Director of Horticulture Services

City of New York•New York, NY

4d•$100,000 - $125,000•Onsite

About The Position

NYC Parks is the steward of nearly 30,000 acres of land, including more than 5,000 individual properties. The Division of Environment and Planning aims to protect, restore, and expand New York City's green spaces and natural areas. The Natural Resources Group (NRG) within Environment and Planning supports all Divisions in the agency to create beautiful, high-performing vegetated spaces. This position is ONLY OPEN TO CURRENT FULL-TIME ANNUALLY PAID PARKS EMPLOYEES who are either serving in the Administrative Horticulturist civil service title or on leave from the title.

Requirements

A 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 of which two (2) years must have been in a supervisory, administrative, consultative, managerial, or executive capacity.
OR A satisfactory equivalent.
However, all candidates must have at least a high school diploma or evidence of having passed an examination for a high school equivalency diploma and one year of supervisory, administrative, consultative, managerial, or executive experience as described above.

Responsibilities

Develop, promulgate, and uphold standards and protocols for the care and preservation of horticultural areas citywide, including the development and communication of 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 among all horticultural programs across NYC Parks.
Convene a Horticulture Managers working group, in collaboration with Maintenance & Operations, 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 of 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 across the agency.
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.