Zoo Horticulture Supervisor

The NC Zoo is seeking as energetic and passionate team player to join its Exterior Horticulture Department. This employee will oversee the Africa Exterior Horticulture staff (9 permanent) and occasional seasonal employees, volunteers, and interns who perform the daily maintenance of the Africa Exterior plant collection. The Zoo’s plant collections are one of the essential elements of the Zoo’s purpose to save, understand and interpret the world’s natural resources. The collection will consist of more than 15,000 plants, trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, and ferns spread over 300 acres.  

Job Responsibilities: 

• Drafting work schedules and habitat maintenance schedules. 

• Implementing plant maintenance programs, work plans, and reviews of efficiency and production; goal setting, prioritization, and standard setting. 

• Purchasing of plants through the Curator's delegation of authority to purchase.

• Maintaining many digital records that impact plant inventory and record keeping, adhering to Environmental Management System (EMS), SOG/SOP/Safety protocols.  

• Developing work plans and reviewing work production, including goal setting, prioritization, scheduling, and standard setting, requiring general computer skills. 

Position Requirements:

• Must be able to perform the physical demands of the job with or without an accommodation for extended and irregular periods, under adverse conditions in all extremes of weather. 

• Must be able to lift between 15 to 30 pounds of aggregate material to a height of 18 inches and transport it laterally a distance 4.5 feet on a frequent basis with or without an accommodation.

• Must obtain and maintain a valid Driver's License within 90 days of employment.

• Required participation in the Zoo’s occupational health program.

• Position is considered "Essential/Mandatory Staff" and required to work on adverse weather days and during zoo emergencies.

• Applicant must be able to obtain NC State Public Operator's Turf and Ornamentals Pesticide license within 9 months of employment.

• Must have ability to supervise and maintain effective work relationships with crew and other personnel.

Learn about the NC ZOO: https://www.nczoo.org   
Learn about employee perks/benefits: https://oshr.nc.gov/state-employee-resources/benefits

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities / Competencies

**To receive credit for your work history and credentials, you must list the information on the application form. Any information omitted from the application form, listed under the text resume section, or on an attachment will not be considered for qualifying credit.**

Qualified applicants must have the following: 

• Demonstrated working experience cultivating and maintaining plant collections such as watering procedures, Integrated Pest Management, pruning and fertilization. 

• Demonstrated working experience in the operation and maintenance of landscaping equipment, which may include tractors, skid steers, loaders, chainsaws, blowers, weed eaters and/or sprayers.

• Demonstrated experience using Microsoft office. 
  
  

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

Some state job postings say you can qualify by an “equivalent combination of education and experience.” If that language appears below, then you may qualify through EITHER years of education OR years of directly related experience, OR a combination of both. See oshr.nc.gov/experience-guide for detail. 

Associate's degree in horticultural or related degree from an appropriately accredited  institution 

and

up to three years of experience in the development and implementation of landscape plans and grounds maintenance;

or 

an equivalent combination of education and experience.