Garden Manager

Title: GARDEN MANAGER

Type: Full-time (FTE), 40 hrs/wk, at will, exempt.

Compensation: Annual starting salary $ 62,400, plus benefits.

Workplace Location: Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden (Garden) in Captain Cook, Hawai’i Island.

Employer: Friends of Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden (Friends). A 501( c)3 non-profit organization.

Application Deadline: Immediate acceptance of applications. Applications accepted until the position is filled. Interviews will begin in November 2023.

Application Instructions: Email cover letter, detailed résumé, and contact information for 3 professional references to: mariemorin24@gmail.com.

The Garden Manager of the non-profit Friends serves under the employment and direction of the Friends Board of Directors. The staff Executive Director of the Friends is the Garden Manager’s Supervisor. This exempt position is an at-will employment which is subject to meeting performance expectations and to the availability of funding for the position. The Garden Manager’s (Manager) domain encompasses horticulture, collections management, conservation, landscape maintenance, and facilities care at the ethnobotanical garden. S/he oversees and directs work with employees and volunteers in the landscape and nursery and provides administrative support in those areas. Education, fundraising, and community activities and relations are primarily the kuleana (responsibility) of the Friend’s Executive Director and other staff under the Executive Director, but the Garden Manager collaborates with these staff and contributes significantly to those areas and events.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES: Coordinates, oversees, and manages daily on-site operations: facilities and landscape management and maintenance, collections management, employee and volunteer duties and interactions, and related administrative functions, for the 5 parcels of the Garden. Provides direction and recommendations to the Executive Director, the Friends Board of Directors, the community, and other professional cooperating organizations.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES: The Garden Manager is expected to familiarize his/herself with the entire Garden and its archaeological sites, as well as the Garden’s legal management and development restrictions, which include two (2) Hawai’i County Conservation Easements, contracts with the State of Hawaii Legacy Land Program and federal USDA Community Forest and Open Space Program, a Community Forest Management Plan, and restrictions on archaeological features within the Garden’s 5 land parcels.

The Garden Manager also:

▪ Embody and promote the Garden’s mission, vision, and strategic plan during Garden activities with staff, volunteers, and visitors, and in external communications.

▪ Ensures performance of horticultural tasks which include planting, pruning, fertilizing, fencing, weedtrimming, pest control, mowing, irrigation, and administering pesticide and herbicide treatments.

▪ Plans and oversees the development and/or maintenance of Garden infrastructure including landscaping, irrigation, buildings, machinery and equipment, paths, and preservation of archaeological sites. Ensures repairs are performed as needed.

▪ Leads and participates in planning and development of projects relating to native plant as well as Hawaiian ‘canoe plant’ living collections, horticulture, garden operations, and archaeological features.

▪ Provides input to funding proposals, oversees, and reports on grant-funded projects as needed, working with the Executive Director and Grant Writer.

▪ Provides project oversight and assures that work is done in accordance with plans and accomplished in a timely manner and on budget. Recommends revisions and problem-solves as necessary.

▪ Develops protocols and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for smooth Garden and Nursery management and maintenance with input from other Garden staff and the Friends Board.

▪ Trains Garden staff and volunteers and identifies appropriate training and educational opportunities for the Garden staff: works to increase professional development and teamwork within the staff.

▪ Participates in the development of goals and objectives of the Garden; develops and manages operational plans and budgets in conjunction with the Executive Director and the Friends Treasurer; monitors and tracks expenses and allocates Garden resources.

▪ Creates and maintains appropriate and adequate records.

▪ Oversees the maintenance and growth of the Garden’s botanical collection with a main focus on indigenous and endemic plants, as well as Polynesian-introduced canoe plants. Ensures the accuracy and adequacy of plant and seed collection records.

▪ Ensures that the cultivars/varieties within the canoe plant collections (e.g., kalo, banana, sugar cane, sweet potato, breadfruit) are properly managed and curated.

▪ Works with the Executive Director on community special and/or cultural events, such as the Garden’s annual Grow Hawaiian Festival, and Arbor Day and community kalo huli events.

▪ Oversees and manages the Garden nursery, staff, volunteers, and interns. Ensures that plants are accurately identified as to genus and species and are correctly labeled.

▪ Ensures that the Friends State Threatened & Endangered Plant Species permits are kept up-to-date and in reporting compliance. Ensures that all threatened and endangered plants grown and sold/donated are properly sourced and tagged with plastic T & E labels.

