Crafting a comprehensive job description is an integral part of the hiring process, and it’s crucial to get it right. With such fierce competition in the landscaping industry, your groundskeeper job description should stand out to attract the right candidates.

A job description template helps businesses quickly create compelling job descriptions and streamline the hiring process.

Download the free landscaping groundskeeper job description template to save time and get your job postings in front of the right people.

Introducing your landscaping groundskeeper job description template

A well-written landscaping groundskeeper job description sets expectations for new hires and improves the hiring process.

Using a job description template helps landscaping companies create structured, detailed job postings that attract qualified candidates. It is customizable, so you can edit the sections and add your branding for consistency.

This template includes the following sections:

• Role summary: Explains the role and how it contributes to business goals.

• Qualifications and skills: Outlines required education, experience, and abilities.

• Responsibilities and duties: Specifies day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and expectations.

• Working hours and environment: Details where the work is carried out, working conditions, and shift length.

• Compensation and benefits: Notes the salary range and benefits package.

• Company overview: Gives insight into the company history, values, and culture.

• Application process: Instructs applicants on how to apply and outlines the next steps if they are successful.

How to fill in the template

Tailor the job description template with sections that meet your:

• Specific business requirements

• Size

• Service type

• Team structure

And then customize the template for different roles by adjusting the details. 

While the template provides the framework and layout for your job description, it’s essential to focus on clarity, accuracy, and alignment with company goals when customizing it. 

Ensure you include details about the role, requirements, and responsibilities to avoid wasting time on poorly matched candidates.

Why does my company need a groundskeeper job description template?

A groundskeeper job description template is useful for many reasons, including:

• Standardization of hiring practices: A template ensures your job descriptions follow the same format and contain all required information. This fosters fair hiring practices, streamlines job description creation, and avoids missing details.

• Reduced turnover: A comprehensive job description sets clear expectations of the role, helping to filter out unqualified or misaligned candidates. This reduces turnover by helping you avoid mis-hires. Additionally, it looks more professional, which attracts quality candidates.

• Enhanced applicant tracking: Using templated job descriptions ensures candidates are evaluated against the same criteria, making comparisons easier and streamlining how you track progress through each hiring stage. 

• Better onboarding experience: Detailed job descriptions help candidates understand their role and responsibilities when they apply. This makes for a smoother onboarding process and faster uptake.

• Legal compliance: Using a template ensures your job description is properly written and your posting complies with labor laws. This protects your business from liability and legal issues.

What information should I include in a landscaping groundskeeper job description template?

Your groundskeeper job description should cover every detail potential candidates need to know about your company, the role, and whether they are a good fit. Here is a short overview of what to include in each section:

Let’s look into each section in more detail.

1. Role summary

The first section of your groundskeeper job description should include a summary of the role. It should outline the main responsibilities, the purpose of the role, and your ideal candidate. You can touch on the experience and skills required, but keep it short here.

• Position overview: A brief summary of the role.

• Key responsibilities: Day-to-day tasks like mowing lawns, planting flowers, and trimming hedges.

• Ideal candidate: Experience and skills they need. 

• Purpose: How the role fits in with your company’s goals.

2. Job responsibilities

This section defines what is expected of prospective hires. Here, you can go into more detail about the specific tasks and responsibilities for the role. You should also note any equipment the successful hire will use and whether or not they will interact with clients. 

If the groundskeeper will report to or work with other members of your team, mention that here, too.

• Daily tasks: Outline daily tasks like mowing, edging, maintaining flower beds, minor repairs, fertilizing, raking, and general grounds maintenance work.

• Seasonal duties: Mention any seasonal duties, such as fall cleanup, snow removal, salting walkways, and shoveling parking lots and athletic fields.

• Equipment use: Detail the groundskeeping equipment your hire will use, like lawn mowers and hedge trimmers.

• Client interaction: Establish if your hire is expected to communicate with clients directly.

3. Qualifications and skills

Do a deep dive into the job requirements, including education, experience, physical requirements, and specific skills in this section.

• Education: Note the minimum required education level, such as a high school diploma or GED.

• Experience: This will depend on the seniority you require and could be between one and four years.

• Skills: Define the required skills, such as specific equipment operation, attention to detail, problem-solving, horticulture knowledge, and communication skills.

• Physical requirements: Explain the role's physical demands and the abilities your candidates need. These could include physical stamina, the ability to stoop and work outdoors year-round, dexterity in using hand tools, and strength to lift and move heavy objects.

• Certifications or licenses: Some tasks, like pesticide and herbicide application, require certifications or licenses, so mention that here. If your groundskeeper will need a valid driver’s license, note that in this section. 

4. Working hours

Are you hiring a part-time, full-time, seasonal, or year-round groundskeeper? Will they work in shifts or set hours? Be upfront about the required working hours so candidates understand the commitment and if it fits their availability.

• Employment type: Full-time or part-time.

• Seasonality: Year-round or seasonal.

• Schedule: Explain the typical working hours, such as Monday to Friday from 6:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Also, mention if the hours change with the seasons.

