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Senior-Lead, Horticulture

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

People & HR

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

Posted on May 30, 2026
Position: Senior-Lead, Horticulture
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Job Id: 828
# of Openings: 1
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Job: Senior-Lead, Horticulture
Department: Horticulture
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Schedule: Full-Time, Hourly, Non-Exempt | Seasonal flexibility required including early mornings, weekends, holidays, and occasional on-call support
Be Part of a World-Class Horticulture Experience
At Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, horticulture is at the heart of the guest experience. Across seasonal displays, sculpture gardens, plant collections, conservatories, and immersive landscapes, our Horticulture team helps create one of the nation’s premier botanical and cultural destinations.

We are seeking a Senior-Lead, Horticulture who brings advanced horticultural expertise, strong leadership, and a passion for mentoring others while helping steward the beauty, health, and long-term success of our gardens and collections.

Why This Role Matters

The Senior Lead, Horticulture provides advanced horticultural guidance, operational leadership, and day-to-day coordination that directly supports the quality, presentation, sustainability, and guest experience of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

This role serves as a technical resource and mentor for staff, seasonal employees, volunteers, and interns while helping translate horticultural strategy into exceptional daily execution. The Senior Lead plays a critical role in maintaining horticultural excellence, supporting evolving garden initiatives, and reinforcing safe, collaborative, and high-performing operations across the department.


What You’ll Do

Horticultural Leadership & Garden Standards
  • Support and reinforce horticultural standards across assigned garden areas, seasonal displays, and plant collections.
  • Apply advanced horticultural knowledge to plant selection, placement, maintenance, and long-term garden development.
  • Evaluate garden quality, safety, seasonal interest, and guest presentation standards.
Team Guidance, Mentorship & Collaboration
  • Provide day-to-day leadership, technical guidance, and coordination to staff, seasonal employees, volunteers, and interns.
  • Foster a collaborative, learning-oriented team culture focused on accountability and continuous improvement.
  • Support training, coaching, skill development, and horticultural best practices across the department.
Garden Stewardship & Technical Execution
  • Perform and guide advanced horticultural care including planting, pruning, irrigation, fertilization, integrated pest management, and seasonal maintenance.
  • Monitor plant health, irrigation concerns, safety issues, and overall garden conditions.
  • Support installation, refinement, and maintenance of horticultural displays and seasonal transitions.
Project Coordination & Operational Support
  • Coordinate seasonal projects, garden improvements, exhibition support, and maintenance priorities from planning through completion.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams, contractors, and horticulture leadership on operational initiatives.
  • Support safe, organized, and efficient operations through equipment maintenance, resource stewardship, and workflow coordination.
Guest Experience, Interpretation & Public Representation
  • Help communicate the purpose, care, and significance of horticultural work to guests, volunteers, and community partners.
  • Support presentations, tours, interviews, and interpretive experiences when appropriate.
  • Contribute to a welcoming, professional, and guest-focused environment across the organization.

What You Bring
  • Minimum 3 years of hands-on horticulture or landscape maintenance experience required.
  • Minimum 2 years of horticulture, greenhouse operations, or outdoor gardening experience in varying weather conditions required.
  • Advanced horticultural knowledge and experience with plant care, irrigation, planting, pruning, and maintenance practices.
  • Experience operating horticultural tools, commercial landscape equipment, and utility vehicles safely and effectively.
  • Strong leadership, communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.
  • Ability to mentor and support team members while balancing operational priorities.
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Excel, Word, and Teams.
  • Valid Michigan Driver’s License required.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain certifications including Chauffeur License, Aerial Lift Operator Certification, and Michigan pesticide applicator license.
  • Ability to work outdoors year-round in physically demanding environments.

What Makes This Opportunity Unique
  • Help steward one of the Midwest’s premier botanical and cultural destinations.
  • Work across dynamic gardens, conservatories, exhibitions, and seasonal displays that evolve throughout the year.
  • Play a visible leadership role supporting horticultural excellence, mentorship, and guest experience.
  • Collaborate with talented horticulture professionals on high-profile garden projects and installations.
  • Contribute to an organization where art, nature, education, and public engagement intersect every day.

Our Values
We seek team members who embody our shared Values:
  • Welcoming: Fostering joy and an inclusive, accessible environment for everyone
  • Excellence: Approaching all we do with world-class intentionality
  • Innovation: Creating engaging experiences in art, culture, and nature
  • Integrity: Operating with honesty, transparency, and accountability
  • Stewardship: Preserving and enhancing our community and resources

If you enjoy working outdoors, mentoring others, solving horticultural challenges, and helping create extraordinary garden experiences for guests year-round, we’d love to talk with you.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in both indoor and outdoor environments throughout the year, including gardens, conservatories, greenhouses, and operational spaces. Regular exposure to varying weather conditions including heat, humidity, rain, snow, wind, freezing temperatures, and elevated greenhouse temperatures. Exposure may include dust, soil, pollen, fertilizers, pesticides, cleaning agents, noise, fumes, and horticulture-related materials. Seasonal workloads may require flexibility in scheduling, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and occasional on-call support. Frequent interaction with staff, volunteers, contractors, guests, and cross-functional teams is expected. Work may involve uneven terrain, confined spaces, ladders, lifts, and elevated work areas. Required PPE may include gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, respirators, and additional safety equipment depending on assigned tasks.

Physical Requirements: Ability to perform physically demanding horticultural work for extended periods throughout shifts. Frequent standing, walking, bending, kneeling, squatting, twisting, pushing, pulling, lifting, and carrying. Ability to regularly lift and move up to 50 pounds and occasionally up to 100 pounds with or without assistance. Ability to safely operate horticultural tools, commercial landscape equipment, utility vehicles, loaders, mowers, and related machinery. Ability to work at heights using ladders, lifts, platforms, and elevated workspaces when required. Ability to perform repetitive manual tasks requiring fine motor coordination and dexterity. Visual ability to accurately assess plant health, environmental conditions, irrigation concerns, and safety issues. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in person and within active operational environments.

As part of our onboarding process, all new hires are required to complete our background check.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
We believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace.

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