City and County of San Francisco
Urban Forestry Inspector - Operations - Public Works (161423) (EXEMPT)
City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, 94199
Urban Forestry Inspector - Operations - Public Works (161423) (EXEMPT)
Join to apply for the
Urban Forestry Inspector – Operations – Public Works (161423) (EXEMPT)
role at
City and County of San Francisco .
Application Opening: Thursday, November 6th, 2025.
Application Deadline: Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as this recruitment may close at any time, but no earlier than Friday, November 14th, 2025.
Compensation Range: $93,392 to $113,516 annually.
Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX), Category 18. This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer and shall not exceed 36 months.
San Francisco Public Works has a far-reaching portfolio with a $453 million annual operating budget, an active capital portfolio that exceeds $3 billion, and a workforce of 1,700-plus employees. The department operates around the clock, touching every neighborhood in San Francisco. The staff designs and manages the construction of civic buildings and streets; cleans and greens the right of way; maintains civic buildings; manages multi‑million‑dollar bond programs; trains people for jobs; keeps the right of way free of hazards; paves the roads; repairs bridges and public stairways; expands accessibility; and works at the forefront addressing some of San Francisco’s biggest challenges. With a mission to enhance the quality of life in San Francisco for residents, visitors and business owners, Public Works is committed to providing outstanding public service through an equity lens.
Please visit the “About Us” section of our website at https://www.sfpublicworks.org/about to learn more about the department’s core values, Racial Equity Initiative, leadership team, history, budget and more.
Public Works currently has a vacancy for the position of Urban Forestry Inspector (3435) within our operations division.
Job Description Under general supervision, as an Urban Forestry Inspector, you will be responsible for tree planting site inspection work related to the USDA Forest Service’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Tree Planting Grant for San Francisco Public Works.
The Urban Forestry Inspector will canvass potential street tree planting sites that have not yet been created in the sidewalk, identify missing or vacant tree basins/tree wells, refer to specific grant‑funded areas of different neighborhoods, mark sites physically with spray paint for utilities inspections, re‑inspect to confirm if site meets City tree planting guidelines and interact with a high volume of customers in the public right‑of‑way during this process. Duties may also include using safety equipment, a hand saw or operating a power saw or chain saw to remove limbs, stacking, chipping and loading brush in preparation for disposal. Driving vehicles and performing related duties as required.
This position requires working collaboratively as a team, with team contributions playing a vital role in delivering exceptional customer service and performing effectively to meet critical timelines.
The Project The San Francisco Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry (BUF) will plant and establish thirty‑five hundred (3,500) trees in equity‑priority neighborhoods with community partners, to expand tree canopy while creating workforce development opportunities.
Important and Essential Duties
Make tree species planting recommendations based on San Francisco site conditions and micro‑climates, in consultation with other Urban Forestry Inspectors and the Urban Forester.
Pre‑inspect vacant tree planting sites, marking existing planting sites and new potential cut sites so that they can be marked by Underground Service Alert (USA) to rule out any below‑ground conflicts. After USA has made their markings, return to all sites to confirm if plantable.
Document site‑by‑site findings in the City’s Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), to help track progress towards overall planting goals. This includes record keeping within each tree/site asset, taking photos, adding site notes and customer feedback to records.
Meet customers on site to review proposed planting sites and answer questions about the goal of our tree planting grant, and the Department’s Urban Forest Plan.
Work with the Public Works Contract Administration and Grants teams to share progress, work closely with other Urban Forestry Inspectors in the Bureau who will also be assisting with related grant coordination efforts.
Deal with emergency tree situations.
Working Conditions Positions in this job code may engage in some activity that requires physical demands and manual dexterity with exposure to inclement weather and other arduous and disagreeable working conditions.
Qualifications Minimum Qualifications Experience: Three (3) years of verifiable experience in tree planting and maintenance activity, inspecting and evaluating trees; writing reports and making presentation. Experience pruning trees alone is not qualifying experience.
Training: Possession of Arborist Certification through the International Society of Arboriculture or ability to obtain certification within 18 months of appointment.
License: Possession of a valid Class C Driver’s License.
Substitution: College‑level coursework equivalent to two years (60 units) in arboriculture, urban forestry or horticulture may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience.
Condition of Employment: Valid Driver’s License – Applicants must possess a valid Class C driver’s license with no restrictions that would prohibit them from legally performing the essential functions and duties of the role.
Desirable Qualifications
Experience using electronic tree management tools (proprietary or open‑source tools)
Experience producing reports and/or maintaining records of one or more of the following categories: tree risk assessment, tree program budget, work records, tree inventories, work order requests, and program metrics.
