Per CCR 249.3, this job control may be used to fill subsequent vacancies.
Under the close supervision of the Agriculture Program Supervisor III, the incumbent will perform full range of field and office support duties, for various fruit fly delimitation programs, maintain fruit fly trapping routes, inspect traps for agricultural pest and conduct eradication treatment and perform various insect/disease surveys for targeted pests. These activities include working independently and in cooperation with other staff.
The incumbent must be able to establish working relationships with those contacted during work and work well under pressure while completing assigned work and meeting required deadlines.
- Perform full range of field and office support duties, deploy and service traps, perform visual surveys, airplane inspections, or apply control measures for target pests such as but not limited to various fruit flies, plant diseases, Asian citrus psyllid, Japanese beetle, European grapevine moth, and spongy moth.
- Plan, organize and maintain daily trapping routes, visual surveys, or treatment programs and monitor outside vendors to ensure compliance with Department policies and procedures, and State laws, rules, and regulations; enforce and implement new procedures or processes with seasonal employees, when necessary.
- Work with field staff in solving technical problems such as equipment breakdowns and trap deployment, using effective communication skills.
- Assemble equipment and mix chemicals using the appropriate protocols; assure that the Department is in compliance of all pesticide rules and regulations.
- Follow established protocols for visual survey, eradication, and detection/delimitation trapping.
- Service various insect traps, perform visual surveys and insect sweeps, visually inspect for target pest damage on local plant hosts, clean and assemble seasonal traps, build traps for other emergency projects as needed and conduct eradication treatments (mixing and application of spray materials).
- Collect, process, and package suspect plant and insect samples that are removed from foliage using various insect/plant collection tools and inspected for target pests.
- Ability to read maps to navigate to multiple locations when performing field activities.
- Ability to draw maps to show exact geographic locations by using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to show the coordinates, longitude, and latitude.
- Complete a Pest Damage Record (PDR) for samples and packaging of samples for submission to the Plant Pest Diagnostics Center for Identification.
- Screen wet and dry traps for target pests (plant and insect).
- Examine content of traps, which may contain hundreds of plant samples, insects and debris to make preliminary identifications of specimens, which resemble target pests.
- Once a suspect target pest is preliminarily identified, prescribed action is taken, which may include phone contact and/or return of the suspect target pest to the field office for official identification.
- Keep daily reports of work completed, i.e. number of traps serviced, properties treated, acreage surveyed, samples collected, and other topics as needed.
- Document hours worked on various programs and provide to supervisor or lead at the end of each day.
- Submit daily work summaries to supervisor or lead at the end of the day or when requested for reporting purposes.
- Interact with public, Agricultural Commissioner’s office, USDA, and staff from other agencies in a professional manner.
- Initiate contact with property owner or representative to conduct visual survey, place traps or apply pesticides. Develop a cordial relationship to enable continued use of the property for current and future surveys or trap placements.
Candidates may perform these essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.
Working Conditions
The duties of this position are primarily conducted outdoors. The work can be in urban or rural environments. The incumbent may be exposed to extreme temperatures and weather, uneven terrain, and various noise levels. The incumbent may encounter frequent exposure to dust, pollen and moisture while handling various trap types including those utilizing a specific chemical insect lure; some of these lures might contain minimal amounts of pesticide. Some of the work may be conducted at airport facilities, inside and around aircrafts. When working at airports there is frequent walking between aircraft, standing, squatting, crawling, and ladder climbing approximately 20 feet are typical situations encountered. Other factors affecting inspections are the presence of moving service vehicles, cargo containers, other employees and associated equipment.
The incumbent may work within an office/warehouse environment furnished with a variety of office equipment, which normally consists of desks, tables, chairs, filing cabinets, storage cabinets, filing bins, computers, computer peripherals, phones, answering machines, photocopiers, and fax machines.
The incumbent will be required to drive and must have a valid driver license and a safe driving record as documented by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (A safe driving record is one free from convictions in the past two years for repeated moving violations, or a single serious violation, such as drunk driving or reckless driving.) The incumbent will be required to drive, exit, and re-enter the work vehicle numerous times during the workday and maintain a safe driving record. The incumbent must be able to apply pesticides, haul loads of fruit and/or removed trees, perform survey work, and work well under extreme time constraints, exercise good judgment, determine priorities, make appropriate well-thought-out decisions, allocate staff and resources to achieve maximum results, maintain focus under conditions of duress, and provide accurate assessment of rapidly changing situations (ex: multiple exotic pest detections requiring multiple operations). The incumbent must be able to establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted during the course of work, cooperate with other staff members and leads in completing assigned work, communicate effectively verbally and in writing, with other agencies and the public, and be able to meet required deadlines.
The incumbent may be required to work overtime, weekends, and holidays.
Travel to various locations throughout the State to attend meetings or trainings related to pest detection and/or treatment and to assist other offices with detection and/or treatment efforts may be required. This may be accomplished by State vehicle or other public transportation system.
Regular or recurring telework may occur as part of the incumbent’s ongoing regular schedule in accordance with CDFAs Telework Policy.