Workforce Development Career Coach

Start Date: 01/05/2025
Compensation: $58,000-$62,000/year

The Horticultural Society of New York (The Hort) seeks a proactive, empathetic, and relationship-driven Workforce Development Career Coach to support trainees in our growing workforce development programs. Asa key member of both the Human Resources and Workforce Development teams, the Career Coach plays a dual role—supporting trainees in building the navigational and workplace skills needed to thrive, while connecting them with meaningful employment opportunities in horticulture, urban greening, and caring for public spaces.

The ideal candidate is innovative and naturally creates a supportive environment where trainees feel seen,heard, and motivated to grow. They are a strong facilitator who can lead engaging workshops on core skills andcareer readiness, while also being a trusted, encouraging presence for operations teams onsite.

The mission of The Horticultural Society of New York is to improve human lives through horticulture. Our social service and public programs create green spaces in all neighborhoods as a vital part ofsocial infrastructure, trainpeople for jobs that grow and sustain green communities, and develop fresh approaches to improve New Yorkers’ health, well-being, and environment through horticulture.

• Cultivate and maintain relationships with horticulture employers, parks departments, community-based organizations, and other nature-based green industry partners to secure job, internship, and mentorship opportunities for trainees.
• Promote program services, highlight trainee achievements, and represent The Hort at coalition meetings, networking events, tabling opportunities, and community presentations.
• Connect trainees to relevant employment and training resources aligned with their goals and current industry needs, maintaining accurate placement and progress data for internal and external stakeholders.
• Track job placement outcomes, referral activity, and partnership engagement; share updates and trends to inform workforce development strategy.
• Participate in workforce development networks to stay informed of emerging best practices in career coaching and nature-based workforce trends.

• Build trusting relationships with trainees to support confidence, skill development, and career readiness.
• Develop and facilitate workshops, industry networking events, and employer-facing events to prepare trainees for the local green industry and nature-based sector.
• Collaborate with program facilitators to ensure training content reflects employer expectations and emerging industry standards.
• Maintain and analyze trainee data (attendance, skills development, certifications, work hours, and placement outcomes) to support program evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Conduct worksite visits to provide field support and strengthen trainee-employer relationships.
• Support development of an alumni network that promotes ongoing career advancement and resourcesharing.

• Coordinate referral and placement support for program graduates, including post-program communication and retention follow-up for up to two years.
• Maintain relationships with partner organizations to support continued career pathways for alumni.
• Identify and share professional development opportunities that promote long-term advancement in green careers.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Partner with HR to support orientations, onboarding, organization-wide training, exit interviews, and performance conversations for trainees.
• Assist with full-cycle recruitment for HORTNYC programs, including outreach, screening, interviewing, offers, and onboarding.
• Represent The Hort at recruitment, presentation, and community engagement events to generate interest in the program and expand applicant pipelines.
• Collaborate with HR to support internal communications (newsletter, roundups, shared updates) and redirect inquiries as appropriate.
• Work collaboratively across multiple internal units to align communication, training, and recruitment efforts with organizational goals.