Natural Scientist

Pay Range: $57,677 - $74,980 annual salary

Job Posting Closing on: Thursday, December 1, 2023

 The City of Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing large cities in the U.S. Our employees serve the needs of nearly 1,000,000 residents, promoting our values of exceptional customer experience, mutual respect, embracing our diversity, continuous improvement, ethical behavior, and accountability.

A Natural Scientist job is available with the City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department in the Forestry Section. The Park & Recreation Department is comprised of more than 12,000 acres of parkland and includes 300 park and recreation facilities. From hike and bike trails to fitness centers, the Park & Recreation Department is a vital part of Fort Worth, Texas and is an exciting and fulfilling place to work.

The primary role of this Natural Scientist position will be to coordinate and manage the utilization of the Forestry Section’s tree removal and pruning contractors. The selected candidate will regularly communicate with vendors, issue any work needed, check to ensure work is performed according to established standards, and coordinate monthly billing and payment of invoices. This position will also serve on a rotational basis as the emergency contact for after-hours and emergency activation.

Minimum Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in a natural or physical science, including biology, geology, botany, range management, environmental science, forestry, or a related field
• One year of experience working in a natural science field providing group instruction and/or developing and implementing natural resource management plans
• Valid Texas driver's license

Preferred Qualifications:

• International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist.
• Knowledge and experience with local trees and proper tree care.
• Experience in reconciling invoices and preparing purchase orders.
• Experience in developing and maintaining spreadsheets, analyzing data and preparing reports.
• Experience in drafting and managing contracts.

The Natural Scientist job responsibilities include:

• Verify work performed is in compliance with industry standards, contract specifications and service request instructions.
• Communicate inadequacies to contractor and reinspect for compliance after rework.
• Coordinate monthly invoices and rectify against contracted rates and service request priority surcharges.
• Arrange payment of invoices within accepted timeframe.
• Track and forecast expenditures to remain within budget and purchasing agreement thresholds.
• Create reports to demonstrate spending trends and statistics for forecasting and planning purposes.
• Weekly communication with each vendor to keep informed of progress, work load, response time and resolve any issues.
• Resolve citizen inquiries and ensure any damaged property is restored by the responsible contractor.
• Management of special projects utilizing approved contractors such as the Neighborhood Improvement Strategy or budget decision packages.
• Serve as Forestry’s on-call contact for after-hours or weekend activation (occurs for one week per month).
• Assist Hazard Abatement with preliminary on-site inspection of service requests.
• Periodic review and revision of contract specifications for potential updates to ensure results meet expectation and to keep up with technology and innovation.
• Pursue renewals as needed, monitor for vendor permitting requirements (e.g., street use permit, etc.) and initiate communication for rebid process.

Working Conditions

•  Depending on assignment, positions in this class typically require touching, talking, hearing, seeing, grasping, standing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, walking, repetitive motions, climbing, balancing, pushing, pulling and lifting.

Physical Demand

• Medium work – Depending on assignment, positions in this class typically exert up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, up to 20 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 20 pounds of force constantly having to move objects