SPECIAL PROGRAM ASSISTANT II

Zoo

Exempt | Location: North Central/ Hollywood (Griffith Park)

Annual Salary

$26

contact information

LA Zoo Human Resources
323-644-5330
lazoo.personnel@lacity.org

job description

SCHEDULE Typical hours range between 6:00 AM to 2:30 PM daily; the number of hours may vary. May also require weekends and holidays

LOCATION Los Angeles Zoo – 5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027

DUTIES / JOB DESCRIPTION

This is an at-will exempt intermittent position which can be terminated at any time without cause. A Special Program Assistant II will perform a variety of janitorial and routine gardening and landscaping duties. The duties include, but are not limited to:

Remove litter and debris
Perform general gardening duties (weeding, seed collection, soil cultivation)
Hand water trees and shrubs
Assist with the pruning of small trees and shrubs and mowing of lawns
Use various tools and power equipment relating to gardening work
Lift up to 50 lbs.
Assist in California Native restoration projects
Duties may be outdoors and may be exposed to the sun and heat for a prolonged period of time
Assist in the sweeping and washing of cement walks and other areas

REQUIREMENTS

Ability to work outdoors in various types of weather
Ability to walk and work on uneven terrain and stand for extended periods of time
Work may involve stooping, kneeling, and crouching
Strength to lift and carry tools, equipment and other materials (up to 50 pounds)
Previous gardening, maintenance, and sprinkler irrigation experience is preferred

How to apply

Interested candidates should email an updated resume or a completed City application to lazoo.personnel@lacity.org and the subject line must include “SPA II (Grounds).” Resumes and/or applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, August 31, 2026, or until sufficient applications have been received.

exempt employment

If employment is said to be exempt, it is meant that the employment is exempted from the civil service provisions of the City Charter. In order to receive a regular civil service appointment, employees must have successfully participated in a civil service examination, received a high enough score on the examination to be placed on and receive an appointment from an eligible list, and they must serve a probationary period. Exempt employees do not compete in a civil service examination, they are not placed on an eligible list and receive an appointment from that list, nor do they serve a probationary period. As a result, exempt employees do not have what is referred to as a “property interest” in their job. Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority and can be terminated at any time without cause. Employees with a property interest in their job, i.e. civil service employees, cannot be deprived of their employment(discharged or suspended) without due process.

General Information About Exempt Employment

Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority, and as such, they may be discharged, suspended or otherwise disciplined without cause. Exempt employees have no property interest in their employment, and any procedural benefit or other prerogative extended to them by their appointing authority is not intended to create and does not create any such property interest. No officer or employee of the City may make to any other officer or employee any representation of a property interest in employment which does not correspond to Charter provisions unless the City Council, by ordinance, permits such representation. No unauthorized representation can serve as the basis of an employee's reliance on, or expectation of, a property interest.

Employees Seeking To Become Civil Service Employees

There is no protective leave for an exempt employee appointed to a civil service position. Upon receiving a civil service appointment and passing probation, the former exempt employee will be subject to the Civil Service provisions described in Article X of the City Charter. Upon appointment, the civil service employee will begin to accrue displacement and layoff seniority on the first day of his/her civil service appointment and may file for promotional examinations for which s/he qualifies. A full or half-time exempt employee appointed to a full or half-time civil service position continues to: contribute to the Retirement System; accrue vacation time; accrue sick time; receive anniversary date salary increases; and, receive health and dental benefits identical to those received in the civil service position.

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