POSITION IDENTIFICATION
TITLE Facility Operations Technician – West Plains
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 8475
GRADE 23
CLASSIFICATION Nonexempt
IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Director of Facility Operations – West Plains
GENERAL FUNCTION
The Facility Operations Technician – West Plains performs semi-skilled groundskeeping, maintenance, and preventative maintenance duties to support University grounds, buildings, and facilities. Responsibilities include responding to preventative and corrective work orders; maintaining landscaped areas through mowing, trimming, planting, and equipment operation; inspecting and performing routine repairs to mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and building systems; painting; changing light bulbs; and completing minor carpentry and plumbing.
This position also performs preventative maintenance on facilities and equipment, prepares and restores work sites, provides custodial support, delivers supplies and equipment, manages surplus property transfers, and assists with campus events and facility operations. Work is performed in accordance with established procedures, safety standards, and University policies.
MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Education: A high school diploma or the equivalent is required.
Experience: Requires at least two years of demonstrated experience in groundskeeping, maintenance, or a related trade, with knowledge of the methods, materials, equipment, and procedures used in grounds maintenance, horticulture, landscaping, building maintenance, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, or general maintenance work. Knowledge of planting, cultivating, and maintaining trees, shrubs, ground cover, flowers, and grasses as well as the use and proper disposal of chemicals associated with groundskeeping, horticulture, turf management, and floriculture is preferred.
Skills: Requires the ability to read and understand work orders, instructions, and technical diagrams; mechanical aptitude; and skill in the safe operation and maintenance of grounds maintenance equipment, hand and power tools, and trade-related equipment. Computer skills sufficient to use a CMMS and other job-related software are preferred. The ability to identify and eradicate disease or insect damage to plant and turf materials is preferred.
Effort: Requires the ability to frequently lift and carry materials, supplies, and equipment weighing up to 50 pounds and occasionally up to 100 pounds; perform prolonged standing, walking, and frequent bending, stooping, kneeling, and reaching; and maintain a full range of motion to operate grounds maintenance equipment, tools, and machinery. Must be able to work indoors and outdoors in varying weather and environmental conditions, access work areas by climbing stairs, ladders, and lifts, respond to after-hours emergencies and mandatory overtime, and report to work during severe weather closures as an essential employee.
License: Must have a valid motor vehicle operator's license. Possession of a public pesticide applicator’s license is preferred.
Other: Requires the ability to read and understand instructions and product labels to ensure the safe mixing, application, use, storage, and disposal of chemicals, fertilizers, solvents, cleaners, lubricants, paints, and related products. The position involves regular exposure to chemical compounds and materials used in groundskeeping and maintenance activities that may be hazardous and could cause injury if not handled in accordance with established safety procedures and manufacturer’s instructions.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Performs tasks common to the care of grounds and landscapes by seeding, watering, mulching, fertilizing, and applying chemicals to outside plantings, lawns and turf, as well as inside flowers and cuttings used in transplanting; inspecting plant materials for insects, disease, physical and mechanical damage and identifying replacements; transplanting, pruning, trimming, and cultivating trees, shrubs, ground cover, and flowers; and storing and caring for bulbs and cuttings in the winter season.2. Performs regular and directed grounds and landscape maintenance by mowing lawns with riding or push mowers; trimming and edging around trees, shrubs, ground cover, flowers, sidewalks and buildings; weeding, thinning and cleaning flower beds and other grounds by hand or utilizing proper tools and equipment; and setting up, adjusting, repairing, and cleaning irrigation systems.
3. Provides a record of grounds and landscape watering and chemical spraying by keeping daily logs of areas watered and duration of watering and the application of chemicals, including areas sprayed, amount and type of chemicals used, substances sprayed and reason, and the wind speed and direction at time of spraying.
4. Performs campus-wide general maintenance and repairs by installing, removing, repairing and maintaining landscape lighting, parking meters, signs, cables, chains, barricades, gates, bicycle racks, feeders, posts, fences, and rock walls; and repairing streets, parking lots, athletic fields, tennis courts, track and omni turf, as applicable.
