Seed Bank Manager

Description

Salary Description: $60,000 Annually

Classification: Exempt

Organization Description

Naples Botanical Garden is a 170-acre, world-class garden paradise featuring plants and cultures of the tropics and subtropics including Brazil, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Florida. The Garden’s mission is to connect people and plants through display, education, conservation, and applied research. The Garden includes beautifully restored native habitats, cultivated gardens, walking trails, and public programming that offer education and enjoyment for people of all ages. Naples Botanical Garden is a 501(c)3 organization.

Position Summary: This full-time position leads all aspects of the Garden’s seed conservation programs, including safeguarding imperiled plant species, managing conservation and restoration seed banks, and supporting restoration initiatives. The Seed Bank Manager plays a key leadership role in the Conservation and Natural Resources Department by advancing strategic plant conservation, supporting regional partnerships and capacity, and ensuring excellence in data management, fieldwork, and seed handling.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversee conservation and restoration seed bank staff, laboratory, and operations to achieve the Garden’s living collections strategies and goals.
• Lead the collection, processing, documentation, and storage of seed and vegetative materials for conservation, restoration, and living collections according to best practices.
• Maintain high standards of ex-situ collection curation, data integrity, and workflow management.
• Develop and fulfill grant and project deliverables.
• Participate in national and regional seed bank and related working groups.
• Identify and prioritize target species through systematic gap analysis that supports the Garden’s living collection strategy and policies.
• Support organizational conservation planning in collaboration with cross-departmental partners.
• Support fulfillment of plant material requests through Botanic Gardens Conservation International’s (BGCI) PlantSearch platform.
• Coordinate and lead fieldwork, including planning, logistics, permitting, collection and staff oversight.
• Participate in and build capacity for regional plant conservation efforts with a focus on south Florida, the Caribbean, and Central America.
• Lead and support research on and publication of seed storage protocols.
• Disseminate results through reports, professional meetings, peer-reviewed publications, and other communication platforms.
• Utilize and maintain plant conservation data systems including IrisBG and ESRI products.
• Ensure accurate documentation of seed collections, storage conditions, viability assessments, and conservation metadata.
• Work closely with Horticulture and other departments to support curation and management of conservation plant collections.

Requirements / Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science in Biology, Botany, Ecology, or a closely related field or equivalent work experience. M.S. preferred but not required.
• Fieldwork experience and experience with ex situ or preserved collections.
• A working knowledge of basic taxonomic principles and characteristics of major plant families and Florida flora is desired.
• Exceptional organizational and scientific documentation skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Experience leading a team highly preferred.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams, as well as work independently, to complete projects.
• Comfortable leading and working collaboratively with staff and volunteers.
• Strong work ethic, attention to detail, and commitment to the Garden’s mission of connecting people with plants.
• Ability to speak basic Spanish is a plus.
• Some travel is required.
• Ability to stand and work outdoors for long periods.
• Ability to walk in difficult terrain and work in extreme temperatures.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to work indoors and outdoors as needed.
• Pre-employment background check required.

Benefits:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance
• Retirement Plan with matching
• Long- and Short-Term Disability
• PTO
• Paid Holidays
• Garden Perks

Naples Botanical Garden is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Garden has a long-standing policy of employment and advancement based solely upon qualifications to perform the essential functions of a position without regard to age, creed, gender, national origin or ancestry, race, color, religion, veteran status, pregnancy, marital status, HIV status, genetic information, sex, sexual orientation, handicap or mental or physical disability.