Plant Production Supervisor

Huntsville Botanical Garden•Huntsville, AL

22d•$38,000 - $45,000

About The Position

Execute the propagation and production of plants for collections, fundraisers, and education programs to align with Huntsville Botanical Garden mission, conservation and sustainability initiatives in collaboration with the Plant Sciences team and other internal stakeholders. Manage nursery and greenhouse operations, and schedule and manage staff and volunteers involved with growing in greenhouse and nursery area.

Requirements

Bachelors in nursery & greenhouse production, horticulture or related field from an accredited program and 2+ years of relevant experience in plant propagation and crop cycle scheduling.
Must possess a valid driver’s license, which is subject to insurability and an annual Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) report.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, with emphasis on Word and Excel.
Must have or be able to obtain an OTPC Applicators License within 6 months of hire.
Ability to organize and delegate work, create schedules and crop cycles, and problem solve.
Decision making skills and the ability to prioritize.
Knowledge of basic plant culture and disease/insect pest diagnostics in greenhouse and nursery settings under northern Alabama weather conditions.
Ability to identify major plant genera and species common to Southeastern North America and familiarity with the names, characteristics, and growing requirements of a wide range of cultivated and native plants.
Training and/or experience in greenhouse environmental and irrigation control systems is critical for this position.
Experience collecting and analyzing biological and cultural data will aid success in this role.
Practical experience with safely operating job-related equipment and tools, including office equipment, two-way radio, truck, electric carts, fertigation equipment, environmental controls, and horticultural hand tools, weed eaters, blowers, mowers, and skid steer.
Exemplifies core values.
Leadership and interpersonal skills, including thoughtful, excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to identify issues, and consider multiple solutions, with emphasis on collaborative decision making with garden colleagues.
Ability to translate strategy and plans into budgets and narrative.
Ability to execute both long- and short-term projects successfully.

Nice To Haves

Master’s in horticulture, nursery greenhouse production, or related field from an accredited program and 2+ years of relevant experience in ornamental plant propagation and plant research including supervisory, retail and/or conducting and creating crop schedules experience.

Responsibilities

Grow herbaceous, woody, and aquatic plants for garden collections and displays, source and produce a variety of commercially unavailable native plants to support horticultural operations, sustainability initiatives, plant collections, fundraisers, education programs, and events.
Manage the daily operations of and maintain nursery and greenhouse areas including weed eating, mowing, spraying herbicide, heating, cooling, irrigation and structural maintenance. Assist the Facilities department with planning repairs related to greenhouse structures.
Monitor growing conditions and oversee changes in humidity, moisture, temperature and cultivation procedures to ensure conformance with quality control standards.
Plan, implement, and document growing procedures, disease and pest diagnosis, and treatment of plants in the greenhouse and nursery spaces.
Advises and consults project team on the Garden’s Plant Sale budgets, inventory, growing spaces, and cultural needs, working together with Plant Sciences, Guest Experience, and Marketing to improve revenue generation, best practices, and all other needs for Garden’s fundraisers and sales.
Improve the quality of plants grown in-house and sold at Huntsville Botanical Garden.
Identify trends and forecast future space and resources for plant production, research needs and costs to inform the annual operating and plant sale budgets and grant proposals.
Train and lead supervised staff and volunteers in greenhouse and nursery production, cultural practices, IPM, record keeping, and pesticide safety.
Maintain comprehensive inventory and records of essential growing procedures and techniques, while monitoring results.
Develop growing procedures and cultivation techniques for target species on which there is little available information and perform other duties as assigned.