Job Details

Student Worker: Grounds Student Worker

Kansas - Olathe, KS

Job Summary

This position is to maintain, install, and care for the University grounds, in order to provide a campus outdoor environment that is safe, well-maintained and aesthetically pleasing.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Control turf overgrowth by weed eating around fixtures, borders, and other areas mowers do not reach.
• Daily operate a pick-up truck or golf-type work cart as transportation to and from assigned work areas on or off campus
• Perform regular maintenance of equipment used.
• Flower and landscape bed maintenance includes soil preparation, planting, watering, fertilization, hand weeding, trimming, renovations, mulching and edging.
• Assist with the Athletic fields as needed.
• Shovel or sweep snow and ice from walkways and drives on and off campus.
• Salting and sanding of sidewalks and entryways on and off campus.
• Perform all duties in a safe and professional manner
• Cooperate with others in and outside of the grounds department, including staff, students, faculty, administrators, and visitors.
• Ability to work in a flexible work environment. May require interruptions from tasks to assist others in and outside the grounds department which may involve duties other than grounds keeping. May include but not limited to; furniture moving, room setup, and deliveries.
• Assist in greenhouse plant production or maintenance as needed.
• Provide tree care assistance; planting, pruning, limb pick up, chipping, mulching, and leaf collection as needed.
• Perform rounds for trash pickup and receptacles.
• Sweep up dirt or debris on walks, trash collection areas, shop areas, and lots assigned.
• Keep work areas and equipment clean for optimum operation and safety.
• Perform other responsibilities, including assisting with special events, moving, group effort duties with other departments as assigned.

Qualifications

Qualifications Required:

• Knowledge of and ability to use different hand tools such as shovels, rakes, saws, pruners, hoses, wrenches, hammer, pliers, brooms, drills.
• Be available for on-call duties in winter season, to work overtime hours early or late and sometimes weekend hours may be required for snow and ice removal.

Skills Required:

• Reasoning Ability: ability to apply common sense to carrying out detailed work and in problem solving throughout daily tasks or equipment operation.
• Language Skills: Ability to read, write, and follow directions from a written schedule, interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance manuals and instructions in English. Must possess good oral and written communication skills and be able to follow oral and written instructions. Ability to express ideas effectively and concisely.

Standards:

• Clean work areas are to be maintained for neatness, safety and consideration of others.
• Understanding of and commitment to the Spiritual mission of MidAmerica Nazarene University.
• Ability to be trained in any of the categories of horticulture, gardening, turf, equipment operation, and safety.
• Adhere to dress code of grounds department given by supervisor.
• Carry a phone to maintain contact with Facility Services personnel to report or receive direction and as a means of safety or emergency contact.
• Courtesy is to be given to all others on or off campus at all times while representing the University.

Physical Demands:

• To be able to regularly lift various bagged grounds-keeping materials, that may exceed 50 pounds.
• Must not have allergies that interfere with working outdoors such as fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, plant life, pollens, etc.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, or sit. A grounds worker must be able to carry hand-held power equipment for extended periods of time.
• Ability to perform duties and responsibilities that normally require special physical effort including climbing in and out of trenches, bending, twisting, stooping, kneeling, crawling, stretching, lifting, pushing, and pulling.

Work Environment:

• Expected to work outside in all types of weather.
• The noise level is usually loud, mainly with equipment use.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently wet and/or in humid conditions, moving mechanical parts, and outside weather conditions including extreme heat and cold. The grounds worker is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles.