Department Manager - Overland Park Garden Center

Nursery Department Manager

Reports to: Location Manager

Works With: Dept Managers

Leads: Assistant Dept. Managers, Dept. Supervisors, buyer/merchandisers, Nursery Team Members

Introduction:

• The Nursery Department Manager leads the teams in the Trees and Shrubs and Plant Installers sections--working directly with those teams to execute a high level of customer service, a core value of Family Tree Nursery. Via hands-on leadership, it is expected that the Greenhouse Department Manager works shoulder to shoulder with the team to manage processes core and product. It is expected of this person to recruit, hire, onboard, train and hold accountable staff to Family Tree Nursery Mission, Core Values and expectations. This position requires an eye for detail and strong vision to assess future needs of the business and department, and it is expected new strategies, and calculated risks in buying decisions be brought to the table, ensuring the company moves onward and upward. Clear communication is a key function of the role, across all levels of employees as well as external vendors. The success of the entire company, not just your department, should be your goal.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership-Lead Trees and Shrubs and Plant Installer teams to achieve a common outcome of excellent customer service, unique shopping experience, aligning the vision, oversight, and leadership of department while supporting the company’s mission statement and vision.
• Management-build, refine and manage core processes involving Nursery department.
• Accountability- Hold team members accountable to core processes, procedures, and core values.
• Guest Experience- Cultivate a strong culture of guest experience, ensuring guests are greeted, understood, engaged with, problems are solved and presented with sound solutions, and thanked.

Auxiliary Role Functions:

• Supports and communicates with department managers, store manager, general manager, and Nursery team
• Assess and schedule staffing needs based on business performance
• Direct and prioritize the departmental daily task lists for the team and ensure their completion
• Manage recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training of greenhouse team members
• Foster a culture of commitment, urgency and accountability
• Instills a clean, and safe working environment
• Manage processes and lead team members involving guest relations and services via nursery sales, installations, delivery, and special orders
• Onboarding and Training employees and ensuring consistency on watering techniques, plant care, daily tasks, etc.
• Maintaining cleanliness and safety as a point of attention throughout the location
• Communicate with HR and location leadership any employee changes, oversight to all PTO and call-ins and keep up with all records
• Communicate with internal team members via email, teams, phone in a timely and professional manner
• Close and open the store based on the needs of the business and communication with location leadership

Required Qualifications:

• 3-5+ years of professional and leadership experience in: Horticulture, nursery production, green industry sales, garden center management, or other plant-based industry.
• Must demonstrate strong plant knowledge of trees, shrubs, and perennial plant material
• Ability to professionally demonstrate strong sales proficiency of trees, shrubs, and perennial plant products and solutions for our guests.
• Understand and direct irrigation and fertility techniques
• Integrated pest management techniques, which may involve the use of chemicals
• Ability to operate a pallet jack, fork lift, skid steer, cart tug or other equipment and vehicles with a clean driving record

Working Conditions:

May include a variety of weather conditions including hot, cold wet or dry.

Must be able to stand squat, bend, lift arms above head, and lift around 50lbs. Anything over 50lbs needs to be team lifted.

Variety of surfaces including gravel, concrete, mud, dirt, or other surfaces.

Must be available to work weekends, evenings, early mornings and holidays

Must be available to work 6 (six) days per week March, April, May, thru mid June depending upon business, 5 days a week all other months

• Able to stand and walk on your feet for multiple hours at a time with minimal breaks.
• Comfortable around a high paced setting involving many people, and in a team type situation.
• strong technology acumen, with Microsoft products and POS
• Flexibility in other areas of the business such as front-end, store operations, receiving and production