Parks Labourer 2 - Biodiversity

About Red Deer: 

Red Deer sits at the heart of Central Alberta along the QEII corridor, perfectly positioned between Calgary and Edmonton. With more than 100,000 residents and a regional reach of over 300,000, it’s a growing hub for business, services, and opportunity.

Here, big-city amenities meet small-city ease. Enjoy abundant parks and trails, vibrant arts and culture, excellent recreation and education, and a strong sense of community.

With easy access to lakes, outdoor adventures, and the mountains, plus a thriving economy and high quality of life, Red Deer is an inviting place to live, work, and grow.

About The City of Red Deer Municipal Government

The City of Red Deer is a dynamic municipal organization with a $480M operating budget, a $60M capital program, and a workforce of nearly 1,700 employees. It is focused on growing with purpose by attracting talented, community-minded people who want to make a difference.

Guided by the vision “Our City, One Voice,” Red Deer is building a thriving, inclusive, and connected community, with priorities centered on a vibrant economy, community wellbeing, and strong engagement.

At its core, the City values its people, embracing diverse perspectives and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and shared success

The Opportunity

The City of Red Deer is currently recruiting to fill three (3) full-time temporary positions for a Parks Labourer 2. This position performs a variety of labour, construction, horticultural, snow and ice control, and fleet and equipment maintenance duties in support of the City of Red Deer Parks system as directed. The role requires the operation of motorized equipment as needed and ensures all work is completed in accordance with City Design Guidelines, Contract Specifications, and applicable industry standards using best practice landscape and horticultural techniques. The Parks Labourer 2 also maintains and participates in programs related to tree maintenance and planting, urban forestry, urban encampment and biohazard control, as well as ecological and environmental services. Work is expected in the urban forest completing wildfire mitigation work that includes hand sawing, chain sawing, processing trees through a chipper and manual labor removing brush and trees from forested areas during all weather conditions. Preference will be given to candidates that hold experience in forestry, chainsaw activity using best arboriculture practice in ecologically sensitive areas.

Top Key Responsibilities

• Parks Operations - Provide guidance and training to Parks Labourers in routine and specialized tasks, including safe work practices. Perform wildfire mitigation and fuel management activities within the urban forests in all weather conditions including but not limited to selective thinning, pruning, brush and deadfall removal, ladder-fuel reduction, and hazardous tree removal, apply appropriate arboricultural practices when pruning, removing, or maintaining trees and woody vegetation, operate chainsaws for tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, and processing of woody material, operate wood chippers and other equipment in accordance with safe operating procedures, perform manual labour involving the removal, movement, processing, and disposal of brush, logs, branches, garbage, and other materials, identify and manage hazards related to trees, terrain, weather, utilities, equipment, wildlife, and public-use areas, work safely in ecologically sensitive areas while minimizing environmental impacts, support ecological restoration, reclamation, vegetation planting, and rehabilitation activities and other operational programs, and support specialized services such as biohazard control as required.

• Fleet and Equipment - Safely operate fleet vehicles, equipment, and tools in compliance with operating procedures, safe work practices, and legislation. Conduct pre-use checks, routine inspections, and minor maintenance; adjust attachments as required. Monitor equipment condition, participate in scheduled maintenance, and recommend repair, replacement, or disposal. Provide equipment operation training and sign-off for team members.

• Leadership - Support operational efficiency by recommending cost-saving initiatives and improved work practices. Report staff performance issues, challenges, and successes to the Foreperson. Model and uphold RISE principles within the team.

• Communication and Public Relations - Communicate clearly and courteously with the public, contractors, suppliers, and internal City departments. Provide information on planned or active worksites and adjust operations to minimize community impacts. Assist with de-escalation of challenging or heightened interactions.

• Purchasing and Administration - Order, receive, and distribute parts and supplies using correct business units, work orders, and fleet units. Complete time entry, purchase orders, credit card transactions, and submit required documentation. Coordinate pickup and delivery of materials to worksites and parks facilities.

As our preferred candidate, you will have

• Grade 10 combined with a minimum of 1-1/2 years' related experience in wildfire mitigation, forestry, arboriculture, chainsaw activity, vegetation management or other parks related activities.

• Valid Alberta Class 5 Driver's License, air brake “Q” endorsement will be considered an asset.
  Standard First Aid course.

• Demonstrated experience with pruning and chainsaw operations, including limbing, bucking, and removal.

• Demonstrated the understanding and experience with applying best arboricultural practices when working with trees and woody vegetation.

• Experience working with chainsaws and other forestry equipment in ecologically sensitive areas is considered an asset.

• Knowledge of wildfire mitigation principles, fuel reduction, hazardous tree identification, vegetation management, and urban forest practices is considered an asset.

• Ability to safely operate and complete routine maintenance on chainsaws, chippers, vehicles, other equipment and tools used within Parks operations.

• Ability to work outside in all types of weather conditions and in challenging terrain and forested environments.

• Ability to exert continuous physical effort and work in fatiguing positions.

• Ability to exercise care and to follow all safety policies and procedures, particularly in high public-use areas.

• Knowledge and experience in working with Parks and Public Works procedures and City policies, or equivalent.

• Basic understanding of design guidelines, contract specifications and other applicable industry standards.

• Experience mentoring staff and working as a team.

• Ability to understand, follow and provide instructions.

• Ability to use computers, electronic devices and tablets for email, time entry and daily work and safety documents.

• Hold self to RISE principles and 9 Core Competencies.

Affiliation:  

Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 417 

Status:   

Temporary Full-Time

Remuneration:  

$30.97 to $32.79 per hour 

Hours of Work:  

80 hours biweekly; Monday to Friday, some evening and weekend work may be required.

Additional Information

This is a term position with an anticipated end date of March 27, 2027.

More than one position will be filled from this posting. 

The City of Red Deer does not permit the use of unauthorized internet resources or Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools  (for example, Copilot, ChatGPT or any other form of AI) during interviews or any supervised or timed assessments.  Any violation may be investigated and result in serious consequences, including the rejection of your application.

We thank you for your application. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.