The mission of the National Tropical Botanical Garden is to enrich life by perpetuating tropical plants, ecosystems, and cultural heritage.
The National Tropical Botanical Garden is seeking candidates for the position of Full Time Nursery and Fern Lab Manager located on South Shore Gardens, Kauai, HI.
NTBG works at the interface between art, science, and culture, which requires cultural awareness for the significance of plants to people, horticulture excellence, and scientific curiosity and rigor to grow some of the rarest plants on the planet. The purpose of this position is to lead the nursery and fern lab operations.
● The position’s primary responsibility is leading a team of diverse staff to care for plants in the nursery and fern lab, including volunteers and interns.
○ A Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture or related practical work experience is required.
○ Experience supervising staff is required.
● The Nursery and Fern Lab Manager will manage day-to-day operations in the nursery and fern lab, including monitoring watering, maintaining irrigation systems, and supply purchasing and maintenance.
○ Working knowledge of nursery equipment maintenance and repair is required.
● Successfully growing sensitive plant and fern taxa requires excellent standards for sanitation, adjusting irrigation as needed, quarantine protocols to isolate new plants entering the garden, and pest management.
○ Must have experience with best practices and a valid Pesticide Applicators license (or be able to obtain one shortly after hire).
● Growing ex situ conservation and biocultural collections is an exciting challenge in this position. For endangered Hawaiian taxa, this might be the first time cultivation is attempted. For native and culturally important taxa, knowledge on propagation and care comes from scientific and traditional knowledge sources
○ Experience with gathering information about best horticultural practices from diverse sources is required.
○ Experience with excellent record keeping using quantitative spreadsheets such as Excel and experience creating summary statistics to display fates of plants in order to analyze best practices is required.
○ Experience working with federally listed endangered species is desirable.
○ Experience working with native Hawaiian taxa and knowledge of their cultural significance is desirable, and if this knowledge does not already exist, there must be eagerness to learn.
● The nursery manager will obtain and disseminate knowledge of best practices by communicating closely with scientists and horticulturalists within NTBG and across the broader tropical horticulture and conservation community.
○ Excellent oral and written communication skills are required.
Must have a valid Driver’s license and the ability to travel occasionally.
Schedule: Monday-Friday Days with some exceptions
Pay Range: $56,000-$61,000/ yr. DOE
Open until filled
Submit resume and cover letter for consideration