Manager Of The School Of Botanical Art & Illustration

About Denver Botanic Gardens: Green inside and out, Denver Botanic Gardens was founded in 1951 and is considered one of the top botanical gardens in the United States and a pioneer in water conservation. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, The Gardens has a robust living plant collection, natural history collection and art collection along with temporary art exhibitions. The Gardens is a dynamic, 24-acre urban oasis in the heart of the city, offering unforgettable opportunities to flourish with unique garden experiences for the whole family – as well as world-class exhibitions, education, and plant conservation research programs.

For more information, visit us online at www.botanicgardens.org.

Denver Botanic Gardens is currently seeking a Full Time Manager of the School of Botanical Art & Illustration in our Exhibitions Department! Read below to see if the requirements might be a good fit for you:

Position Summary

This role creates, schedules, manages, and implements a variety of programs for adults offered through the Gardens’ School of Botanical Art & Illustration, including, but not limited to, classes, events, workshops, lectures, tours, group travel, and other educational experiences, both in-person and in remote learning environments. Supervises program support staff, teaching artists and contractor instructors to deliver program content that fosters understanding of scientific illustration and broader art practices to connect people to the natural world through art. Manages revenues, expenses, and scheduling to meet budget expectations.

General Duties and Responsibilities

• Works with all departments to ensure the highest quality experience for all DBG visitors.
• Attends and contributes to committee, project team and department meetings.
• Develops and implements a variety of outreach programs to serve aging adults and other special needs groups.
• All Gardens employees must be committed to the mission of connecting people with plants, especially plants from the Rocky Mountain region and similar regions around the world, providing delight and enlightenment to everyone.
• Regular attendance at the worksite may be required. As with all positions at Denver Botanic Gardens, the incumbent must be in good performance standing to be eligible for remote work. Remote work is at the discretion of management at all times.
• Supervises staff, volunteers and contractors.
• Acts as liaison to various artists to support the Gardens’ publishing efforts, ranging from newsletter content to exhibition catalogues, books and signage.
• Participates in jurying exhibitions and Land Line residency program; steward the SBAI illustrator/artist-in-residence program.
• Plans, develops, schedules, implements and evaluates quality class programs and curricula for new and existing adult programs that complement Denver Botanic Gardens’ vision and mission to meet revenue and engagement aims.
• Develops and coordinates collaborations between organizations in Denver, nationally and internationally to offer special program opportunities.
• Maintains a positive, helpful and solution-oriented demeanor when responding to or serving members and visitors.
• Works across departments with partners in horticulture, research, library and more to achieve communication and work aims.
• Creates offerings to foster student advancement through illustration certificates, illustration diplomas and art exploration programs.
• Maintains knowledge of best practices in fields of botanical illustration, adult learning, museum education and related fields.
• Maintains excellent working relationships with managers, co-workers and others.
• Recruits and coordinates speakers for special programs, lectures and events.
• Establishes and maintains collaborative relationships with relevant organizations.
• Recruits and trains instructors and teaching artists for the program; cultivate relationships in the botanical illustration and greater creative community.
• Facilitates student capstone portfolio preparation and review.
• Supervises scholarship program to review applications, communicate with awardees and maintain budgets in collaboration with accounting department.
• Develops and manages budgets; create business models for the School.
• Collaborates with the marketing department, develop related print and electronic communications for the program, including course catalog, webpages, e-newsletters and Facebook page.
• Evaluates course instructors and course content; facilitate portfolio reviews of graduate candidates.

Position Qualifications: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends and/or holidays.
• Comfortable working with diverse staff and audiences of all ages; adaptable to different communication styles.
• Proven ability to prepare and deliver presentations in person and online.
• Knowledge of program deliver software such as Zoom, Padlet, Talik and learning management systems (LMS).
• Knowledge of Microsoft Suite products, specifically Word, Excel and Outlook and Teams.
• Must be committed to working safely at all times.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; experience and comfortability speaking and presenting to groups.
• Must be a positive representative of the Gardens both internally and externally at all times.
• Experience moderating and facilitating programs in person and online.
• Exhibit curiosity and demonstrate commitment to Denver Botanic Gardens’ values of sustainability, transformation, relevance and diversity.
• Must work with respect and cooperation at all times with fellow employees and the public.
• Committed to inclusivity, diversity, equity and accessibility initiatives, tools and implementation in respect to work in a public garden space.
• Ability to respond to sensitive issues with care and maintain confidentiality with sensitive or operational topics.
• Ability to work overtime as necessary.
• Confident leading a team through change; familiar with best practices for managing remote staff, supporting staff development and conducting performance reviews.
• Ability to be flexible and willing to modify plans when necessary, throughout the day.

Experience/Education:

• Experience managing staff, program schedules, and business models preferred.
• Bachelors degree and/or combination of education and equivalent experience is required.
• Knowledge of botany, botanical subjects, or other natural history/art studies of benefit.
• Understanding of and demonstrated familiarity of visual art mediums and art history.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience managing adult education programs in museum or university setting is required.

Travel:

Up to 10% travel required. Requires the ability to travel to remote locations (or other Garden locations) where environment may vary significantly.

Denver Botanic Gardens has an incredible benefits package for eligible employees!

Our major benefits include a choice of Medical Plans, a Dental and Vision Plan and Life Insurance Plan. We have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA).

The Gardens offers a generous Retirement Savings Plan with Company contribution of 6% after one year of service for eligible participants.

The Gardens also offers paid holidays, vacation, sick time and access to personal lines of insurance. Additional benefits include short-term and long-term disability coverage, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and an RTD ECO pass.

For eligible employees, The Gardens employment also includes a complimentary Denver Botanic Gardens Membership, access to Gardens education classes and summer concert tickets.

Come work for a place that offers you SO much more than just a paycheck!