Succulent Plant Propagator

At The Huntington, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to support and promote the appreciation of the humanities, the arts, and botanical science. The Huntington is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law.

Founded in 1919, The Huntington is a collections-based research and educational institution open to the public, housing world-class library, art, and botanical collections. Its mission is to support research and promote education in the arts, humanities, and botanical science and to display and interpret its extraordinary resources for diverse audiences.

Here we are committed to the highest of standards in all that we do – from preserving and protecting the collections, to exhibitions, educational and scholarly programming, visitor and reader services, and beyond.  Achieving excellence across these pursuits requires a diversity of perspectives, expertise, experience, and methodologies. 

At The Huntington, our organizational Culture is shaped by the following core values: Intellectual curiosity, Collaboration, Stewardship, Belonging, and Integrity.

• Intellectual Curiosity: Knowledge, lifelong learning, and a spirit of inquiry are at the core of our mission and organizational culture.

• Collaboration: Teamwork and a collaborative attitude are important at all levels of The Huntington. We foster relationships internally among our departments and externally with organizations throughout the community.

• Stewardship: We are committed to the care and development of our collections, our financial and physical resources, our staff, and our community.

• Belonging: We strive to attract and maintain a workforce of individuals with diverse talents, backgrounds, and perspectives. Our organizational culture promotes a sense of welcome, inclusion, and connection.

• Integrity: We value respect and honesty, working to fulfill our mission with honor and ethical principles.

About the Role

Working under the supervision of and reporting to the Bernie and Miyako Storch Curator of the Desert Garden and Collections, maintains and oversees the Desert Collections in the Desert Collections Nurseries and performs related specialty tasks. Ensures that assigned areas maintain high standards.

Essential Duties

1. Curation

• Assists the Curator and colleagues in improving the quality of existing collections.
• Collaborates with Plant Recorder to ensure that all Desert Collections accessions are properly documented and tracked in the database.
• Collaborates with Plant Recorder and nursery staff to assure that all plants under their care in the Desert Collections are properly labelled.
• Constantly improves quality of information in records.

2. Horticulture

• Responsible for overall quality of plants in the Desert Collections nurseries utilizing best horticultural practices.
• Maintains Desert Collections nurseries including grooming, repotting, watering, and fertilizing.
• Works with nursery staff and volunteers dedicated to the Desert Collections in pursuit of the above goals.
• Contributes to overall quality and professional operation of the Desert Collections under their care in accordance with the Living Collections Policy.
• Advocates for resources and support, establishing best practices, achieving highest possible standards, and supporting the well-being of the Huntington.
• Builds and maintains associations with other institutions and collectors that support capacity to build collections.

3. Research and Conservation

• Ensures collections are propagated in support of preservation, conservation, research, display, interpretation, exchange, introduction and distribution through the International Succulent Introductions (ISI) program.
• Assists the Curator in promoting and exchanging material with other institutions, collectors, and researchers, through ISI, reciprocal exchange, and sales.
• May assist in hosting researchers to interpret our collections and provide materials to further their research.

4. Education and Interpretation

• Contributes to advancing understanding and appreciation of Huntington collections and purpose through horticultural use, experimentation, and on-going engagement with researchers and the public, and through cooperative partnering with Huntington staff, docents and volunteers.
• Assists with interpretation of the collections through collaboration with Communications/Education through various printed and digital media, lectures, conferences, etc.

Candidate Requirements and Experience

Knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Experienced with propagation of a broad array of plant types including succulents.
• A minimum of five years’ horticultural experience.
• Knowledge of plant taxonomy and succulents.
• Knowledge of legal restrictions pertaining to succulents and the Desert Collections.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate productively with a wide range of coworkers and colleagues, specialists and researchers in botany.
• May need to work varied hours, on weekends, or evenings, for events such as cactus shows, conferences, and lectures, as approved in advance by supervisor.
• B.A. or higher degree in botany, horticulture or related field preferred.

Working Conditions

• Expect to work outdoors daily in ALL weather conditions. Rain gear/watering boots will be provided.
• Expect to wear clothing and footwear appropriate for exposure to soil in wet or dusty conditions.
• Must be able to stand for long periods of time, stoop, bend, lift up to 25 lbs.

Compensation & Benefits 

We provide competitive compensation, generous benefits and perks for all eligible employees including: 

• Pay Range: $23.00- $26.00/hr. Commensurate with experience.
• Medical, Dental, Vision  
• 403(b) retirement plan and matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match 
• Hybrid remote work schedule available for applicable positions 
• Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and holidays 
• Discounts for staff in The Huntington Store and restaurants 
• Free admission to various museums and cultural institutions 
• Free passes each month to welcome family and friends to visit the grounds 

The Application Process 

Visit us at https://huntington.org/careers to apply directly. 

Please submit a cover letter and CV/resume as a single PDF attachment.  

You will have the opportunity to submit additional documents on the “My Experience” section of the application.