Research Assistant, Plants of Concern, FPCC

Plants of Concern Research Assistant - Forest Preserves of Cook County

Exemption Status:
Non‑Exempt

Department:
Plant Science and Conservation

Reports to:

Manager, Plants of Concern

Seasonal Full‑time, 25 weeks. Anticipated to start April 2026.

Seasonal Full‑time employees scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week are eligible for the following Benefits:

• Wellness initiative benefit, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Retirement plan
• Holidays, Holiday Thank you pay
• Garden membership - free to employees at Household Plus level
• Discounts to Garden Shop, Cafe, Garden-sponsored educational classes
• Employee events such as Night of 1,000 Jack‑o‑Lanterns, Lightscape employee & friends preview night

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, our compensation philosophy is rooted in our core values:
Growth, Understanding, Resilience, and Trust through Transparency. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, valued, and appreciated.

Our objective is to create compensation and growth opportunities for our employees that are highly competitive, internally equitable and transparent. The foundation of our efforts is a straightforward approach that can be easily communicated by managers with defined pay ranges for all positions. When posting job openings, we share the minimum salary up to the budgeted amount.

The starting salary for new staff members is determined by considering the salary range assigned to the position and by reviewing the candidate's qualifications for the job as compared with job responsibilities. Prior work experience should be considered in determining the salary offer, provided that it is relevant to the job. Additional factors such as secondary language proficiency or advanced degrees that enhance performance may also be considered.

A candidate's salary may exceed the minimum amount based on factors such as experience, additional skills (e.g., secondary language proficiency), or pertinent degrees that enhance the individual's contribution to the role but are not required. Opportunities for increased compensation are provided through referral bonuses, shift differentials, Thank You Pay, promotions, and periodic pay increases based on the Garden's overall performance and financial budgets.

Our total compensation and benefits package is people centric. We prioritize employee wellness across three pillars: physical, mental, and financial. Our goal is to offer innovative total rewards that support continuous professional growth, personal development, and provide the flexibility needed to balance personal and professional commitments.

The Plants of Concern Research Assistant assignment will be a 25‑week, 40 hr/week position beginning in mid‑April, involves monitoring rare plants in the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) through the Plants of Concern (POC) program, a widely recognized community science program. The position is based at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Duties include collecting field monitoring data, helping recruit and train volunteer monitors, entering/analyzing monitoring data, including GIS applications, and assisting with reports.

The Research Assistant will have the opportunity to present accomplished work at a Plants of Concern volunteer event. 2-3 days of weekend work possible.

In the Plants of Concern Research Assistant role, you will be responsible for the following:

• Develop schedule for fieldwork
• Recruit, engage, train, organize, and support community science volunteers
• Act as liaison between FPCC ecologists and stewards and POC staff regarding plant locations and volunteer assignments
• Conduct rare plant monitoring field work with volunteers and independently within the Forest Preserves of Cook County
• Conduct research project as directed by FPCC staff
• Organize and enter data

• Complete data entry and analysis on multi-year dataset (using R statistical software)
• Follow up with volunteers regarding report submission
• Follow up with site stewards on land management activities
• Present accomplishments at a volunteer event
• Work with supervisor on annual report to submit to granting agency