5. Removes unsightly trash and debris from public areas by regularly inspecting grounds, drains, manhole covers, etc., for debris; raking, sweeping and bagging leaves, debris, dirt and trash from streets, sidewalks, parking lots, tunnels, and transporting the trash to designated central collection points on a daily basis.
6. Assists in preventing accidents resulting from snow or ice covered walkways by removing mowing decks and installing snow removal equipment on riding mowers and tractors; operating snow blowers, tractors or mowers with blades and using shovels to remove snow and spread sand, chat and salt on snow- or ice-covered surfaces.
7. Prepares outdoor locations for use by visitors, vendors, and the public as needed by campus operations and, if applicable, painting and marking athletic fields, moving bleachers and seating, and erecting portable goals or other athletic equipment.
8. Applies chemicals used in groundskeeping (horticulture, turf management, and floriculture) properly and safely by wearing prescribed protective clothing, masks, and/or rubber gloves and boots, following either written or verbal directions for mixing chemical compounds according to specifications, applying the chemicals properly on grounds and landscapes designated for their use, and disposing of residual chemical products as directed or storing and labeling them for future use.
9. Safely operates light vehicles such as pickup trucks, tractors, street sweepers, and riding mowers, as well as portable power tools and equipment including saws, grass trimmers, snow and leaf blowers, sprayers, paint machines, and other groundskeeping equipment, by following operator instructions, complying with applicable traffic laws and established safety procedures, wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as goggles, hearing protection, back supports, work gloves, and other required protective clothing, reporting unsafe conditions or work activities to supervisors, and adhering to standard safety precautions to help maintain an accident-free work environment.
10. Ensures grounds and building maintenance equipment remain operational by performing routine and preventive maintenance, including inspecting and spot-checking equipment to assess working condition, oiling moving parts, cleaning and servicing tools, equipment, and machinery in accordance with operator manuals and established procedures, and identifying and returning damaged equipment for repair or replacement within reasonable capabilities.
11. Replaces and disposes of light bulbs in interior building settings using ladders, lifts, or other tools.
12. Performs painting work in the preparation, patching, finishing, and maintaining of building structures, walls, woodwork, furniture, and equipment.
13. Performs delivery services by identifying supplies, materials, and equipment to be delivered from invoices or order forms, safely loading items on the delivery vehicle, safeguarding items during transit, delivering items to the correct department, and obtaining the appropriate signature for the receipt of the delivered items.
14. Assists with management and accountability of surplus property items by retrieving surplus property items as directed, recording the transfer of accountability for the items, and returning the surplus property items to the University warehouse or Springfield warehouse.
15. Performs semi-skilled preventive, routine, and minor maintenance and repair work using hand and power tools, following established procedures to complete basic carpentry repairs; perform minor plumbing repairs; replace defective electrical switches, light bulbs, fuses, fluorescent ballasts, and other non-complex electrical fixtures; and complete painting and related maintenance tasks as assigned.
16. Performs maintenance work on HVAC systems by replacing filters, belts, aligning pulleys, cleaning coils and enclosures.
17. Maintains plumbing fixtures by clearing blocked drains, replacing batteries on sensor fixtures, replacing filters in bottle fillers and drinking fountains.
18. Performs periodic roof maintenance inspections, cleans gutters, drains while documenting deficiencies and communicating findings with appropriate supervisor.
19. Protects University property and equipment from damage during repair work by removing furniture, wall fixtures, and equipment from work sites if possible or covering immovable items with protective cloths, covering floors with cloths or tarpaulins.
20. Returns work sites to a usable condition at the completion of repair work by cleaning work areas, removing debris, and used materials, disposing of waste, and salvaging leftover materials.
21. Contributes to the overall success of the campus by performing all other related duties as assigned.
SUPERVISION
The Facility Operations Technician – WP generally does not exercise supervision of others, however, may be required to supervise student workers or temporary employees.
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES
REVISED SEPTEMBER 2026
