SENIOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, CALTRANS EXAMINATION BULLETIN Survey

Exam Code: 8TR45

Department: Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

Exam Type: Departmental, Open Non Promotional

Bulletin Date: 06/04/2018

Final Filing Date: Continuous (cut-off dates for 2024: January 31st, February 29th, March 30th, April 30th, May 31st, June 30th, July 31st, August 31st, September 30th, October 30th, November 30th, December 31st)
Monthly Salary: $10,886.00 - $13,625.00

INTRODUCTION
Caltrans is pleased to announce the posting of the Senior Landscape Architect, Caltrans examination. Employment from this examination may be offered in all Districts and Sacramento County.

Any information submitted in your examination effort WILL NOT BE FORWARDED or be included in the determination of your qualifications for a position.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Caltrans is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

DRUG FREE STATEMENT
It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. All applicants will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective, as the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing civil service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

WHO SHOULD APPLY
Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications as stated below may apply for this examination.

Once you have list eligibility, you may not reapply for twelve (12) months from your eligibility date. Candidates that are unsuccessful in the examination must wait six (6) months from the testing date before reapplying to take the examination.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted into the examination. Part-time or full-time jobs, regardless of whether paid or volunteer positions, and inside or outside California state service will count toward experience.

FILING INSTRUCTIONS
Candidates are required to submit 1) STD 678 State Application and 2) Training and Experience Evaluation

Examinations and STD678s must be received or postmarked no later than the cut-off date. Dates printed on Mobile Bar Codes, such as the Quick Response (QR) Codes available at the USPS, are not considered Postmark dates for the purpose of determining timely filing of an examination. Faxed or E-mailed examinations or STD678s will NOT be accepted.

File by Mail

Attention: Caltrans Examination Services (MS 86)
P.O. Box 168036, Sacramento, CA 95816-8036

File in Person

Attention: Caltrans Examination Services (MS 86)
1727 30TH Street, 1st Floor, Sacramento, CA 95816-8036

*Any information submitted in your examination effort WILL NOT BE FORWARDED or be included in the determination of your qualifications for a position.

**Candidates are responsible for obtaining proof of mailing or submission of their examination to Exam Services.

POSITION STATEMENT
Under direction, to have charge of landscape architectural work involving the supervision of journey level landscape architects and others engaged in the development and preparation of master plans, the design and preparation of contract documents for major landscape architectural and land use planning projects, and the development of visual impact assessment of various facilities; act upon difficult day-to-day technical design decisions; formulate and implement plans and procedures for comprehensive landscape architecture and land use planning projects; meet and coordinate landscape architectural projects with community, agency and departmental leaders; and do other related work.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMITTANCE TO THE EXAMINATION
All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements for this examination by the cut-off date.

NOTE: Qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as “Either I,” “or II,” “or III,” etc. For example, candidates possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern I, and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern II, may be admitted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirements.

Click on the link below to review the California State Personnel Board class specification which contain the requirements for admittance to the exam:
Senior Landscape Architect, Caltrans Classification Specification

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Possession of a valid Certificate of Registration as a Landscape Architect issued by the California Board of Landscape Architects AND

Either I

Experience: Two years of experience in the California state service performing the duties of an Associate Landscape Architect (Specialist), Associate Landscape Architect (Supervisor), or Landscape Associate, Caltrans, Range D.

Or II

Experience: Five years of experience in landscape architectural design or construction work, three years of which shall have been in responsible charge of the planning, design and programming of major landscape projects. AND

Education: Equivalent to graduation from college with major work in landscape architecture. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis.)

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES
Knowledge of:

1. Principles of landscape architecture including design and civil engineering as applied to landscape architecture

2. Land use planning, drafting procedures and practices including computer-aided design and drafting, and use of personal computers

3. Site analysis and planning

4. Erosion control

5. Proper use of plant materials

6. Principles of Ecology

7. Soil preparation, planting, and irrigation techniques

8. Landscape maintenance procedures

9. Native and exotic plant materials best adapted to specific uses in various parts of California

10. Landscape architectural problems encountered in transportation facility or building locations and engineering work and their solutions

11. Basic knowledge of visual analysis and how such issues relate to the environmental impact process

12. Principles of program and project management

13. Principles of budgeting and program control

14. Various phases of engineering (relating specifically to landscape architecture) including planning processes and methods/systems planning, evaluation of alternatives and facility locations and design, construction, operation and maintenance

15. Principles of personnel management and supervision

16. Caltrans’ safety, health, equal employment opportunity, and labor relations program objectives

17. Planning, directing and evaluating the work of a professional staff including other professional disciplines that may include a staff of landscape architects

