Lead Botanist

Join the Chicago Botanic Garden team as a Lead Botanist and contribute to our mission to cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life.

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced botanist to lead a seed collection crew in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Vernal Field Office. The successful candidate will provide oversight and implement all aspects of the Seeds of Success (SOS) program, a national native seed collection program with a mission to collect wildland native seed for research, development, germplasm conservation, and ecosystem restoration.

• Develop scouting and collection hitch plans in collaboration with the senior botanist and coordinate assistance and troubleshoot with the lead.
• Provide daily team leadership and oversight for a natural resources specialist position.
• Identify target species and potential collection locations through geospatial analysis.
• Collect voucher specimens for herbaria, map plant populations, and collect seed.
• Properly dry, store, and process seed, including shipping to seed cleaning facilities.
• Ensure QC of both digitally collected scouting and collection data, as well as herbarium specimen data.

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (botany, ecology, biology, forestry, environmental science, rangeland management, etc.).
• One season of field experience in natural resources management or research.
• Experience identifying plants using dichotomous keys or a thorough education in plant systematics.
• Coursework or practical experience using GIS software such as ESRI products (e.g., ArcMap, ArcPro).
• Experience collecting scientific data in field settings.
• Experience in electronic data capture (e.g., Survey123, Collector).
• Experience working on teams.
• Valid driver's license on the first day of the position.
• Experience camping or car camping.
• Organized, self-starter, able to learn quickly and adapt to changes and challenges.

This posting is for our team working out of Vernal, UT. If you are interested in our other Colorado Plateau positions, please let us know in your application materials.

Come work in a setting that is like no other as you support our mission to cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life. Take the first step toward being one of the employees who make the Garden one of the treasures of the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Apply today.