Horticulturist

Monash University; Geelong; On-site; AUD 68,000 - 84,000; Part time

Job summary

The City of Geelong invites applications for a fixed-term, part-time horticulturist to deliver high-quality horticultural practices at the Geelong Botanic Gardens. You will work on hands-on tasks and record-keeping under plant collection principles, contributing to Living Plant Collections and inventories.

Responsibilities include maintenance, labels, and customer guidance, with a pro rata Band 4 classification and annual salary around $76,010 plus super.

Qualifications

• Diploma or higher in Horticulture or equivalent.
• Extensive horticultural experience in managing botanic assets including plant identification and curation.
• Experience in a large public garden setting or botanic garden operations.
• Current Victorian Drivers Licence.
• Working with Children Check (Employee).
• National Police Check and pre-employment medical may be required funded by the City.

Responsibilities

• Implement horticultural maintenance and development activities to agreed standards as part of a team.
• Contribute to curation of Living Plant Collections; maintain plant records and Living Plant Inventory database.
• Provide accurate and authoritative horticultural advice to internal and external customers; undertake investigations and prepare reports.
• Maintain botanic labels with up-to-date botanical naming across displays.
• Comply with Council health and safety policies and wear required PPE.

Skills

Horticultural skills

Plant identification

Public garden experience

Driver's licence

Education

Diploma or higher in Horticulture

Job description

Job no: 500785
Work type: Fixed Term Part Time
Classification: Band 4 - $76,010.65 pa plus super
Categories: Parks & Natural Assets

About the role

In this role, you will be responsible for delivering a wide range of high-quality horticultural practices at the Geelong Botanic Gardens. Plant collection principles guide both the delivery of hands‑on horticultural tasks and record keeping in the gardens and nursery.

Work type: Fixed term part-time 34 hours per fortnight

Classification: Band 4 $76,010 pa plus super pro rata

Key responsibilities include:

• Implement a broad range of horticultural maintenance and development activities to agreed standards as a member of a team through the application of current horticultural practices and procedures.
• Contribute to the curation of Living Plant Collections; maintain accurate and updated plant records and Living Plant Inventory database; contribute to the development of Living Plant Collection management plans.
• Provide accurate and authoritative advice on horticultural/botanic matters to internal and external customers, undertake investigations into horticultural issues and provide associated reports, recommendations and correspondence including provision of community plant identification service.
• Maintenance and management of system of botanic labels used in horticultural displays ensuring accurate and up to date botanical naming.
• Work within all Council health and safety policies and wear and use personal safety equipment provided.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will have:

• Relevant Diploma or higher qualification in Horticulture and/or extensive experience.
• Extensive experience in the application of Horticultural skills and knowledge associated with managing a diverse range of botanic assets including knowledge of current horticultural practices, plant identification & curation.
• Extensive experience in a large public garden such as Botanic Garden and/or the operations of associated organisations.
• Current Victorian Drivers Licence.
• Working with Children Check (Employee).
• Preferred candidates will be required to undergo a National Police Check and a pre-employment medical assessment as part of the recruitment process (funded by the City).

Child Safety Responsibilities

We are committed to being a child‑safe organisation and have zero‑tolerance for child abuse. We have specific policies, procedures, and mandatory training in place to support employees, volunteers, and contractors to achieve and adhere to these commitments. Please read ourChild Safe Standards Management Policy .

Diversity and Inclusion

At the City we want a workforce that reflects the community we live in. We welcome and embrace everyone, all people with their own unique experiences, and support and encourage all our employees to do their best work, have equal access to opportunities and a just working environment. For this reason, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from First Nations people, people with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, from the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disability and people of all genders, ages and diverse experience.

We are the City

From parks to offices, childcare centres to works depots, leisure facilities to the Wool Museum and waterfront, our team plays a vital role in shaping our vibrant and growing community. Our community counts on us to get the essentials right while looking for ways to go beyond. By listening, collaborating, and focusing on sustainability, we strive to do the basics brilliantly and create a lasting impact. If you’re ready to be part of something bigger, join us in shaping the future of Geelong.

We support accessibility and encourage discussions about any adjustments or support you may need during the recruitment process.

We collect demographic data to help us learn who our advertisements are reaching and how we can reach an even more diverse audience. We are committed to building a more diverse team. Your responses to our demographic questions are strictly confidential and will not be individually shared.

We Acknowledge the Wadawurrung People as the Traditional Owners of the Land, Waterways and Skies. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present. We Acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are part of our Greater Geelong community today.