18. Factors which influence the impact of landscape architecture facilities on the environment, the community, and the economy

Ability to:

1. Perform professional design work including, site analysis, site planning, master planning, and planting design

2. Select proper plant materials to achieve desired effects and prevent soil erosion

3. Estimate the cost of landscaping and related ground improvements and prepare construction specifications

4. Layout and design surface drainage, irrigation and sprinkling systems in connection with landscape projects

5. Use California native plant materials under a variety of conditions

6. Serve on project development teams as an authority on visual analysis issues

7. Create and select proper design to reduce unsafe conditions

8. Demonstrate artistic and creative aptitude

9. Analyze situations accurately and take effective action

10. Prepare reports, plan and make public presentations

11. Work effectively with others as a member of interdisciplinary planning or design teams

12. Correlate engineering or architectural features to proposed landscape projects

13. Communicate effectively as demonstrated by the ability to organize ideas and present departmental policies to community groups, Federal, State and localagencies

14. Effectively contribute to Caltrans’ safety, equal employment opportunity, and laborrelations program objectivesVETERANS

EXAMINATION INFORMATION
This examination will consist of a Training & Experience Evaluation weighted 100%. In order to obtain a position on the eligible list, a minimum score of 70% must be attained.

Examinations will be accepted on a continuous basis and will be processed monthly. Testing is considered continuous, as new test dates can be set at any time as the departmental needs warrant. Candidates will receive their results 6-8 weeks after the cutoff date.

VETERANS' PREFERENCE
Veterans’ Preference will be applied to those competitors who are successful in this examination and who qualify for, and have requested, Veterans’ Preference through the California Department of Human Resources. Veterans who have achieved permanent civil service status are not eligible to receive Veterans’ Preference.

CAREER CREDITS
Career Credits will be added to the final score of this examination.

CONTACT INFORMATION
General questions on how to apply? Click HERE for video tutorials.

For more information regarding this examination, please contact the Office of Examinations at (916) 227-7858 or email the Exam Analyst at Ehsan.Tahir@dot.ca.gov.

GENERAL INFORMATION
For an examination without a written feature, it is the candidate's responsibility to contact the testing department three weeks after the cut-off date if he/she has not received his/her notice.

Applications are available at Standard State Application (STD 678), California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) offices, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and the testing department on this job bulletin.

If you meet the requirements stated on this bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirement does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination will be compared with the performance of the others who take this test, and all candidates who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Caltrans reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all competitors will be notified.

Candidates needing special testing arrangements due to a disability must complete an STD679 and submit with the requested examination materials.

General Qualifications: Candidates must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, and the ability to work cooperatively with others; and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin. Eligibility lists may be abolished at anytime after one year, per Departmental needs. It is the candidates responsibility to maintain eligibility throughout the hiring process.

If High School Equivalence is Required: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Educational Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the candidate is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

If Veterans’ Preference is Warranted: Pursuant to Assembly Bill 372, Veterans’ Preference will be awarded as follows, starting January 1, 2014:

1.    Any veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran, who achieves a passing score in an open examination, shall be ranked in the top rank of the resulting eligibility list.
2.    Any veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released is not eligible for Veterans’ Preference.
3.    Veterans’ Preference is not granted once a person achieves permanent civil service status (Permanent State civil service status means the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This includes permanent intermittent, part-time, and full-time appointments. In addition, individuals who at any time achieved permanent State civil service status and subsequently resigned or were dismissed from State civil service are not eligible to receive Veterans’ Preference).

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans’ Preference are on the

Veterans’ Preference Application (CalHR Form 1093) which is also available at CalHR and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

If Career Credits is Warranted: In Open, Non-promotional examinations, Career Credits are granted to: 1) State employees with permanent civil service status, 2) full-time employees of the state who are exempt from State civil service pursuant to the provisions of Section 4 of Article VII of the California Constitution, and who meet all qualification requirement specified by the Board and have 12 consecutive months of service in an exempt position, and 3) individuals who have served one full year in, or are graduates of, the California Conservation Corps (eligibility shall expire 24 months after graduation from the California Conservation Corps). Three points are added to the final test score of those candidates who meet the above criteria, and who are successful in the examination. Such examinations cannot be for managerial positions described in Government Code Section 3513. Competitors not currently employed in State civil service who have mandatory reinstatement rights may also be eligible for career credits, but they must explain their service status in the appropriate section of the application Form 100-678. (Section 4 of Article VII of the California Constitution is posted at the State Personnel Board, 801 Capitol Mall and Sacramento).