Director Of Grounds & Head Groundskeeper

This is a Full Time Job

Department: Ballpark Operation

Job Title: Director of Grounds & Head Grounds Keeper

Reports To: VP of Ballpark Operation

FLSA: Salary Exempt

Great American Ballpark, the home of the Cincinnati Reds, is a 45,000 seat venue that hosts all of the Reds home games, special events and concerts. The playing field is natural bluegrass that requires year-around upkeep and maintenance. The ballpark also hosts a variety of greenery around the perimeter that is also cared for by the Grounds Crew as well as being responsible for snow and ice removal around the facility.

The Ground Crew oversees the field maintenance at the Reds Youth Academy in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Roselawn. This complex hosts indoor and outdoor fields that require upkeep, which is handled by a member of the Ground Crew that is assigned to the Academy on a full-time basis. Additional assistance, when needed, comes from the Grounds Crew at Great American Ballpark.

The selected candidate will be responsible for the strategic direction and performance of the all of the aforementioned operations, in compliance with internal expectations, Major League Baseball standards and other industry and regulatory directives. This includes the selection, training, evaluation, and development of both full-time and seasonal personnel. This is a director level position, sitting on the Vice President's senior leadership team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
• Ensure that the playing fields of Great American Ballpark and the Reds Youth Academy meets or exceeds all applicable standards.
• Coordinate field use for non-baseball events, including large concerts
• Upkeep of the turf, trees and shrubs around Great American Ballpark in a way that reflects a welcoming environment
• Supervise, schedule, and train grounds crew.
• Record maintenance of chemical applications
• Able to work rotating 24 hour shifts to remove snow and ice from the ballpark property
• Willingness to work special events independently and make decisions that affect field conditions
• Speak to outside groups about daily operations at the Ball Park

Experience, Education and Licensure:
• Bachelor's degree in Turf Management, Horticulture or Plant Science required
• Minimum of 3 to 5 years of progressive experience in a natural turf maintenance setting preferably in a Major or Minor League Baseball environment
• Employee is required to have three to five years' experience operating and maintaining an irrigation system including valve and head maintenance
• Employee must have, or be able to quickly acquire, Ohio Applicators License test with category 8 endorsement and Ohio Driver's License
• Demonstrated experience in successfully managing both full and part-time staff, ensuring that the staff members meet expectations and comply with organizational policies and behavior
• Successful history of fiscal management
• Willingness and ability to manage the field needs for both MLB games and special events including concerts, corporate activations and parties
• Ability to interweave the field operations with the mission, goals and needs of the entire organization, ensuring that there is ample communication and constructive feedback.
• History of being able to successfully collaborate with stakeholders and partners to achieve initiatives and needs of business and baseball operations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Develop appropriate systems to direct, coordinate, and supervise all functions and activities of the Grounds Crew including planning, assigning, monitoring, and supervising and overall responsibility for the work of departmental personnel.
• Responsible for developing work plans and measuring overall departmental performance and goal attainment
• Prepare, manage and evaluate resources and budgets for the department.
• Establish operations, tracking systems, assign work, and evaluate appropriately
• Ensure all preventative maintenance tasks are completed in a timely manner including task scheduling, tracking and recording/filing proper documentation.
• Develop and coordinate all training for the department.
• Regularly inspect areas of responsibility to ensure that the areas are in acceptable condition.
• Assure compliance with all applicable code, safety, and environmental health requirements.
• Lead the department in professional manner by the development of programs and opportunities to increase skills, knowledge base, awareness, and competencies.
• Build effective and productive relationships with staff, visitors, and outside partners.
• Effectively work with other employees and contractors using excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Good customer service skills in responding to requests and in dealing with patrons.

Requirements:
• The employee must be physically capable of moving about the Great American Ball Park facility including construction work sites and under adverse field and weather conditions.
• Employee must have the ability to work 24 hour rotating shifts to clear snow and ice from ballpark property.

Tools and Equipment Used:
• Sprinkler and irrigation systems, tractor, lawn mower, sweeper, blower and injection equipment, hand tools, parking lot sweepers, snow blowers, electronic distance measuring devices, motor vehicles, phone, and mobile radio

Physical Demands:
• The employee must be willing to work long hours and a variable schedule including weekends and holidays especially during MLB season.
• They must be able to lift up to 50 pounds and be able to stand and walk for long periods of time.
• The physical demands described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Expectations:
• Adhere to Cincinnati Reds Organization Policies and Procedures
• Act as a role model within and outside the Cincinnati Reds Organization
• Performs duties as workload necessitates
• Demonstrate flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize workload
• Meet Department productivity standards

Work Environment:
• Work is performed in outdoor settings.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee often works in outside weather conditions.
• The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places
• The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.

Disclaimer:

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by the employee in this position. The above description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, and duties. Additional duties, as assigned, may become part of the job function. The duties listed above is, therefore, a partial representation not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of a person in this position.

An Equal Opportunity Employer