Equal Employment Opportunity The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.
Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.
If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Raquel Knighten, at raquel.knighten@sfdpw.org.
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Urban Forestry Inspector – Operations – Public Works (161423) (EXEMPT)
role at
City and County of San Francisco .
Application Opening: Thursday, November 6th, 2025.
Application Deadline: Applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as this recruitment may close at any time, but no earlier than Friday, November 14th, 2025.
Compensation Range: $93,392 to $113,516 annually.
Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX), Category 18. This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer and shall not exceed 36 months.
San Francisco Public Works has a far-reaching portfolio with a $453 million annual operating budget, an active capital portfolio that exceeds $3 billion, and a workforce of 1,700-plus employees. The department operates around the clock, touching every neighborhood in San Francisco. The staff designs and manages the construction of civic buildings and streets; cleans and greens the right of way; maintains civic buildings; manages multi‑million‑dollar bond programs; trains people for jobs; keeps the right of way free of hazards; paves the roads; repairs bridges and public stairways; expands accessibility; and works at the forefront addressing some of San Francisco’s biggest challenges. With a mission to enhance the quality of life in San Francisco for residents, visitors and business owners, Public Works is committed to providing outstanding public service through an equity lens.
Please visit the “About Us” section of our website at https://www.sfpublicworks.org/about to learn more about the department’s core values, Racial Equity Initiative, leadership team, history, budget and more.
Public Works currently has a vacancy for the position of Urban Forestry Inspector (3435) within our operations division.
Job Description Under general supervision, as an Urban Forestry Inspector, you will be responsible for tree planting site inspection work related to the USDA Forest Service’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Tree Planting Grant for San Francisco Public Works.
The Urban Forestry Inspector will canvass potential street tree planting sites that have not yet been created in the sidewalk, identify missing or vacant tree basins/tree wells, refer to specific grant‑funded areas of different neighborhoods, mark sites physically with spray paint for utilities inspections, re‑inspect to confirm if site meets City tree planting guidelines and interact with a high volume of customers in the public right‑of‑way during this process. Duties may also include using safety equipment, a hand saw or operating a power saw or chain saw to remove limbs, stacking, chipping and loading brush in preparation for disposal. Driving vehicles and performing related duties as required.
This position requires working collaboratively as a team, with team contributions playing a vital role in delivering exceptional customer service and performing effectively to meet critical timelines.
The Project The San Francisco Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry (BUF) will plant and establish thirty‑five hundred (3,500) trees in equity‑priority neighborhoods with community partners, to expand tree canopy while creating workforce development opportunities.
Important and Essential Duties
Make tree species planting recommendations based on San Francisco site conditions and micro‑climates, in consultation with other Urban Forestry Inspectors and the Urban Forester.
Pre‑inspect vacant tree planting sites, marking existing planting sites and new potential cut sites so that they can be marked by Underground Service Alert (USA) to rule out any below‑ground conflicts. After USA has made their markings, return to all sites to confirm if plantable.
Document site‑by‑site findings in the City’s Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), to help track progress towards overall planting goals. This includes record keeping within each tree/site asset, taking photos, adding site notes and customer feedback to records.
Meet customers on site to review proposed planting sites and answer questions about the goal of our tree planting grant, and the Department’s Urban Forest Plan.
Work with the Public Works Contract Administration and Grants teams to share progress, work closely with other Urban Forestry Inspectors in the Bureau who will also be assisting with related grant coordination efforts.
Deal with emergency tree situations.
Working Conditions Positions in this job code may engage in some activity that requires physical demands and manual dexterity with exposure to inclement weather and other arduous and disagreeable working conditions.
Qualifications Minimum Qualifications Experience: Three (3) years of verifiable experience in tree planting and maintenance activity, inspecting and evaluating trees; writing reports and making presentation. Experience pruning trees alone is not qualifying experience.
Training: Possession of Arborist Certification through the International Society of Arboriculture or ability to obtain certification within 18 months of appointment.
License: Possession of a valid Class C Driver’s License.
Substitution: College‑level coursework equivalent to two years (60 units) in arboriculture, urban forestry or horticulture may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience.
Condition of Employment: Valid Driver’s License – Applicants must possess a valid Class C driver’s license with no restrictions that would prohibit them from legally performing the essential functions and duties of the role.
Desirable Qualifications
Experience using electronic tree management tools (proprietary or open‑source tools)
Experience producing reports and/or maintaining records of one or more of the following categories: tree risk assessment, tree program budget, work records, tree inventories, work order requests, and program metrics.
Equal Employment Opportunity The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.
Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.
If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Raquel Knighten, at raquel.knighten@sfdpw.org.
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