Supervising Utility Arborist

Position: Supervising Utility Arborist
Location: Various – Sacramento, Redding, San Francisco Bay Area, LA, Bakersfield, Ontario, Pasadena, Irvine, Ventura, Fresno, based on client requirements.

Orion Managed Services, LLC is hiring Supervising Utility Arborists. This is a full-time, hourly, term position for a twelve to 36-month assignment. Some overtime and weekend work may be required. Qualified individuals (candidates) will possess International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) arborist certifications and will have a minimum 5 years of prior tree crew supervisory experience, ideally for utility vegetation management. Candidates will have strong competency doing arboriculture work in and around high-voltage utility lines and be competent to supervise crew members who are responsible for pre-inspection of electric system rights-of-ways to determine vegetation management and clearance requirements for encroaching vegetation and hazard trees. Candidates shall have at least 3-years of experience working in utility vegetation management. Ideal candidates will also possess ISA arborist certificates as Utility Specialists and/or be certified as Master Arborists. Certificates as climbing specialists and aerial lift specialists are a plus.

Supervising utility arborists will oversee 5 to ten field arborists that will be responsible to assess vegetation encroachment and hazard trees within utility rights-of-ways. Working knowledge of stand-off distances (i.e., Minimum Violation Clearance Distances) for electric transmission and distribution power lines is a prerequisite. Supervising Utility arborists will document variances in accordance with utility standards and procedures and ensure data quality, accuracy, completeness, consistency, and daily production rates of their crews. Supervising Utility arborists will also be responsible to ensure their crews properly identify and document hazard trees both within and outside utility rights-of-ways. Candidates will identify crew data errors and deviations from utility standards and will identify corrective measures and train and coach their crews to meet a 98-percent accuracy rate for assessing vegetation management needs against utility standards.

A critical component of the supervising utility arborists position is to ensure that their assigned crew members are effective at outreach to utility customers for requests for access to private property. Supervising utility arborists will also ensure timely and effective follow-ups and ensure that customer experiences are positive. Supervising utility arborists will coach their crews for effectiveness with customers and will also intervene to resolve customer concerns. Hazard trees will be assessed against utility standards and in accordance with utility procedures. Strong candidates will display good written and verbal communication skills.

Requirements:

• Current ISA Arborist Certificate
• Driver’s license
• Experience driving off-road and with 4-wheel drive vehicles
• Ability to work outdoors in inclement weather and to hike and walk over rough terrain in mountainous areas
• At least 5-years prior experience supervising tree crews
• At least 3 years prior experience working on utility rights-of-ways
• Competence with laptops, tablets, smartphones, and Microsoft Office.
• Ability to use utility prescribed vegetation management software, including utility proprietary mobile tree assessment platforms, Fulcrum, Arbora, or equivalent field data collection software.
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to resolve problems and to work with staff and utility customers effectively.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to pass a preemployment background check and drug screening
• Ability to relocate to assigned geography for at least 12 months
• Ability to travel
• Ability to work over-time and occasionally to work weekends

Desired:

• Current ISA Utility Specialist Certificate
• Current ISA Master Arborist Certificate
• Certified Tree Worker Climber Specialist Certificate
• Certified Tree Worker Aerial Lift Specialist
• Certified Safety specialist
• Current First Aid and CPR certificate
• 4-year degree in Silviculture, forestry, horticulture, botany or equivalent
• Current ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification

Next Steps: Please send resume and cover letter to info@orionmsgroup.com. You must include “Open Position: Supervising Utility Arborist” in the subject line.