Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager

Class Specifications – I.20
Senior Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager – 9551
Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager – 9552

June, 1979

Series Concept

Botanical Garden/Arboretum Managers supervise or manage horticultural and administrative functions, provide coordination for a number of horticultural and botanical activities in a botanical garden or arboretum, and perform other related duties as required.

Incumbents interview, select, train, evaluate, discipline and adjust grievances of subordinates or effectively recommend such actions; coordinate work schedules and assignments to ensure adequate operation of the garden; plan, organize, and direct garden and greenhouse horticultural operations; make recommendations for planning of garden areas and their continued development; advise on the acquisition as well as disposition of plants; grow and/or procure plant material for teaching and research; furnish botanical and horticultural information to students, staff, faculty and the public; review and supervise all accounting, purchasing, and inventory activities; supervise maintenance of facilities, machinery, and utilities; recommend purchase of equipment and supplies; recommend a total budget to a director or committee; set priorities on expenditures based on objectives of the operations; participate in long range planning of garden activities; and arrange tours of the garden for classes and the public.

The Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager series is distinguished from the Superintendent of Agriculture series in that it describes positions which utilize horticultural knowledge of a variety of plant species presenting complex and/or unusual growing problems in a botanical garden rather than positions which utilize horticultural knowledge applicable to larger more homogeneous agricultural research sites.

Class Concepts

Senior Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager

Under direction, Senior Botanical Garden/Arboretum Managers are assigned responsibility for all technical and administrative activities in a large botanical garden or arboretum. Incumbents perform the range of duties outlined in the Series Concept. As a guide to help determine the scope of this level, incumbents are usually assigned responsibility for an organization employing at least ten full-time-equivalent employees in the procurement, care, and/or cultivation of at least 5,000 plant species. Consideration is also given to the horticultural complexities of the collection.

Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager

Under supervision, Botanical Garden/Arboretum Managers are assigned responsibility for all technical and administrative operations in a small botanical garden or arboretum or act as first assistants to a Senior Manager of a large organization. When functioning as managers of smaller botanical gardens or arboreta, incumbents supervise garden and greenhouse operations and maintenance as well as the administrative functions as described in the Series Concept. When functioning as first assistants to the manager of a large botanical garden or arboretum, incumbents are assigned day-to-day responsibility for the coordination and execution of facility activities.

Minimum Qualifications

Senior Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager

College level course work in the botanical and/or horticultural sciences and four years of experience in horticultural activities including at least two years in a supervisory capacity; or an equivalent combination of education and experience; and knowledges and abilities essential to the successful performance of the duties assigned to the position.

Botanical Garden/Arboretum Manager

College level course work in the botanical and/or horticultural sciences and two years of experience in horticultural activities; or an equivalent combination of education and experience; and knowledges and abilities essential to the successful performance of the duties assigned to the position.