Rotating Gardener

Thomas Jefferson Foundation; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation seeks a Rotating Gardener (Full-time) to support Monticello's horticulture team in Charlottesville, VA. The role focuses on maintaining the historic gardens to uphold the site's landscape quality for visitors.

You will assist with planting, weeding, mulching, and seasonal tasks, ensuring safe operation of equipment and care for the historic plant collection.

Qualifications

• Basic understanding of horticultural and grounds maintenance principles.
• Manual dexterity to safely and efficiently execute horticultural tasks.
• Ability to safely operate power equipment and communicate effectively in a team.
• Ability to work long hours in hot and humid conditions with lifting and bending.

Responsibilities

• Assists in the maintenance of Monticello’s gardens and landscape features to ensure a professional presentation.
• Assists with grounds maintenance activities such as mowing, mulching, pruning, and seed sowing.

Job description

Rotating Gardener (Full-time)

About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has a twofold mission of preservation and education, and was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the Foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson's world and ideas, and sharing the history of everyone who lived and labored at Monticello. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience.

Job Purpose:

The purpose of this job is to assist in the maintenance of Monticello’s gardens and landscape features to ensure a professional horticultural presentation and to preserve an historic plant collection.

Compensation:

$18.50 per hour

Essential Functions

• Assists in the maintenance of the fruit, flower, vegetable, and seed garden: planting; weeding; staking; edging; transplanting; seed and produce harvesting; fertilizing; seed sowing; amending soil; planting bulbs; moving potted specimen plants; labeling; mulching; cleaning and packaging seeds; assisting with garden tours; etc.
• Assists in occasional grounds maintenance activities, such as raking leaves, shoveling snow, mowing turf grass; weed-eating; cleaning gutters; spreading mulch; removing trees; clearing out woodlands; maintaining shrubberies; operating power equipment, such as lawn mowers, roto-tillers, weed-eaters, etc.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Basic understanding of horticultural and grounds maintenance principles: including knowledge of garden plants; soils and fertilizers; weeds and their control; watering techniques; vegetable, fruit, and flower production; plant propagation; essential garden tools; etc.
• Manual dexterity to safely and efficiently execute the horticultural arts: seed sowing, seed collection; pruning and training plants; transplanting; watering; fertilizing; spraying; edging – to ensure high standards of the garden’s presentation to the public.
• Position requires the ability to safely operate power equipment; verbal skills and proficiency in assimilating and disseminating information; tactful communication skills to ensure a harmonious working environment with colleagues; the ability to think and act quickly and to adapt to changing and adverse circumstances; and active learning capabilities.
• Position requires the ability to work for long periods in extremely hot and humid conditions performing manual tasks: stooping, stretching, bending, and lifting.
• Reliability and commitment to fulfill scheduling responsibilities.

Physical Demands and Work Considerations

• Position requires extensive manual labor in extremely sunny, hot and humid conditions in summer and sometimes cold, blustery, freezing and rainy weather during spring and fall.
• This position is considered essential personnel and expected to report to work to assist with snow removal or storm damage clean up, in the event Monticello is closed to visitors.