Assistant Horticulturist

It’s fun to work in a company where people truly BELIEVE in what they’re doing! We’re committed to bringing passion and customer focus to the business.

Salary: $22.28 per hour

This position provides day-to-day active leadership to horticultural staff and professional care of interior plants, managing over 600 plants at Salt Lake International Airport and other outlying buildings.

• Meet regularly with the City’s Airport Aviation Services Manager to design, place and care for live plants.
• Perform daily walks through the facility to ensure plants are placed in the right location with proper appearance.
• Assess water content in each plant weekly (or more often if needed) and water as needed.
• Dust plants and clean containers.
• Prune, groom, rotate and fertilize plants as needed.
• Procure proper materials (plants, containers, soil, organic fertilizer, etc.).
• Record plant information, identify plant materials, and process records for plant inventories.
• Assign plant numbers and tag new specimen plants, and plants propagated from, that need to be tracked.
• Responsible for proper use and maintenance of tools, equipment, and materials; refer problems and ordering needs to the Site Manager; oversee proper use and maintenance of tools and equipment by assistants.
• Tag plants under care in the nursery and follow up with recording plant location information.
• Maintain plant labels and tags on site.
• Keep record of dead or missing plants; rotate out sick plants and provide care until healthy, then return to floor.
• Responsible for continual development of assigned staff and building positive employee relations by coaching, counseling, mentoring, motivating, resolving conflict, praising, documentation of performance, etc.; participate in annual performance reviews of assigned staff.
• Lead any plant tours as needed, assist with any educational or other special events.
• Demonstrate a continual positive effort to maintain effective working relationships with staff and management.
• Help design and arrange plants in areas that are new construction.

• Must possess a valid driver’s license.
• Ability to determine and use appropriate techniques for planting, maintenance or removal of plants (pruning, planting, watering, removal or treatment).
• Demonstrate accuracy; display commitment to excellence and a keen eye for detail.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with subordinates, supervisors and co-workers.
• Work independently as well as part of a team effectively.
• Strong organizational, analytical, mathematical, and computer skills for research, record keeping and problem‑solving.
• Understand and interpret instruction; work efficiently with minimal supervision.
• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills; communicate maintenance and horticultural needs and personnel needs in courteous manner, both in written and spoken English.
• Knowledge of interior plants.
• Ability to fulfill airport plant collection and plant records policies.
• Perform horticultural practices that facilitate plant health through understanding soil nutrition and integrated pest management.
• Prune to International Society of Arboriculture standards.
• Knowledge of environmental rules and regulations concerning procedures, equipment, organic products and basic safety.
• Visualize and conceptualize detail and aesthetics applying best garden practices for plant health and display.
• Lift at least 40 lbs.

Minimum of two years’ experience performing interior plant care in facilities of comparable size and customer volume. A four—year college degree in horticulture or related field. In-“depth knowledge of plant culture, best management practices, plant identification and design preferred.

• Must be able to lift at least 40 lbs.
• Continual or prolonged periods of bending, stooping, reaching, crouching, kneeling, crawling, digging, and lifting.
• Continuous communication and interaction with staff, airport personnel and management.
• Occasional weekend and/or holiday work may be required.
• Use of independent good judgment when troubleshooting problems or determining needs.
• Basic janitorial duties helpful; good…