Direct Supervisor: Chief Operating Officer

Department: Guest Services

Level/Salary Range: $25 - $30 per hour

Exempt/Non-exempt: Exempt

Position Type:
(schedule based on visitation and events)

FT – 37.5 hours per week
Weekends/nights required

Proof of COVID vaccination required.

Garden Overview

Mission

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s mission is connecting people through plants to improve communities.

Vision

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, including the Lewis Ginter Nature Preserve, reveals the unity and integration of human and plant life, celebrates the fundamental significance of the natural world, and enriches communities through horticultural and educational excellence and innovative outreach activities.

Values

Responsibility, Innovation, Integrity, Hospitality and Inspiration

Founded in 1984, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is a non-profit garden located in Richmond, Virginia’s Lakeside neighborhood. The Garden encompasses 82 acres, four lakes, 5,500 unique taxa of plants within 15 distinct outdoor gardens, 11 major buildings including a conservatory and greenhouse, plus an 80-acre branch site, the Lewis Ginter Nature

Reserve. Annually, Lewis Ginter engages over 17,000 students in innovative and exciting education programs. This cadre of identified learners is just a fraction of the more than 400,000 annual visitors to the garden. In recent years, the Garden has been honored with inclusion in several top ten lists for botanical gardens in North America.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the ground of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or national origin in the hiring, retention, or promotion of employees. We support the diversity and inclusion policy adopted by The American Public Gardens Association: to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected and appreciated.

Job Description
The Public Safety Manager supports all aspects of the Garden’s operational safety and security functions to ensure the health and safety of guests, staff, and volunteers. This position works collaboratively with the Garden’s Leadership Team and the Manager on Duty (MOD) to establish, review and maintain safety procedures to mitigate hazards and provide emergency support when necessary. The Public Safety Manager is a working supervisory position responsible for the development of safety procedures, training, recruitment and direction of support staff that ensure a culture of safety and security of all Garden areas and assets during daily programs, events and exhibitions.

This position exemplifies our core value of hospitality and responsibility to ensure a world-class guest experience to all and ensures all tasks are performed in alignment with Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens core values and strategic plan.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develops and leads Gardens Safety protocols, procedures and trainings. o Plans, updates and provides ongoing Garden Safety Protocol training for staff to include lost children/adults, weather emergencies, power outages and community safety concerns. o Co-leads Garden Safety Committee to identify, assess and report maintenance, operational or safety concerns and issues. o Serves as the liaison to local and state agencies to provide current safety communications, trainings, and facilitate tabletop exercises for staff, including CPR/First Aid/AED certifications. o Works with VP of Facilities to update, test, and maintain Fire Alarms, Campus Wide Security Monitoring Systems, etc. o Supervises emergencies in coordination with appropriate staff; reports to location of incident, dispatches staff to assist in directing emergency vehicles, etc. and ensures all reports/documents of incidents are complete and communicated to the proper departments.
• Supervises Public Safety Associates/Safety Contractors. o Oversees all activities of the Public Safety Department, ensures work aligns with organizational goals, and team members are demonstrating the Garden core values at all times. o Cultivates and expands a sense of purpose and connection of Public Safety team to Garden mission and activities. o Responsible for efficient scheduling of support staff for daily/nightly activities to ensure public safety presence whenever we have guests at the Garden including weekends, heavy visitation periods, and special exhibitions. o Successfully manages all department team members including interviewing, hiring, training, supervising and performance assessment, with the ability to, coach, counsel, and if necessary, terminate staff. o Responsible for appropriate procurement/purchasing responsibilities and managing departmental budget. o Attends meetings to ensure thorough understanding of events, visitation and hours of planned activity on campus and transition needs from day operations to evening events. o Ensures proper safety/security coverage of PS team, through communications with Garden staff/contracted service providers.
• Communicates openly and has a visible presence for all staff and guests during all Garden activities. o Maintains a comprehensive understanding of all daily activities, seasonal and annual programs and events. o Carries a dedicated security cell phone and two-way radio at all times during work hours. o Walks the Garden campus, engages with guests, staff, students, volunteers, food service contractor, staying in close proximity to activities, ensuring safety measures are in place, and teams are prepared for emergencies. o Monitors/reports inclement weather conditions that may affect the safety of guests, staff and v0lunteers and participates with VPOF/VPOH/MOD for any preparation needs or post event safety assessment and clean up needs. o Stays knowledgeable of and coordinates with Garden Leadership in the execution of the Gardens Disaster Preparedness Plan.
• Manages Garden parking, security and closure. o Monitors parking demands during highly attended events, manages traffic and directs vehicles to available parking areas and coordinating outsourced HPD support as needed. o Sweeps Garden of all guests at closing time in a friendly and courteous manner. o Secures Garden entry and exit gates for closure. o Ensures security of facilities and activation of alarms at end of business. o Turns off campus lighting breakers as needed.

Each Employee of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

• Must comply with provisions of the current Employee Handbook, all published personnel policies and the requirements of their individual job descriptions.
• Must conduct herself or himself and perform all duties in a manner consistent with a public garden serving multigenerational and multicultural individuals and families, and in accordance with directed practices and procedures.
• Must report incidents immediately and ultimately in writing to supervisor(s) and to the HR Manager.
• Must ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
• Must perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.
• Supports and embraces our diversity and inclusion policy to create an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected and appreciated.

Physical Demands / Working Conditions

• Must be able to work outdoors and navigate the Garden’s campus in all seasonal weather conditions.
• Must be able to lift 25 pounds intermittently.
• Must be able to walk quickly between all garden venues regularly and walk or stand for periods.
• This position requires familiarity with all public areas of the 82-acre Garden property.

Note: Duties described above, other duties and physical demands have been identified as essential functions as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Education and Experience

• Bachelors’ degree or 5 years of equivalent experience working with the public in customer service capacity.
• A strong background in Public Safety and OSHA experience is required.
• Previous managerial and public safety training experience required.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and work with peers, co-workers and volunteers.
• Experience and demonstrated sensitivity in working with persons of various ethnic and economic backgrounds on staff and within our community.
• Conversational Spanish preferable.
• Other combinations of education/experience appropriate to the role.

Baseline Knowledge/Requirements

• Computer knowledge or willingness to learn systems for receiving and communicating information: o Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Work Order Systems, Active Net, TAM.
• Experience leading safety and security trainings; CPR/First Aid/AED, Fire Alarms, Safety Protoc0l, etc.
• Excellent problem solving skills with outstanding communicati0ns (written and verbal).
• Excellent organizational skills with high attention to detail.
• Highly responsible and reliable with a professional presentation.
• Ability to work nights, weekends and holidays.
• Possesses a valid driver’s license required to operate Garden vehicles.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $25.00 - $30.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Evening shift
• Holidays
• Night shift
• Weekend availability
• Weekends only

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Richmond, VA 23228: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Experience:

• Public Safety: 5 years (Required)

Work Location: In person

• Health insurance