Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods.

Who We Are:

The Grounds Department of Swarthmore College is responsible for maintaining the collections of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, as well as maintaining a safe outdoor environment for all College students, staff, faculty, and guests. The department consists of a Director of Grounds, Assistant Director of Grounds, two horticulture crews, each consisting of a Garden Supervisor, an Assistant Garden Supervisor and 5 gardeners. In addition, there is a Grounds mechanic and an athletic fields crew that oversees the care and maintenance of the outdoor athletic fields.

The opportunity:

Provides timely and reliable support for maintenance and care of athletic fields and campus turf.  Horticultural responsibilities include caring for the plant collections and landscaped areas surrounding athletic facilities and fields. Grounds keeping responsibilities include maintaining safe paths, roads, turf areas, fields, and additional properties of the College; providing assistance for College events; providing assistance during weather emergencies, snow and ice removal in winter, and for other grounds keeping responsibilities. 

Essential Responsibilities

Athletic Field and Turfgrass Maintenance Tasks

• Performs daily turf maintenance on the College’s athletic fields, synthetic fields, tennis courts, and track including mowing, fertilization, application of turf chemicals, field painting and chalking, event set-up and breakdowns–all with minimal supervision.
• Safely performs daily maintenance and operation of various turf equipment including mowers, tractors, tractor attachments, infield groomer, ride-on sprayer/spreader, irrigation equipment, hand tools, and small engines.
• Performs daily, weekly, and seasonal maintenance on athletic equipment to provide teams with safe and functional goals, benches, and other equipment to support practices and games.
• Performs layouts and painting per NCAA specifications for multiple types of varsity, club, and intramural league sports.  Must stay up to date on NCAA rules and regulations regarding field layouts.
• Performs set-up, operation, maintenance, and programming of multiple types of irrigation systems to provide adequate irrigation to all athletic fields. 
• Performs seasonal renovation of athletic fields and campus turf in order to provide safe and healthy fields for the next season.
• Performs and assists in maintaining and renovating campus turfgrass areas around academic, administrative and residential areas in cooperation with the horticultural staff.
• Performs grooming, debris removal, line painting, and periodic maintenance of synthetic turf.
• Performs precise granular and liquid fertilizer and chemical applications to turfgrass in accordance with the laws governed by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
• Performs seasonal renovation projects on all aspects of athletic fields including infield skins, pitcher’s mound rebuilds, and sod work.
• Performs above duties in a timely fashion in accordance to strict schedules set by practice, game, and event times with minimal supervision.
• Assists with overseeing work performed by subcontractors on the athletic fields.         

Horticultural Duties

• Assists in performing horticultural tasks and maintaining the plant collections around athletic facilities by doing timely plantings, weeding, mulching, pruning, fertilizing, irrigating, and other cultural practices in order to maintain campus aesthetics.
• Assists in performing detailed horticultural work in gardens around campus.
• Assists in performing maintenance on the College’s green roofs, stormwater control devices and Crum Woods natural area, and gives support with sustainability efforts within the department and across the entire property. 
• Safely and proficiently uses hand gardening tools including pruners, shovels, rakes, loppers, chainsaws, weed whackers and hedge shears.

Groundskeeping Duties

• Keeps campus areas, turf, woods/natural areas, roads, sidewalks and patios maintained in a safe and efficient way. Has the ability to prioritize this work in order to provide a safe and aesthetically-pleasing campus.
• Performs in a timely manner trash removal, turf renovations, and snow removal to provide a safe and aesthetically pleasing campus.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Supervises 1-2 seasonal workers.
• Provides direction to multiple contractors working on athletic fields.

What you bring:

Required Qualifications

• Associate or Bachelor’s degree in turfgrass science or related discipline; or, practical turfgrass training course (two to four year program) plus one to three years of job-related experience.
• Prior turfgrass/horticulture experience.
• Maintains Pennsylvania applicator license for Turf and Ornamentals in order to legally and safely apply pesticides or organic control materials, or is willing to acquire such a license.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license.
• Must have knowledge of growing conditions related to various types of turfgrasses and soils, including but not limited to pH, nutrients, moisture levels, and principles to improve turf and soil conditions both organically and non-organically. 
• Must have knowledge of weeds, diseases, and insects related to turf types and have knowledge of IPM practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum of five years of turfgrass/athletic field maintenance experience in addition to formal education requirements.
• Experience working on athletic fields or maintaining turfgrass.
• Experience in landscape gardening.

Physical Demands

• Ability to frequently lift objects weighing up to 50 pounds and possess the physical strength to perform groundskeeping/gardening operations. Ability to carry 35-pound backpack equipment for extended periods.
• Hand, arm, and back strength to shovel, prune, and rake for extended periods of time. Ability to manipulate vibrating, hand-held power machinery for extended times. Ability to perform kneeling, bending, and squatting motions for extended times. Ability to work from a ladder doing pruning and other plant care. Visual ability to do detailed pruning.
• Ability to be on your feet for an extended period of time.
• Ability to read and interpret pesticide labels, machinery safety manuals, and new information related to horticultural practices. Ability to maintain written maintenance records and keep a journal of daily work.

Working Conditions

• Ability to work under harsh weather conditions and perform emergency storm-related damage services is required. Ability to work occasional scheduled weekends. Emergency work may require time outside of the normal workday.
• Physical dexterity to perform the job and ability to work outside year-round are necessary.
• High level of productivity; work pace is frequently fast-paced.
• Ability to work with diverse crew, faculty, staff, and volunteers.

What You Will Get:

You’ll work at one of the world's most renowned liberal arts Colleges, with incredible benefits, a stunning 420-acre campus, and a collaborative work environment. Join a team of passionate, creative people who work hard and have fun supporting the College students, faculty, and staff.

We want to hear from you if you are excited about this role! For full consideration, submit applications with an uploaded resume by July 13, 2025. Applications received after this date may be reviewed on a rolling basis until the job has been filled.

The market range for this position is $22.00-$32.00 per hour, which represents the College’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range at the time of posting. The salary offered is determined based on factors including, but not limited to, experience and education of the final selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information.

PA Criminal Clearance Required

Swarthmore College requires a PA Criminal background check for all staff positions prior to the start of employment.

MVR Clearance Required by Position

Due to operating a College owned motor vehicle while performing essential job responsibilities for this position, a motor vehicle report (MVR) clearance is required prior to the start of employment.

Preview our Benefits Flyer. We offer benefit plans starting at zero cost! Upon benefit eligibility, the College contributes 10% of an employee’s salary to their retirement account. Employees are 100% vested in their accounts on the date participation begins.

2025 Swarthmore Benefits Guidebook

Retirement Plans

Tuition Grant Program

Tuition Reimbursement Program

Paid Time Off (Staff)

Holiday Schedule

Swarthmore College actively seeks and welcomes applications from candidates with exceptional qualifications, particularly those with demonstrable commitments to a more inclusive society and world. Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.