Job Listing: Facility Events Staff Assistant

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden - Richmond, VA

Closes - Open until filled

Position Title – Facility Events Staff Assistant

Salary - $14/hr

Job Type - Part Time – 10 hours month/min. Evenings, early mornings and/or weekends required Hours based on event schedule

Apply: Please submit cover letter, resume to Human Resources at hr@lewisginter.org

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 Reserve, 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 Facility Events office coordinates over 300 events a year at the Garden in 12 different venues and gardens, which includes corporate/nonprofit clients as well as private events and weddings. Proceeds from facility rentals directly support the Garden’s mission as being a primary resource for learning about the botanical world. This position serves as a representative of the Garden to all event clients and guests for questions and coordination needs during events and demonstrates our core value of hospitality by ensuring that customer service is first and forem0st. We achieve this by providing a welcoming and helpful experience to all guests, and demonstrating a positive and supportive environment for staff, guests and volunteers.

Responsibilities:

Day of Event –

· Posts temporary event signage based on booked events/venues.

· Inspects event venue(s) to ensure the physical event setup is complete and accurate and venue is ready for guests.

· Supports the Food and Beverage provider for event setups and needs.

· Works closely with client to ensure room or site setup is correct and assist with any AV setup.

· Supports operations and custodial teams with last minute adjustments or needs.

· Directs guests to appropriate parking areas and event entrances.

· Greets and checks-in guests and provide event and/or basic Garden information as needed.

· Assists late guests to venue and monitor venue for possible noise conflicts due to multiple events in the Garden.

Additional Responsibilities for Wedding Events –

· Directs vendors to appropriate venue(s) based on vendor information form(s) and in compliance with rental contract            terms  and conditions.

· Serves as liaison to bridal party or wedding planner upon arrival and during their set up, direct musicians as appropriate     to ceremony or reception site location. Direct guests to appropriate parking areas and event entrances.

· Ensures other FESA’s are in place as needed, if needed.

· Monitors ceremony venue(s) for compliance with mandatory ceremony start time and rental term requiring acoustical          ceremony music.

· Direct guests from ceremony to reception venue and be accessible for guest questions.

· Monitor reception music at Bloemendaal House to ensure compliance with rental term related to reception music start          time and Henrico County noise ordinance.

Skills and Abilities

· Excellent customer service and effective communications skills with people at all levels and in various settings via multiple    communication tools.

· Comfortable working face to face with guests.

· Presents oneself with a professional, yet friendly attitude and appearance.

· Proven ability to work with others in a cooperative and collaborative manner.

· Ability to understand and differentiate priority of job responsibilities and customer requests.

· Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.

· Works well under pressure, is able to problem solve quickly, and can respond to difficult situations and a kind and                 courteous manner.

· Knowledgeable about facility rental terms and conditions, especially key terms that may affect multiple events.

· Willingly integrates work of department with the efforts of other departments (particularly guest/visitor services,                    operations, and catering).

· Make recommendations for facility rental event logistics.

Physical Demands / Working Conditions

· Must be able to lift 20 pounds intermittently.

· Must be able to work outdoors in all seasonal extremes.

· Must be able to walk quickly between all garden venues.

Education and Experience

· 2 years post high school education preferred.

· 1-2 years customer service experience in food service or hospitality field.

· General understanding of event coordination.

Each Employee of Lewis Ginter

· 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 be aware of surroundings and vigilant to threats to the safety of visitors, volunteers, and staff or to the security of        their property, ensuring that all concerns are reported promptly.

· Must report all mishaps, injuries, and incidents immediately and ultimately in writing to supervisor(s) and to Human              Resources.

· Must ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

· Must perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

· Have proof of a COVID-19 vaccine