Natural Resource Specialist (3420) - SF Rec & Park

Application Opening: February 10, 2026
Application Deadline: February 24, 2026
Compensation: $87,750 - $106,782/ Annually

Analyst Contact: Shawnda McBeth at Shawnda.turner@sfgov.org

About Us
Amid a dynamic and ever-evolving urban landscape, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department stewards one of the premier urban park systems in America.  In 2017, San Francisco became the first city in the nation where all residents have access to a park within a 10-minute walk, a direct result of the Department’s commitment to increasing and improving parkland in the city Learn More. Considered by San Franciscans to be one of the City’s most popular and effective public agencies, our Department currently manages more than 230 parks, playgrounds and open spaces throughout San Francisco, including two outside city limits—Sharp Park in Pacifica and Camp Mather in the High Sierras. The system includes full-complex recreation centers, swimming pools, golf courses, sports fields and numerous small-to-medium-sized clubhouses that offer a variety of sports- and arts-related recreation programs for people of all ages.  Included in the Department’s responsibilities are Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, the Marina Yacht Harbor, the San Francisco Zoo and Lake Merced.

More than 2,000 talented individuals are part of our team, from gardeners, foresters, and recreation leaders to park rangers, custodians, electricians, painters and more. Our core mission, as it has been throughout our history, is to provide opportunities for San Francisco residents and visitors alike to gather, play, learn, relax, and enjoy nature in the city.

About The Natural Resources Division

The Natural Resources Division is a branch of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department (SFRPD) responsible for managing the city’s natural areas. Its mission is two-fold: to preserve, restore, and enhance remnant natural areas, and to develop and support community-based site stewardship of these areas. Some of our natural areas include Bayview Hill, Corona Heights, Glen Canyon, Grandview Park, John McLaren Park, Lake Merced, Mount Davidson and Twin Peaks. Learn more about our Natural Resources Division by visiting: https://sfrecpark.org/1395/Natural-Resources.

Under general supervision, the Natural Resource Specialist performs difficult and responsible field work to maintain, restore, protect and enhance natural resource areas, ecosystems, native plant communities and wildlife habitat from invasive species. The essential duties for this position include, but are not limited to:

1. Assesses, monitors, maintains, conserves and augments wildlife, native plant habitat, and biological diversity; implements habitat restoration, ecological restoration and wildlife enhancement projects; conserves intact ecosystems; and manages natural resources;
2. Determines plant composition for appropriate restoration of native ecosystems, wildlife habitat and rare and endangered species conservation;
3. Conducts, studies, inventories, surveys and monitors rare plant and animal populations, habitat health and diversity, and endangered species populations; and utilizes spatial database;
4. Practices methods and procedures to identify erosion of soils on steep slopes, addresses major and minor landslides and gullying in intact native ecosystems, and constructs and maintains trails;
5. Identifies local native plants in all stages of lifecycle and understands the nature habitat requirement for native species to correctly collect seed and restore habitat;
6. Identifies, monitors and controls invasive species in all life stages using Early Detection and Rapid Response techniques to minimize impacts on surrounding native plant communities;
7. Performs landscape cleanup and general maintenance activities, including litter removal, illegal dumping and encampment cleanup;
8. Collects seed and propagates hundreds of local native plant species for habitat restoration projects; and
9. Leads the work of volunteers, Public Service Aids (9910), Apprentice Gardeners (3410) and Gardeners (3417).

Nature of Work

The Natural Resource Specialist workload is mainly a field position with very little time spent indoors in an office setting. This position may be required to address emergencies outside of regular works schedule, including weekends and holidays.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

1. Two (2) years of professional experience in the conservation and management of natural ecosystems, native plant communities and wildlife habitat; AND
2. Possession of a valid California Driver’s License.

License and Certification

Employees will be required to obtain a Qualified Applicator’s Certificate (QAC) or a Qualified Applicator's License (QAL) from the State of California Department of Pesticide Regulation within twelve (12) months from date of hire.

Substitution

1. Completion of coursework in Biological Sciences, Natural Resource Management, AND Earth Science from an accredited college or university may substitute for up to eighteen (18) months of the required experience. Thirty (30) semester /forty-five (45) quarter units equals one (1) year.
2. Three (3) years of professional gardening experience may substitute for up to one (1) year of the required experience.

Verification of Education and Experience:
Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

SELECTION PROCEDURES

Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire (Weight: 100%): 

Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be provided via email, a Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire. Candidates will be evaluated on their relative knowledge, skill and ability levels in job-related areas. Candidates must achieve a passing score on the Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire in order to be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score. A passing score must be achieved in order to be included on the confidential eligible list. After the confidential eligible list is adopted, the department may administer additional selection procedures to make a final hiring decision.  

Eligible List/Score Report
A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals are resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission. 

Eligible List Duration

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of twelve (12) months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director. 

Certification Rule

The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Three Scores. Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Upon approval of the Human Resource Director (see Civil Service Rule 111A.26.5), the eligible list/score report resulting from this announcement may be used by other departments that also use this classification or a similar classification. To find other Departments which use this classification, please see https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2022-23.pdf

• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1 and Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this announcement and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date.

California Public Resources Code 5164: Candidates for positions with the Recreation and Park Department may be disqualified from consideration should their conviction history not meet the standards established under California Public Resources Code 5164. 

HR Analyst Contact:

If you have questions, please contact HR Analyst, Shawnda McBeth at shawnda.turner@sfgov.org .

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.