• Flexibility: Indicate if the working hours are flexible.

5. Role compensation

Not including the salary and benefits details in your job description can lead to wasted time with candidates out of your budget. What’s worse, it can even deter candidates from applying in the first place. Transparency here is key.

• Pay Range: State if the role is paid hourly or salaried and the pay range. Mention if you offer overtime or seasonal pay.

• Bonuses: Include the details here if you offer signing or performance-based bonuses.

• Benefits: Share information about your benefits package, such as health insurance, 401(k) matching, life insurance, and paid time off.

6. Company overview

This section should inform candidates about your company and what makes it a great workplace. Include your company history, mission, values and culture, and the working environment. If it’s done well, this should help you attract candidates who fit your company culture well.

• Company history: Write a brief background of your business, including when you opened, the size of your team, and the services you offer.

• Mission and values: Explain the core principles that guide your company and the values your candidates must uphold.

• Work environment: Mention your team dynamics, reporting structure, safety focus, and other information about where and how your successful candidate will work.

• Career opportunities: Note any Learning & Development incentives you offer and the role’s advancement potential.

What are the primary responsibilities of a groundskeeper?

Groundskeepers are responsible for the care, upkeep, general maintenance, and overall presentation of outdoor areas. They ensure all outdoor areas are visually appealing, safe, and free of hazards.

Here are other core groundskeeper responsibilities:

• Lawn maintenance: Mowing lawns, edging pathways, reseeding bare patches, and pulling weeds.

• Plants: Planting seasonal flowers and other vegetation, trimming bushes and trees, pruning, adding mulch or fertilizer, and watering.

• Clearing pathways: Blowing or raking leaves, clearing debris, litter pickup, salting and gritting walkways, and removing snow.

• Seasonal tasks: Storm prep, snow removal, de-icing, and fall leaf cleanup.

• Maintenance duties: Routine maintenance of outdoor lighting, irrigation systems, sprinkler systems, fences, and hardscape.

• Pest control: Monitoring for pests and plant diseases, applying pesticides and herbicides, and reporting issues.

What skills, experience, or training does a groundskeeper need?

Groundskeepers need a specific skill set that combines physical strength and stamina with technical skills and knowledge of plants, tools, and maintenance.

Here are some key skills to look for in your candidates.

• Soft skills

  • Strong work ethic

  • Reliable

  • Dependable

  • Problem-solving skills (addressing weather challenges and managing unexpected issues)

  • Attention to detail (noticing plant health issues and pests before they spread, ensuring pathways are tidy)

  • Good communication (crucial for handling clients and reporting issues clearly)

• Physical skills

  • Strength (can lift, hold, and move heavy objects)

  • Endurance (can perform manual labor in various weather conditions)

• Technical knowledge and skills

  • Knowledge of plant care, soil health, and pest control practices

  • Experience operating landscaping equipment and power tools such as tractors, mowers, leaf blowers, snow blowers, trimmers, saws, and edgers

• Certifications and training

  • On-the-job or vocational training

  • Pesticide and herbicide certifications

  • Equipment operator certifications

What is the salary range for a landscaping groundskeeper?

Several factors influence the salary of your landscaping employees, such as seniority, region, certifications, and more. The average hourly wage for groundskeepers in the United States is $17.13 an hour, with salaried employees bringing in an average of $39,383 per year.

Entry-level groundskeepers are likely to earn closer to $14.70 an hour, whereas an experienced candidate could earn up to $24.04 an hour.

How can I improve the hiring and onboarding process?

The hiring process is your candidate’s first experience of your company. It’s therefore vital to make hiring and onboarding smooth and streamlined to foster business growth and team efficiency.

Start with clear job descriptions, streamlined job application processes, and consistent interview practices. Once your candidate is hired, use structured onboarding with safety training, equipment handling, and shadowing to get them up to speed quickly.

Aspire is an all-in-one business management platform that helps landscaping companies streamline their operations and simplify complex tasks. It ensures your team is set up properly and ready to hit the ground running.

The feature suite includes tools for:

• Employee scheduling: Create and update employee schedules with the drag-and-drop scheduling tool.

• Performance management: Monitor employee performance and progress, find areas for improvement, and set clear expectations.

• Job checklists: Provide a detailed task list for every member of your team so they can stay focused and leave nothing out.

• Aspire Mobile app: Instantly send schedule updates to your team and let technicians track their time and access job checklists wherever they are.

• Time tracking: Geo-tagged time tracking fosters accountability and ensures accurate time records and payroll.

• Optimized routes: Route optimization through the Aspire Mobile app avoids crews getting stuck in traffic or driving all over town, contributing to timely service, better productivity, and improved team morale.

Over to you!

Writing a detailed, well-structured groundskeeper job description helps you attract the right candidates and is key to building a strong, reliable team.

With Aspire’s free, customizable groundskeeper job description template, you can speed up the creation process, streamline the hiring process, and set clear expectations for your candidates.

Book a free demo with Aspire today and see how it can help grow and streamline your landscaping operations.