Director of Horticulture Services

City of New York•New York, NY

21h•$100,000 - $110,000•Onsite

About The Position

NYC Parks is the steward of nearly 30,000 acres of land, managing over 5,000 individual properties. The Division of Environment and Planning, through the Natural Resources Group (NRG), focuses on protecting, restoring, and expanding New York City's green spaces. This role supports all divisions in creating high-performing vegetated spaces. This position is specifically open to current full-time, annually paid Parks employees who meet certain civil service criteria, such as holding the Administrative Horticulturist title, being on leave from it, or holding a comparable title, or being reachable on a comparable civil service list.

Requirements

Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college with major study in horticulture, arboriculture, or landscape architecture and four years of full-time, paid experience in horticultural work.
Two (2) years of the horticultural experience must have been in a supervisory, administrative, consultative, managerial, or executive capacity.
High school diploma or evidence of having passed an examination for a high school equivalency diploma (required if equivalent experience is used instead of a degree).
One year of supervisory, administrative, consultative, managerial, or executive experience (required if equivalent experience is used instead of a degree).
Must be a current full-time, annually paid Parks employee.
Must be serving in the Administrative Horticulturist civil service title, on leave from the title, or a permanent Parks employee in or on leave from a comparable title (e.g. Administrative Park & Recreation Manager or Administrative Community Relations Specialist).
Must be a Parks employee who took and passed the Administrative Horticulturist Civil Service Examination (Exam No. 6005) or be reachable on a comparable civil service list or qualify for a comparable title.
Indicate the exam number and your list number or comparable title on your resume.

Nice To Haves

Experience in plant ecology, nursery management, borough horticulture, forestry, or capital projects.
Experience with integrated pest management and pesticide use and tracking.
Experience in developing and coordinating training and professional development programs.
Experience representing an agency at committees, boards, and working groups.
Experience liaising with City and State agencies regarding regulations.

Responsibilities

Develop, promulgate, and uphold standards and protocols for the care and preservation of horticultural areas citywide, including developing and communicating a vision, goals, policies, standard operating procedures, and performance measurement systems.
Oversee management of the staff and operations at the Citywide Nursery in Van Cortlandt Park, which produces plants for agency horticulture projects.
Develop processes for continued and increased alignment between the Citywide Nursery, PECaN, borough horticulture, forestry, and capital projects, identifying opportunities for efficiency improvements, resource sharing, enhanced biodiversity, and strategic coordination.
Convene a Horticulture Managers working group to generate motivation, provide guidance, coordinate activities, develop policies, and ensure standard application of best practices for ecologically-sound horticulture and pesticide use and tracking.
Research and share information on new materials, methods, and policies relating to plant care, including recommendations for appropriate plant palettes, integrated pest management, and horticulture technologies and methodologies.
Plan and coordinate field training, professional development classes, and recognition programs within the agency and in collaboration with other institutions.
Perform horticulture tasks including development of and consultation for special projects and emerging initiatives that advance agency-wide horticultural priorities, promote biodiversity and climate resilience, and enhance the quality and stewardship of planted landscapes.
Provide regular updates on the status of various projects and programs and ensure that projects advance in a timely manner.
Prepare briefings, reports, analyses, evaluations, and correspondence, working with NRG Communications staff as needed.
Represent the agency at relevant committees, boards, and working groups.
Liaise with other City and State agencies regarding pesticide rules, regulations, and reporting.