Houston Botanic Garden seeks Arborist

Position Description

The mission of the Houston Botanic Garden is to enrich life through discovery, education, and conservation of plants and the natural environment. Opened in September 2020, the Garden strives to inspire all people to love plants and be good stewards of the natural world.

The Houston Botanic Garden is seeking an Arborist who will be an important member of the horticulture team, with a focus on tree care. Under the overall guidance of the Director of Horticulture, the Arborist will use sound arboricultural principles to plant, establish, train, and prune trees, and will work closely with the Horticulture Manager and Senior Horticulturist for general work coordination and daily assignments.
The ideal candidate is an energetic horticulturist/forester with both academic and hands-on experience in arboriculture. The successful candidate will work in all of our gardens – Susan Garver Family Discovery Garden, Global Collection Garden, and Culinary Garden – and natural ecosystems, including Stormwater Wetlands and a Coastal Prairie. This multi-faceted position will also involve assisting with training horticulturists, gardeners, and volunteers; supervising arboricultural vendors; and participating in educational programs and initiatives, including lectures, presentations, and articles.

Salary: $22-$26/hr, depending on experience.

Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance; retirement savings match; short-term disability.

Main Job Responsibilities:

• Work hands-on in cultivated gardens and steward natural ecosystems.
  Tasks may include: planting, pruning, training, mulching, weeding, watering,
  staking, and transplanting trees and shrubs; mowing; fertilizing; and removal
  of invasive plant species. Pruning will include structural pruning, removal of
  dead branches, training and maintenance of espaliered trees and shrubs,
  training and fixing structural problems, eliminating girdling roots, and
  removal of trees. Work on a mechanical lift or platform of up to 20 ft. above
  ground may be required. Tree climbing may be required.
• Communicate with the Director of Horticulture to schedule plantings and
  structural pruning of trees.
• Coordinate with the Horticulture Manager and Senior Horticulturist on
  operational procedures.
• Operate equipment and tools to efficiently accomplish work, including but
  not limited to trucks, mowers, pruners, loppers, weed eaters, chippers,
  chain-saws, blowers, air-spade, etc.
• Identify and control pests and diseases using pesticides and herbicides,
  using an integrated pest management (IPM) approach.
• Ensure proper training of horticultural staff and volunteers in woody plant
  planting and pruning for day-to-day work, both through hands-on work and
  classroom instruction.
• Participate in plant documentation through plant labeling tasks and
  notification of additions or removals of plants in the garden, and notify new
  plantings and removals to the Plant Records Manager.
• Support other members of the Horticulture department in a variety of garden
  projects.
• Support volunteer coordination for horticulture tasks.
• Assist in garden education programs, including giving garden tours and
  talks, and writing articles for various media.
• Assist the Irrigation Specialist with equipment maintenance.
• Understand, and adhere to all Garden policies.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in horticulture, forestry, ecology, plant science, or a
  related field; 5 years of hands-on experience in the arboriculture industry
  may substitute for degree.
• Broad horticulture and arboriculture knowledge, acquired through hands-on
  as well as theoretical experience working with woody plants, both
  angiosperms and gymnosperms, including proper planting and
  transplanting procedures, pruning for correcting structural defects, root
  management of containerized plants, etc.
• ISA certified arborist.
• Ability and willingness to perform hands-on gardening work in all types of
  weather typical in Houston.
• Experience and confidence in operating horticulture equipment and
  machines.
• Experience working with pesticides and the ability to obtain a Texas Pesticide
  Applicator’s license within 2 years of hire.
• Ability and willingness to work flexible hours including evenings, weekends,
  holidays, storm clean-up, and special events, as needed.
• Basic use of Microsoft products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams,
  and Outlook.
• A valid driver’s license.
• Position subject to passing a criminal background check.

This position requires outdoor physical work (80 %), including frequent standing,
walking, bending, kneeling, stooping, crouching, reaching, carrying, lifting, pushing,
or pulling of objects up to 80 pounds, often working alone. It also requires office work
on a computer, sitting for extended periods of time (20 %).

This is an hourly, non-exempt position, typically working 40 hours per week, Monday-
Friday, although some weekend and holiday work may be required.

Application Procedure: Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter,
along with the contact information for three professional references, to hr@hbg.org.
We will contact those candidates who most closely match our requirements.