City Forester

Pay Range: $41.16 - $53.51 hourly -- $85,611 - $111,295 annual compensation 

Job Posting Closing on: Sunday, November 30, 2025 📅

Workdays & Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm; occasional weekends and holidays required.  

Benefits for this position include: 11 Paid Holidays, Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid Time Off, Pension Plan, Professional Development Opportunities, and much more.

The City of Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the U.S. Our employees serve the needs of more than 1,000,000 residents, upholding our values of exceptional customer experience, mutual respect, embracing diversity, continuous improvement, ethical behavior, and accountability.

The City of Fort Worth is seeking to hire a City Forester who supervises and coordinates urban forestry activities and operations within the Park & Recreation Department’s Planning & Resource Management Division.  The City Forester oversees hazard abatement and structural pruning of the City’s urban forest; permitting and plan review related to tree planting and removal; and the Community Tree Planting Program, which grows trees from seed at the Rolling Hills Tree Farm and distributes them to the public at no charge through a competitive grant program.

This position is based at Rolling Hills Tree Farm in southeast Fort Worth.

Fort Worth is home to one of the oldest municipal forestry programs in Texas and has been designated a Tree City USA since 1978, longer than any other city in the state. Recognized as a leader in municipal forestry, Fort Worth’s program has been featured in professional publications and industry conferences nationwide. The department manages more than 310 parks covering over 13,000 acres, serving a population of over one million residents.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Horticulture, or a related field.
• Four (4) years of responsible experience in urban forestry, park supervision, or landscape installation, including one (1) year of administrative and/or lead supervisory experience.
• Possession of, or ability to obtain, a valid Texas Driver’s License.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced knowledge/experience/education in urban or municipal forestry/arboriculture including risk assessment, plant appraisal, tree protection during construction, experience in emergency operations procedures, objectives and guidelines.
• Basic knowledge of GIS and mapping software.
• International Society of Arboriculture Arborist certification.
• Completion of TEEX Incident Command and/or EOC training.

The City Forester Job Responsibilities Include:

• Supervise staff, including assigning work, evaluating performance, providing training, ensuring policy compliance, maintaining safety, and making staff decisions.
• Participate in developing and implementing divisional goals, objectives, policies, and priorities.
• Identify and implement improvements to procedures and resource use in collaboration with management.
• Coordinate and review forestry work plans, assign projects, monitor progress, evaluate results, and resolve issues.
• Monitor and evaluate program effectiveness and support continuous improvement in urban forestry operations.
• Review landscape plans and issue permits for tree planting, removal, and pruning, ensuring proper species selection and placement.
• Provide public education and presentations on urban forestry; represent the City in meetings with agencies and community organizations.
• Assist with budget development and administration; forecast resource needs; monitor expenditures; and recommend adjustments.
• Support park planning and resource management initiatives; serve on committees; and prepare reports and correspondence.
• Coordinate with other departments and agencies; provide technical advice; conduct tree appraisals; and review construction plans.
• Lead emergency response efforts as Incident Commander for tree debris and hazard mitigation operations.
• Adhere to assigned work schedule and ensure compliance with City policies and personnel regulations.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Working Conditions & Physical Demands

Depending on assignment, this position typically requires touching, talking, hearing, seeing, grasping, standing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, reaching, walking, and repetitive motions. Field and office environment; exposure to computer screens and inclement weather conditions when conducting site inspections. Essential and marginal functions may require maintaining physical condition necessary for sitting for prolonged periods of time; operating assigned equipment.

Light Work: Exerts up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, up to 10 pounds frequently, and/or negligible force constantly to move objects. 

Conditions of Employment

The City of Fort Worth is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.  It is the policy and practice of the City to recruit, hire, train and promote a diverse workforce without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, parental status, military service, or another non-merit factor.

The City of Fort Worth is committed to full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions.

Candidates who do not meet the Education requirement, may be considered if they have more relevant work experience than the position requires. Those selected for employment will be required to pass Pre-Employment checks depending on the position requirements. Those could include, but are not limited to: criminal background check, drug screen, education verification, etc. criminal convictions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Employees are paid by direct deposit only.