▪ Monitors and supervises Garden maintenance and nursery staff, interns, and volunteers; drafts job descriptions and some work contracts; tracks work time; interviews, monitors, and evaluates performance; manages budgets as needed.

▪Oversees, manages, and safely maintains the Garden vehicles, machinery, equipment, computers, security system, pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals.

▪ Complies with all safety rules and regulations and establishes safe work practices. Reads all safety materials and ensures that safe management practices are maintained. Maintains the Garden and its equipment to prevent accident-producing conditions.

▪ Oversees compliance with, and has knowledge of, relevant federal, state, and local laws, regulations, practices, and policies.

▪ Represents the Garden in the community through participation in community organizations, outreach, and interactions with managers of similar organizations.

▪ Seeks opportunities to advance the mission, financial security, and visibility of the Garden.

▪ Holds regular staff meetings with staff, interns, and volunteers.

▪Performs other duties as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS: Any combination of education, experience, or relevant skills equivalent to the requirements will be considered.

▪ College degree with college coursework in horticultural sciences, ethnobotany, botany and similar coursework.

▪ At least three years of experience in horticultural/botanical activities.

▪ At least two years in a supervisory and administrative capacity and two years’ experience in project management.

▪ Familiarity and respect for Hawaiian cultural practices are essential for this lead role in the Garden, which has a strong ethnobotanical focus.

▪ Flexibility in working hours, as some evening and weekend work is required.

▪ Computer literate with competency in Microsoft Office and other standard computer software.

▪ Experience in plant propagation, greenhouse operation, irrigation system setup and maintenance, and garden equipment operation.

▪ Valid driver’s license.

OTHER DESIRED KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND SKILLS:

▪ Self-starter with excellent people skills.

▪ Experience recruiting and working with volunteers.

▪ Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

▪ The ideal candidate will also have past experience working for a non-profit.

▪ Familiarity with Native Hawaiian culture by close association is preferred.

SUPERVISION: The Garden Manager is directly supervised by the staff Executive Director and is accountable to oversight by the Friends Board of Directors. The Garden Manager supervises Garden staff, interns, and volunteers primarily involved in horticulture, collections management, conservation, landscape maintenance, and facilities care, in cooperation with the Executive Director. The Garden Manager supervises the Nursery Coordinator, the Horticulturist, the Garden Maintenance Caretakers, and interns and volunteers primarily involved in these activities.

WORKING CONDITIONS AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: This position is currently supported for a minimum of 5 years. Office work but also must be physically fit and able to lift at least 30 lbs. Must be willing to use insecticides and herbicides, including wearing PPE. Job is sometimes physically demanding requires the ability to use a heavy duty weed eater, carry a heavy spray tank in a backpack sprayer and walk over uneven ground, trim trees with a chainsaw, blow paths and the parking lot with a backpack blower, and undertake other strenuous garden tasks.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship or immigration status, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other protected status. In compliance with federal law and as a condition of employment, all employees must be able to provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request reasonable accommodation as part of the employment selection process, please contact Marie Morin at mariemorin24@ gmail.com.

BACKGROUND OF THE FRIENDS: The Friends of Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden (Friends) is a community-based non-profit organization that owns and manages the ethnobotanical Garden/Community Forest (Garden) located in Captain Cook, Hawai’i Island. The Friends purchased the decades-old Garden from Bishop Museum in 2019 after several years of fund-raising and are again re-opening the Garden after several years of closure prior to its purchase and the partial closure of the Garden during the pandemic.

MORE ABOUT THE GARDEN: The Mission Statement of the Friends is: “As stewards of the Garden’s legacy, we cultivate opportunities for everyone to enjoy our Hawaiian botanical and cultural resources through educational programs, scientific research, recreation, and conservation for the islands and the world.” The 13.6-acre Garden is home to many unique native and endangered Hawaiian plants as well as Polynesian canoe plants of cultural importance, living collections of kalo (taro) and sugar cane and other agroforestry cultivars, a large intact archaeological remnant of the Hawaiian agricultural Kona Field System, representative plant zone groupings, and a Hawaiian Heiau. The Friends have recently undertaken Strategic Planning, and current planned programming includes providing educational, recreational, and research opportunities to the community and visitors. The website for the Friends of Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden is: www.amygreenwell.garden. Our vision statement is: “Ka mālama’ana I kamo’omeheu. I mea e ola ai mai kēia mua aku”, which translates to “Preserving culture. So that there is life to come.”