Job Description
About the position:
Reporting to the Manager, The Supervisor Tree Protection & Plan Review will oversee the compliance and enforcement unit of the City’s various tree and natural feature protection bylaws including the issuance of orders to comply, stop work orders, dangerous tree orders, provision of clearance or approvals and coordination of contractors to carry out the required arboricultural work on private and City owned property. You will also make recommendations related to the enhancement of Toronto’s urban forest, specifically including trees protected by the City’s Street Tree, Private Tree, Ravine and Natural Feature Protection and Parks By-laws.
What you’ll do:
The primary functions associated with this position include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Supervises, motivates and trains assigned staff and contract crews, ensuring effective teamwork, high standards of work quality and organizational performance, continuous learning and encourages innovation in others.
- Supervises the day to day operation of all assigned staff; including the scheduling, assigning and reviewing of work. Authorizes and coordinates vacation and overtime requests. Monitors and evaluates staff performance, approves salary increments, hears grievances and recommends disciplinary action when necessary.
- Provide guidance and oversight to staff; including the compliance and enforcement unit of the City’s various tree and natural feature protection bylaws, current industry standards/techniques and internal practice and policies affecting Urban Forestry.
- Supervises the administration of accounts associated with the assigned portfolio, which may include capital accounts, operating accounts, budgets associated with funds from other City Divisions (i.e. Transportation, Toronto Water etc.)
- Acts as a Supervisor under the definitions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and ensures that adequate training, safety equipment and safe work procedures are in place in order to develop a strong culture of Health and Safety and minimize any Health and Safety issues
- Represents the Division at meetings, briefings, small claims court, provincial court, municipal standards appeal hearings and inter-agency and inter-divisional meetings
- Provides project management support and leadership, in co-operation with the City Forester’s Office related to development and improvement of tree By-laws, policies, maintenance practices.
- Provides information, training and promotes compliance on tree protection, bylaw administration, provincial statutes, tree hazard assessment, etc. for City Council other City staff, industry professionals, permit applicants and members of the public
- Coordinates the purchase of supplies, equipment and contracted services including contract development, administration and invoice reconciliation and approval, and provides ongoing control of the allocated budget for their area of operations
- Supervises the inputting, updating and reporting out of various databases
- Reviews plans and applications for development, and utility construction permits to determine compliance and enforcement involvement.
- Liaises and negotiates with builders and utilities to ensure adequate protection measures are taken for tree preservation and health.
- Liaises with other City divisions and utility’s on road widenings and street improvements, related to existing and proposed trees.
- Prioritizes activities and requests for compliance inspection, using database management systems, balancing workload, ensuring appropriate response to requests: investigates and maintains records of complaints, conflicts and problems relating to City trees and/or divisional operations and takes appropriate action to resolve
- Participates in developing urban forestry policies and practices regarding fleet management, ravine and watercourse management, training, tree maintenance, hazard tree removal, bracing and cabling, watering and hydro line clearing, etc.
What you’ll need to succeed:
Among the strengths you bring to the role of Supervisor, Tree Protection & Plan Review will be the following key qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry or related discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Extensive experience in urban forestry operations, environmental planning, tree protection, urban forest planning, management, and relevant municipal and provincial legislation.
- Considerable experience in the identification of trees and use of arboricultural maintenance practices, including a sound understanding of the characteristics and requirements of tree growth, individual tree species attributes and planting techniques in urban environment.
- Considerable experience with tree and natural feature protection bylaws in a Municipal context
- Experience supervising multidisciplinary teams; including unionized staff and handling grievances and labour relations matters.
- Experience with supervising various enforcement activities including: investigations/inspections and the application of Municipal by-laws.
- Must possess and be able to maintain a valid Province of Ontario Class G Driver’s license and the ability to obtain a City Driver’s permit and have access to a personal vehicle.
- Affiliation in a professional organization such as in a discipline pertinent to the job function would be considered an asset.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships with multiple internal and external stakeholders
- Knowledge of relevant government legislation including the Occupational Health & Safety Act, Arborist Safe Work Practices, Highway Traffic Act and Ontario Labour Code and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
- Ability to read complex construction and development plans, to evaluate the impact of proposed construction on nearby trees, and to recommend workable amendments; and the ability to supervise and train staff in these functions.
- Proficiency in the use of corporate computer applications, including; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS access. Th ability to work with large work and asset management systems, such as TMMS, would be considered an asset.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills to support the ability to compose concise reports for City Council and technical reports and presentations; including the ability to train staff on these functions.
- Ability to plan, organize, delegate and manage projects and initiatives, including managing time and budgets in order to handle a large and complex workload.
- Excellent negotiating, problem solving and conflict resolution skills, with the ability to develop solutions within the parameters of existing policy and bylaws processes.
- Ability to support the Toronto Public Service values to ensure a culture that champions equity, diversity and respectful workplaces.