Join a dedicated team that keeps our city beautiful and thriving! The City of Champaign Public Works Department is seeking a motivated and skilled Landscape Maintenance Worker II to help maintain and enhance our streetscapes and public spaces. This position plays a key role in caring for the city’s landscapes to ensure safe, clean, and attractive outdoor environments for residents and visitors alike. If you enjoy hands-on work, take pride in keeping our community green and inviting, and thrive in an outdoor setting, we encourage you to apply and grow your career with us.

Responsibilities of Position

Part of the Forestry Section team, Landscape Maintenance Workers ensure the care and preservation of landscape beds, native plants, turfgrass, trees, and shrubs on City-owned property. A typical day may include a combination of planting, watering, and weeding flower and landscape beds; mulching in landscape beds and around trees; litter collection; mowing and trimming turf areas; power washing sidewalks and hardscape amenities, minor pruning of trees and shrubs; and pesticide application. They use a variety of equipment such weed eaters, blowers, push mowers, walk behind mowers, zero turn riding mowers, small dump trucks, pulling trailers, brush chippers, skid steers, forklifts, and end loaders or backhoes. This position participates in the City’s snow and ice removal efforts and is required to respond to other emergencies and call-outs that may require working up to 16-hour shifts at all hours with little or no advanced notice.

Maintenance Worker positions may be filled at the I or II level. Level II positions require the ability to operate Public Works equipment on a regular basis without supervision. Newly hired or current employees who are promoted, transferred, or voluntarily demoted to Maintenance Worker positions will be paid at the Maintenance Worker I level until successfully demonstrating equipment operation competency through proficiency testing or completion of the Public Works Department training program.

Required Qualifications

• High school diploma equivalent.

• Experience with landscaping installation and maintenance of public, private, commercial, or other landscapes similar to those maintained by the City.

• An equivalent combination of experience and training that demonstrates the required knowledge, skills, and abilities will be considered.

• Valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record.

• Possession of, or the ability to successfully obtain, a Class B CDL without air brake restriction and with a tanker endorsement issued by the State of Illinois.

• Possession of, or the ability to successfully obtain a Public Applicator Pesticide License issued by the State of Illinois.

• Possession of, or the ability to successfully obtain, forklift certification.

• Ability to perform essential functions that require physical agility as noted in the job description, with or without accommodation.

• Ability to work outdoors in extreme temperatures and adverse weather conditions.

Preferred Qualifications

• Practical experience or equivalent education in landscape design, landscape construction, landscape management, horticulture, or similar areas.

• Ability to identify herbaceous and woody plants by sight.

• Experience in turf care and maintenance.

• Experience with snow and ice removal.

Pre-employment drug screening, driving record review, and ongoing random drug testing will be required. The base salary range is $28.8101 - $37.9677 per hour, not including longevity and depending on current rate of pay. Applications must be submitted online no later than Sunday, February 1, 2026.

Other Information

The City of Champaign is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to promoting a work environment and a community that values and supports diversity and inclusion. Women, minorities and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Contact the Human Resources Department at (217) 403-8770 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. if you require an accommodation to complete this application or during any phase of the application, interview, or employment process. The following locations offer free Internet access and assistance: Champaign Public Library, Champaign Public Library Douglass Branch, and the Illinois WorkNet Center.

Our mission is to provide responsive, caring, cost-effective service in partnership with our community.

These values guide our work:

Personal Integrity

We act in the best interests of the City

We behave in an ethical and legal manner

We are open and honest

We follow through on commitments

We are loyal to the City

Responsibility

We anticipate issues, problems, and opportunities

We take initiative

We act to prevent and solve problems

We take responsibility for the outcome of our actions and decisions

We hold ourselves and others accountable

Respect

We treat others in a fair, courteous, and equitable manner

We actively listen and seek understanding

We provide a direct response

We embrace ethnic and cultural diversity in the community and our workplace

We are positive and cooperative

We are willing to apologize

Teamwork

We know and respect our roles and responsibilities

We ask who needs to be involved and we involve others appropriately

We define and agree upon the goals

We collaborate to achieve organizational goals

We help others accomplish their goals

We share authority, responsibility, and credit

Results

We take pride in our work

We complete assignments and projects on time and within budget

We evaluate outcomes and seek feedback on our performance

We learn from our mistakes

We innovate