Employment Opportunities

Field Crew Technician

Job Description/Application Instructions

Friends of Trees and Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, a nonprofit dedicated to the education and employment training of young adults, are partnering with support from the Portland Development Commission and Work Systems, Inc. to hire and manage a weekday field crew that will plant trees in eligible Urban Renewal Areas in Portland along Portland’s Multi-Use Path from January 2010 through early April 2010.

Skills Needed:

The Field Crew Technician (FCT) will be part of a team of five other FCTs installing trees and shrubs, mulching and watering newly installed plants, and potentially helping direct volunteers.

Field Crew Technicians will work outside in varying weather conditions, in potentially challenging terrain for multiple hours. FCTs will be provided all the training, tools, and rain gear required for this position. This is a job training program ideal for motivated individuals wanting practical, hands-on work experience and training in a natural resources, horticulture, or landscaping field.

This is a part-time, temporary position reporting to Friends of Trees Green Spaces Manager and Field Crew Supervisor. There will be six to seven weeks of work, approximately 24 hours a week, starting in January and ending by the first week of April. The exact schedule will be determined in early January.

Requirements:

Successful FCT applicants should be available Monday through Friday from January through early April, have the ability to receive instructions and directions in English, have a positive attitude and the ability to work with a diverse group of fellow program participants, enjoy working outdoors, and have the ability to lift and carry up to 60 pounds on uneven terrain.

Past planting or other horticultural experience and a valid drivers license are a plus but not a requirement. All participants will be trained in plant ID, proper installation, and safety.

Compensation will include an hourly wage of $8.40 per hour and all FCT’s will receive a set of rain gear and work boots to keep.

This position is funded by the Portland Development Commission, which requires participants to meet the following guidelines: Age 18-24 and low-income.

Contact Information for applications:

Leigh Rappaport-Program Manager
Portland OIC
717 N Killingsworth Ct
Portland, OR 97217
503-797-7224
lrappaport@poicrahs.org

Friends of Trees brings people in the Portland-Vancouver metro area together to plant and care for city trees and green spaces. Through our Neighborhood Trees program, homeowners buy discounted trees to plant with their neighbors at weekend plantings. Through our Green Space Initiative, trained crew leaders guide volunteers at weekend events to restore natural areas and green spaces between freeways and neighborhoods. Since 1989, we have planted more than 375,000 trees and native plants.

Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (Portland OIC) reconnects at-risk youth affected by poverty, family instability and homelessness with high school education and work training programs underwritten by a "holistic system of care" to provide the personal and emotional support necessary to engage in school and training to the age of 25.