Lifeguard & Senior Lifeguard (25 Positions)

Beach Locations: 

·       Sand Key Park - 1060 Gulf Blvd, Clearwater, FL 33767

·       Fort DeSoto Park - 3500 Pinellas Bayway S, Tierra Verde, FL 33715

Work Schedule:  Routinely working on weekends and holidays.

Projected Start Date:  April 7, 2025

Part-Time and Full-Time Seasonal Opportunities Available

Multiple Openings

Pinellas County Government is hiring multiple Lifeguards and Senior Lifeguards for various locations within Pinellas County. These are seasonal, temporary positions performing skilled public safety work preventing injury or death in county open water swimming areas. Employees in these positions safeguard patrons at county open water swimming areas to prevent injury or loss of life by drowning and administer first aid or Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as required. Uniforms are provided at no cost to you on the first day and extensive training will be provided within the first month of hire!

Essential Functions (For both the Lifeguard and Lifeguard, Senior)

• Practice the basic principles of Prevention, Recognition, and Rescue while on duty.
• Rescue bathers in distress, apply resuscitation and administer first-aid when necessary.
• Ensure name and start time is logged on the daily sign-in sheet.
• Check all medical equipment daily and report all needed and damaged equipment to Sr. Guard or Supervisor directly.
• Ensure swimmers are advised during the hours of operation to swim in designated area.
• Where hazards exist, warn patrons of these dangers and direct to new location as needed.
• Be polite and courteous when engaging in dialogue with members of the public and co-workers.
• Lifeguards will be assigned to specific duties/roles including sitting tower, mobile patrols(roving), first aid station.
• Promote an image of professionalism, diligence, integrity, and physical endurance at all times.
• Take responsibility for reporting accurate information through diligent completion of all incident forms and daily logs.
• Maintain order and discipline among bathers and beach goers at an assigned County swimming area.
• Inspect assigned areas to ensure proper warning signs and safety devices are properly posted or in place.
• Assist in maintaining general appearance and cleanliness of beach areas and facilities.
• Receive and transmit information on hand-held and base station radios.
• Respond to and treat both life-threatening and minor medical emergencies.
• Maintain awareness of life-threatening situations.
• Perform equipment maintenance and repair.
• Monitor the radio continuously while on duty.
• Clean all the equipment at the end of the shift.
• Perform related work as assigned or required.

Position Specific Requirements

Lifeguard

• Completion of American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Certification or equivalent; or
• An equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience.

Lifeguard, Senior

• At least 1 year of experience as a lifeguard; or
• An equivalent combination of education, training and/or experience.

Additional Requirements (For both the Lifeguard and Lifeguard, Senior)

• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Must acquire and maintain an American Red Cross or equivalent current C.P.R./A.E.D. for the professional rescue or healthcare providers, or higher level of certification before the first day on duty.
• Must acquire and maintain an American Red Cross or equivalent current First Aid certification, or higher level of certification before the first day on duty.
• Must possess American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification or equivalent training at time of hire and complete the 40-hour training program provided by Pinellas County Beach Patrol within 30 days of hire. 
• Must pass the following Physical agility pre-hire tests:
  • Demonstrates an ability to swim 500 meters (550 yards), without equipment that enhances buoyancy or propulsion, over a measured course in ten minutes or less.
  • Run half a mile under 4 minutes.
• Ability to work other County Beach Parks as schedule and staffing demands change.
• Assignment to work a variety of work schedules including compulsory work periods in special, emergency, and/or disaster situations.
  • Available to work a variety of work schedules including all three major holiday weekends (Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day).
• Possession and maintenance of a valid Driver License upon hire with eligibility based upon evaluation of a Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) driving report. Please Note: selected candidates that possess an out-of-state (non-Florida) driver license will be required to provide a copy of their driving record from their local Department of Motor Vehicle upon hire.
• Possesses adequate vision, hearing acuity, physical ability and stamina to perform the duties of an open water lifeguard.
• Applicants must have the ability to maintain their physical fitness to successfully complete all practical skills and testing during the entire season.

Highly Desirable

• Current First Responder, E.M.T. or Paramedic certification.
• At least three months of responsible lifeguarding experience.

Physical/Mental Demands

The work is light work which requires exerting up to 80 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 20 pounds of force to move objects.  Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium.
• Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized.
• Crawling: Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet.
• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
• Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound.
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.
• Mental acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Repetitive motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.
• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles.
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Visual acuity: Have close visual acuity such as color differentiation, depth perception, and adequate field vision.
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in an environment with crisis situations that require major decisions involving people, resources, and property.