What are the responsibilities and job description for the Driver-Loader/ Nursery Worker position at El Nativo Growers?
Nursery Worker/Driver
El Nativo Growers is looking for a dynamic and flexible nursery worker who can also load/unload orders and drive the company trucks for deliveries. The position offers the opportunity to learn about plants and the nursery industry, to get variety day to day, and to work outdoors for long periods of time.
Location: Azusa, CA (near the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area).
Hours: Monday through Friday. Typically, 7:00am to 3:30pm. Some Saturdays 7am to noon.
Pay Rate: Entry Level (hourly minimum wage or higher depending on experience).
Job Responsibilities:
- Maintenance - care for and move plants around the nursery.
- Production - transplant plants to a variety of larger containers.
- Order pulling - pull orders for customers
- Loader/Driver - when needed, load trucks and deliver plants to customer sites or move materials between company locations (Azusa & Riverside).
Day to Day Tasks:
- Keep plants growing and healthy. Water, prune, remove weeds, etc.
- Process customer orders, moving plants from the growing areas to the loading dock.
- Load and unload plant material by hand.
- Deliver and pick up orders in the company's 24-foot box trucks.
- Make same day deliveries as far south as San Diego and as far north as Santa Barbara.
- Move plant material in and between growing grounds.
- Complete safety checks on trucks.
Experience, Skills, and Qualities needed for Success:
- Bilingual (Spanish-English) required. Co-workers typically converse in Spanish. Basic English and basic Spanish spoken during deliveries with customers.
- Flexible and dynamic as job responsibilities may vary daily.
- Plant Lover. Experience with California native plants, Mediterranean climate plants, succulents, and ornamental grasses is preferred but not required.
- Physical ability to lift 50 pounds and sit, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl repeatedly and for long periods.
- Able to do very physical work requiring a lot of bending and lifting in outdoor conditions (heat/cold, etc.), including highly repetitive tasks.
- Complete finely detailed work by hand.
- Driver. Have a valid CA Class C driver’s license with a minimum of 3 years driving experience of any kind. No DUI's or significant tickets on record. Provide DMV printout dated within last 30 days. Experience driving a manual (stick) transmission. Comfortable operating a 24 foot closed box (bobtail) truck .
- Able to follow directions, both verbal and written. Able to read maps, use phone based GPS (company provided), and have a good sense of direction.
Work Clothes
Company provides tools. Employee provides long sturdy pants and work boots (must cover the ankle, steel toe are not necessary). Work gloves are optional (employee provided).
Note: an experienced applicant with a background in horticulture, native plant production, or related fields may be eligible for a higher level position and/or wage within the company.
About El Nativo Growers
For over 25 years, El Nativo Growers has worked to beautify Southern California’s natural and urban landscapes using an extensive pallet of regionally appropriate plants.
El Nativo Growers services all facets of the wholesale industry - landscape contractors, designers, architects, retail nurseries, municipalities, revegetation organizations, brokers, consultants, and other wholesale nurseries. Our owners and staff take pride in providing timely, expert, and honest service.
El Nativo Growers specializes in high quality plants from California, Australia and other Mediterranean climates that thrive in the Southern California environment. Our species list consists of unusual, hard to find, and standard stock material, the majority of which are drought tolerant.