First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in landscaping or groundskeeping activities. Work may involve reviewing contracts to ascertain service, machine, and workforce requirements; answering inquiries from potential customers regarding methods, material, and price ranges; and preparing estimates according to labor, material, and machine costs.
Also known as: Arborist Crew Leader, Buildings and Grounds Supervisor, Cemetery Workers Supervisor, Enhancement Manager, Field Manager, Gardening Manager, Gardening Supervisor, Golf Course Manager, ...
Annual Salary
Median annual wage (May 2024)
Job Outlook
Projected growth, 2024–2034 (About average)
What You'd Do
- Establish and enforce operating procedures and work standards that will ensure adequate performance and personnel safety.
- Inspect completed work to ensure conformance to specifications, standards, and contract requirements.
- Direct activities of workers who perform duties, such as landscaping, cultivating lawns, or pruning trees and shrubs.
- Schedule work for crews, depending on work priorities, crew or equipment availability, or weather conditions.
- Plant or maintain vegetation through activities such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, or pruning.
- Monitor project activities to ensure that instructions are followed, deadlines are met, and schedules are maintained.
- Train workers in tasks such as transplanting or pruning trees or shrubs, finishing cement, using equipment, or caring for turf.
- Provide workers with assistance in performing duties as necessary to meet deadlines.
- Inventory supplies of tools, equipment, or materials to ensure that sufficient supplies are available and items are in usable condition.
- Confer with other supervisors to coordinate work activities with those of other departments or units.
- Perform personnel-related activities, such as hiring workers, evaluating staff performance, or taking disciplinary actions when performance problems occur.
- Direct or perform mixing or application of fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
- Review contracts or work assignments to determine service, machine, or workforce requirements for jobs.
- Maintain required records, such as personnel information or project records.
- Prepare or maintain required records, such as work activity or personnel reports.
- Order the performance of corrective work when problems occur and recommend procedural changes to avoid such problems.
- Identify diseases or pests affecting landscaping and order appropriate treatments.
- Investigate work-related complaints to verify problems and to determine responses.
- Direct or assist workers engaged in the maintenance or repair of equipment, such as power tools or motorized equipment.
- Install or maintain landscaped areas, performing tasks such as removing snow, pouring cement curbs, or repairing sidewalks.
Top Skills
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Knowledge Areas
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Education Level Distribution
Percentage of workers in this occupation by education level
Technology & Tools
Software and tools commonly used in this role
In-Demand Technologies
Other Tools
Work Styles
Personality traits and work styles important for this career
Key Abilities
Cognitive, physical, and sensory abilities important for this role
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Work Activities
General types of job behaviors occurring on this job
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Work Environment
Physical and social factors that influence the nature of work
Related Careers
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Salary data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Outlook data: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license.