrons.

Responsibilities and Duties

As a Parks/Recreation Specialist, your responsibilities and duties may include:

• Designing, installing, and maintaining horticultural displays
• Communicating closely with community representatives to plan displays and inform them of progress
• Maintenance and duties include driving a city pickup truck with a large water tank and operating a gas-powered pump to water
• Fertilizing, pruning, deadheading, weeding, replacing soil as needed, dividing plants, removing litter, and related tasks
• Responsible for working with a horticultural technician to assist with maintenance requirements
• Assist with all maintenance and planting tasks, including landscape bed preparation, mulching, weeding, pruning, planting various plant materials and removal, deadheading, trash pickup in beds, raking up debris, fertilizing and other chemical applications, and watering

Conservation and Land Management Technicians

We are also seeking Conservation and Land Management Technicians to join our team. As a Conservation and Land Management Technician, your responsibilities and duties may include:

• Wildlife Habitat and Forest Restoration
• Trail Management: inspection and maintenance of the trail system throughout the park system
• Invasive Plant Removal: using herbicide, a chain saw, weed whip, and/or machete to manage invasive shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plant materials
• Prairie & Meadow Management: Preparing and managing fields using herbicide and/or mechanical means; collecting native seed for propagation and use in new prairie installations
• Forest Management: Reforestation and landscape planting of native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous understory material; monitoring for emerging invasive species and other possible management issues
• Ecological Research: creation, set up, monitoring, and reporting on research projects related to ongoing and/or future research projects, including data entry in MS Excel and ArcGIS FieldMaps
• Volunteer Engagement: Serving as a site-leader for volunteer workdays on various land management and conservation-based projects related to the above

Urban Forestry Technicians

We are also seeking Urban Forestry Technicians to join our team. As an Urban Forestry Technician, your responsibilities and duties may include:

• Tree Care: help with brush chipping, roping down branches, and/or bucking up ground material, young tree pruning, watering, and fertilization
• Urban Forestry Management: Assist Urban Forestry Staff with tree inventories for the preparation of contracted preventive maintenance cycle; administrative work may include data entry in MS excel and/or ArcGIS
• Tree inventory: work alongside one of Park's certified arborists to collect tree data using Arc Collector

Requirements and Qualifications

To be considered for this position, you must:

• Be eighteen (18) years of age
• Have a high school graduate, and have a valid driver's license
• Have courses in the natural sciences, education or related area
• Have knowledge of local ecology, local culture, and natural history
• Have familiarity with various electronic software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., and social media platforms
• Have knowledge of or interest in parks and outdoor activities
• Have basic math skills
• Have knowledge of chain saw operation and herbicide application
• Have knowledge of mapping with ArcGIS applications to collect and compile data
• Have setup, monitoring, and reporting on research objectives
• Have knowledge of plant identification of native versus invasive plants and common tree species
• Be able to drive a pickup truck in city traffic
• Be willing to work different shifts, including weekends and holidays

Training Requirements

For some positions, employees must complete fifteen hours of training and/or pre-season orientation. Training topics may include, but are not limited to, CPR, First Aid, Back Safety, Fire Safety, Customer Service, Cultural Diversity, Sexual Harassment, Inclusion, and the Recreation Commissions Orientation for New and Returning Employees.

Benefits

The City of Cincinnati offers its employees competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefit package designed to actively attract and retain quality employees to add additional value to the City of Cincinnati's workforce. A summary of these benefits for full-time employment is listed below.

• Health Insurance: The City of Cincinnati 80/20 offers 3 medical plans to all full-time City of Cincinnati employees and eligible dependents
• Retirement Plan: The City provides a defined benefit pension plan for part-time and full-time employees
• Deferred Compensation: The City offers employees the ability to participate in a 457(b) tax-deferred retirement savings plan
• Flexible Benefits Plans: The City employees can participate in the Healthcare Flex Spending Account and Dependent Care Flex Spending Account
• Transportation Expense Reimbursement Account: The City employees can participate in a Transportation Expense Reimbursement Account
• Healthy Lifestyles Program: The City employees can voluntarily participate in a wellness incentive program
• Integrated Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA): This is a voluntary program that serves as an alternative healthcare option to traditional medical plans
• Basic Life Insurance: The City provides a $50,000 Basic Life Insurance policy for certain eligible employees
• Supplemental Life, Long Term Disability, Accident & Critical Illness Insurance: Most full-time City employees are eligible to participate in a supplemental life insurance program, a long term disability plan, and accident and critical illness insurance programs at their own expense

Equal Employment Opportunity

The City of Cincinnati is dedicated to providing equal employment without regard to race, gender, age, color, religion, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation or transgendered status, or ethnic, national or Appalachian origin, or on the basis of any other category protected under federal, state and local laws.

Holidays

The City of Cincinnati has 11 paid holidays annually that include:

• New Years Day
• Martin Luther King Day
• Presidents Day
• Memorial Day
• Juneteenth
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas

Contact Information

If you are interested in applying for this position, please contact the HR Contact indicated on the Job Posting.

Application Instructions

To apply for this position, please submit your application, including your resume and cover letter, to the City of Cincinnati's online application system.

Note

The City of Cincinnati is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from diverse candidates.