Plant Records Assistant

ABOUT THE GARDENS OF GOLDEN GATE PARK
The mission of Gardens of Golden Gate Park is to connect people to plants, the planet, and each other.

Gardens of Golden Gate Park is a public/private partnership between the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department and the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society (SFBGS) to jointly operate the Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, and San Francisco Botanical Garden. A Lease & Management Agreement between RPD and SFBGS, approved by both the Recreation & Park Commission and the Board of Supervisors, sets the terms of the partnership. The agreement is a cooperative management agreement that outlines the roles and responsibilities for each partner.

Key areas of responsibility for SFBGS include volunteer engagement, education, visitor experience, philanthropy, membership, marketing, and other functions. RPD has primary responsibility for horticulture and facility management and maintenance, master planning and capital improvements conducted in collaboration with SFBGS, as well as other functions. Together, RPD and SFBGS collaborate on collections management within the Gardens.

The Conservatory of Flowers is a national, state, and local landmark and a place of exceptional beauty. Built in 1879, the Conservatory was the first formal structure erected in Golden Gate Park and remains an internationally renowned icon, displaying and cultivating unusual plants to heighten awareness of the pressing need to preserve threatened rainforest environments.

The Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest operating public Japanese garden in North America. This garden provides visitors from around the world with an opportunity to experience the natural beauty, tranquility, and harmony of a Japanese-style garden and was originally created as an exhibit for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition.

San Francisco Botanical Garden opened in 1940 and is a 55-acre living museum within Golden Gate Park,
showcasing 8,000 different kinds of plants from around the world. San Francisco’s oceanic climate with cool dry summers, mild wet winters, and presence of fog allows the Garden to grow a diverse array of species from around the world.

POSITION SUMMARY
The Plant Records Assistant will play an important role within Gardens of Golden Gate Park and Collections and Conservation department. Reporting to the Plant Collections Manager, this individual is committed to helping the Gardens reach the highest levels of excellence and is excited about the opportunity to work with a strong team that will continue to improve all aspects of the Gardens’ curatorial and plant collections management operations.

The Plant Records Assistant should be able to think holistically and strategically about the Gardens. The candidate should be a team player comfortable interfacing with external partners and providing training to staff, interns, and volunteers. In addition to performing assigned functions, this individual should anticipate opportunities and needs for collaboration and coordination, and act at all times as an ambassador for the Gardens. Please note that this is a fixed, 2-year term position, with the possibility to extend. Presently, there is an opportunity for a hybrid schedule between Monday – Friday but majority of time is onsite.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Produce all Gardens’ signage and miscellaneous printing needs
• Supervise maintenance of Engraving Room equipment, facilities, or inventory of existing plant signage
• Inventory collections, reconciling catalogued records of plants with current living collection
• Support documentation, labeling, and tracking plant collections according to best accepted practices for botanical gardens
• Support plant accessions database, tracking all specimens according to criteria outlined in Plant Collections Policy
• Assist in the location and identification of specimens within the collection
• Maintain up to date information resources on collections in accessible formats
• Attend relevant conferences, symposia, and institutional meetings

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor of Science degree in related field (botany, plant biology, horticulture) preferred
• At least 2 years of experience in a botanical garden or similar setting
• Experience inventorying collections and maintaining a plant records database; experience with IrisBG is a plus
• Excellent organizational and database management skills
• Knowledge or experience with curatorial best practices
• Experience with Mediterranean climate zone, cloud forest and other collections found at the Gardens strongly preferred
• Understanding of conservation best practices within the parameters of a public botanical garden strongly preferred
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Strong organizational, problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to prioritize tasks and independently manage time

ENVIRONMENT

• Must be able to engage in a range of physical motions, including standing or sitting at a desk or computer, and walking (sometimes on uneven surfaces) or working outside in varying weather conditions for extended periods of time
• Must be able to climb a flight of stairs
• Must be able to lift/carry up to 30 pounds
• A willingness to work occasionally on weekends, as needed