Rotating Gardener

Rotating Gardener

Join to apply for the Rotating Gardener role at Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the Foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson’s world and ideas, and sharing the history of everyone, enslaved and free, who lived and labored ticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience.

As a private, nonprofit organization, the Foundation’s regular operating budget does not receive ongoing government support to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. For information, visit Monticello.org.

The purpose of this job is to assist in the maintenance of Monticello’s gardens and landscape features to ensure a professional horticultural presentation and to preserve a historic plant collection.

• Assists in the maintenance of the fruit, flower, vegetable, and seed garden: planting; weeding; staking; edging; transplanting; seed and produce harvesting; fertilizing; seed sowing; amending soil; planting bulbs; moving potted specimen plants; labeling; mulching; cleaning and packaging seeds; assisting with garden tours; etc.
• Assists in occasional grounds maintenance activities, such as raking leaves, shoveling snow, mowing turf grass; weed-eating; cleaning gutters; spreading mulch; removing trees; clearing out woodlands; maintaining shrubberies; operating power equipment, such as lawn mowers, roto-tillers, weed-eaters, etc.
• Knowledge,
  
  Skills and Abilities
• Basic understanding of horticultural and grounds maintenance principles: including knowledge of garden plants, soils and fertilizers, weeds and their control, watering techniques, vegetable, fruit, and flower production, plant propagation, essential garden tools, etc.
• Manual dexterity to safely and efficiently execute the horticultural arts such as seed sowing, seed collecting, pruning and training plants, transplanting, watering, fertilizing, spraying, and edging to ensure high standards for the gardens’ presentation to the public.
• Position requires the ability to safely operate power equipment, verbal skills and proficiency in assimilating and disseminating information, tactful communication skills to ensure a harmonious working environment with colleagues, the ability to think and act quickly and to adapt to changing and adverse circumstances, and active learning capabilities.
• Position requires reliability and commitment to fulfill scheduling responsibilities including nights, weekends, and holidays as assigned.
• Maintains high standards of safety for oneself, staff, and visitors. Includes but is not limited to the correct use and maintenance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), complying with EPA (WPS) and OSHA regulations for pesticide use, safe operation of power and hand tools, and operation of motorized vehicles (including off-road vehicles, trucks, snow plows, tractors, and heavy machinery).
• Interest in Monticello and Thomas Jefferson, including his horticultural and agricultural exploits and desire to pursue new technology.
• Understanding the nature of Monticello as a plantation site and the complex history that comes with it.
• The ability to interact with staff and visitors of all backgrounds and perspectives.
• The ability to maintain clean and organized work spaces.
• The ability to make basic adjustments and repairs to hand tools and power equipment.
• The ability to obtain and maintain a Virginia State Certified Pesticide Registered Technician license, within 6 months of hire.
• Possess a valid Virginia Driver’s License.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.
• Physical Demands and Work Considerations
• Position requires extensive manual labor performing tasks such as stooping, stretching, bending, and lifting in extremely sunny, hot, humid, cold, windy, and rainy weather.
• This position is considered essential personnel and expected to report to work to assist with snow removal or storm damage clean-up in the event Monticello is closed to visitors.

High school education.