Job Description

University of Utah Job Description

Job Summary

Assists in the daily supervision and maintenance of the Red Butte Gardens, the Biology or Arboretum Greenhouses, and the Biology research gardens in order to facilitate the continued development of the Gardens and research plants species, and to serve the community and the University.

Qualifications

Associate degree in Horticulture, Biology or a related field, or equivalency and 1 year of related experience required. A valid Utah State Non-Commercial Pesticide Applicator License, or the ability to obtain license within 6 months of hire required. A general knowledge of plant identification and nomenclature and specific knowledge of grounds and garden maintenance. Demonstrated oral and written communications skills to deal effectively with a diverse clientele.

Applicants must demonstrate the potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in the position description.

Disclaimer

This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification.  It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to the job.

Essential Functions

1. Schedules garden and equipment maintenance projects in order to coordinate the activities with the weekly work schedules.
2. Assists with the supervision of garden staff and volunteers in order to accomplish necessary garden maintenance and development activities
3. Through weekly staff meetings, assists with planning and coordinating garden activities ensuring that garden events and projects are coordinated with planned maintenance.
4. Performs plant maintenance including daily watering and propagation of plant species insuring the cultivation of plants for gardens, plant sales, and research use.
5. Selects and applies pesticides and fertilizers to control insects, disease and weeds in the greenhouses and gardens and to provide nutrients to the plants.
6. Provides minor maintenance to greenhouse systems insuring appropriate greenhouse environment conditions are maintained.
7. Assists with the computerized plant inventory in order to identify, locate and map all plant collections.
8. Answers horticultural questions asked by visitors, greets and conducts tour groups through the gardens and greenhouses, and assists people who have reserved the gardens for special events.
9. Provides training classes for garden staff and volunteers to ensure proper horticultural care of the gardens and greenhouses and to promote safety to the personnel.
10. Recommends and purchases garden supplies and equipment in order to keep adequate supplies and equipment available to maintain and develop gardens and greenhouses.
11. Maintains records of staff and volunteer hours for payroll and workman's compensation use, records of pesticide use, and records of greenhouse production.
12. Ensures that gardens and greenhouses are maintained in accordance with horticultural standards and research needs.
13. Provides assistance to researchers, faculty, and the public in propagating and cultivating plants, and in answering questions regarding plant species and horticultural topics.
14. Assists in designing gardens that will display plant species in an appealing, informative manner.
15. Provides faculty and researchers with specific climate conditions insuring positive research data on plant species.

Problem Solving

This position is given the authority to make daily garden staff assignments and for the scheduling of the garden staff; to make repairs to the watering and irrigation system and equipment; to assign additional staff for unexpected events, and for the daily schedule of maintenance to plants and equipment.

Problems encountered in this position may include scheduling garden maintenance within a limited time frame; finding adequate work for volunteers to perform; maintaining plant nutrient balance; and monitoring and maintaining a variety of environments ranging from tropical rain forest to the Sonora Desert.