Overview
Recreation/Sports Specialist I Jobs in Kalamazoo, MI at Western Michigan University
Position Details
Posting Summary
College
VP Business And Finance-DIV
Executive Area
VP Business And Finance
Department
FacilMgmt-Landscape Services
Posting Detail Information
Posting Number
S1644P
Job Type
Full Time, Regular
Pay Type
Nonexempt/Hourly
Pay Grade
M35
Campus Location
WMU-Kalamazoo – Main Campus
Salary Range
$22.00 combined with an excellent benefits package.
General Summary
- Maintains the general condition and appearance of all indoor and outdoor athletic facilities including outdoor intramural fields and game spaces.
Major Duties
- Lays out and marks five (5) football fields, including the varsity field in Waldo Stadium, four (4) softball diamonds, five (5) soccer fields and one (1) baseball field.
- Mows and trims practice and playing fields and associated grounds.
- Applies fertilizers and pesticides and waters fields and associated grounds.
- Operates brush hog mowers, seeding equipment and rototillers in maintaining the grass surfaces of practice fields and game spaces, and operates skid steers and tractors with attachments to move materials and equipment.
- Lays out and sets up indoor and outdoor spaces for athletic contests and practices and nonathletic uses.
- Moves, assembles, dismantles and removes high jump and pole vault pits
- Moves, sets up, aligns and removes Hydra-Rib basketball backboards set.
- Moves auxiliary baskets from storage areas to practice and/or intramural courts.
- Hangs basketball curtains.
- Moves, assembles, dismantles and removes to storage areas portable bleachers.
- Raises and lowers sections, pushes individual wheeled bleacher sections.
- Assembles, dismantles, moves to and from storage areas, aligns, adjusts, and maintains other athletic equipment and fixtures as required for specific athletic contests, practices and other events.
- Performs operator maintenance for tools and athletic grounds equipment as necessary.
- Maintains the work area, tools, equipment and assigned vehicles in a neat, clean and orderly condition, and performs all work in accordance with established safety practices.
- May provide work direction for other members of the athletic grounds crews and to schedule or prioritize assignments.
- Performs additional duties as requested by supervisory personnel.
Minimum Qualifications
- High school diploma or equivalent from an accredited institution.
- Must obtain a Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) Commercial Pesticide License with endorsements for Turf (category 3a), Ornamental (category 3b) and Right-of-Way (category 6) within 40 working days of hire. The University will recognize all MDARD reciprocal agreements.
- Read and comprehend written instructions and safety regulations governing the performance of job duties, and must be able to understand and comply with oral instructions.
- Ability to lay out and correctly mark athletic fields.
- Sufficient writing ability.
- Possession of a valid Michigan drivers’ license.
- Ability to perform the essential functions of the job and use the tools of the trade.
- Ability to complete a physical examination administered by the employer’s designated physician.
Desired Qualifications
- Prior athletic grounds experience.
Special Instructions to Applicants
Bid Procedures:
All University employees represented by AFSCME Local 1668, and non-AFSCME regular and temporary University employees, who have the present ability or required qualifications to satisfactorily perform the required work, may exercise bidding privileges on this position.
All University employees represented by AFSCME Local 1668, and non-AFSCME regular and temporary University employees, who have the present ability or required qualifications to satisfactorily perform the required work, may exercise bidding privileges on this position.
- Current AFSCME employees must complete the on-line WMU – AFSCME (bid) Sheet only.
- Non-AFSCME University employees must submit an on-line WMU – Internal Application only.
- Temporary University employees must submit an on-line WMU – Application only.
Additional Position Information
- Effective 07/01/2026, the M3.5 rate of pay is $22.55/hr.
- Western Michigan University offers generous benefits to its employees including health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, retirement, and tuition discount for the employee and tuition remission for eligible dependents. To access information about the specific benefits available for this position, s://wmich.edu/hr/enrollment-afscme
- Above is a summary of the description for the position of Recreation/Sports Specialist I Position. A complete description for this position may be reviewed upon request in the department of Human Resources, Room 1300, Seibert Administration Building or online at:
https://wmich.edu/hr/descriptions-afscme. - This is a first (1st) shift position. The regular work hours for this position are 6:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. The regular work days are Monday through Friday, with Saturday and Sunday off.
Physical requirements and working conditions
- Exposure to the full range of weather conditions, as well as exposure to paint fumes, paint thinners, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides and other landscaping chemicals and compounds.
- Must wear steel or MIOSHA approved safety shoes at all times and must comply with all OSHA/MIOSHA regulations regarding the use of pesticides, fertilizers and other chemical agents as well as the operation of power tools and equipment.
- Must wear a hard hat and safety glasses/goggles, as required by MIOSHA rules.
Title: Recreation/Sports Specialist I
Company: Western Michigan University
Location: Kalamazoo, MI
