Youth & Family Programs Assistant

Job Description

Looking for a unique, fun, and fulfilling job? Join us as a Youth & Family Programs Assistant at Red Butte Garden! Make a positive impact on children in kindergarten – 12th grade by organizing, planning, and leading STEAM-based programs. From hands-on activities to outdoor explorations, you’ll inspire a love of plants and the natural world in the next generation of environmental stewards. Plus, you’ll also grow personally and professionally as you develop leadership skills, enhance communication abilities, and more.

About Us

Red Butte Garden is one of the largest botanical gardens in the Intermountain West and together with the University of Utah, is the State Arboretum of Utah. We are located on 100 acres in the foothills on the eastern edge of the University of Utah campus. The Garden has welcomed guests since 1985 and consists of over 21 acres of developed gardens and five miles of hiking trails winding through an extensive Natural Area. The Garden, which is community-funded, is renowned for its numerous plant collections, display gardens, 560,000 springtime blooming bulbs, including a vast collection of daffodils, gorgeous private event spaces, a world-class outdoor concert series, and award-winning horticulture-based educational programs.

Duties & Responsibilities

Youth & Family Programs Assistance:
Assist with a wide range of programs, including Arbor Day, BOOtanical, Community Outreach, Garden Adventures, Family Nights, Lil’ Buds preschool classes, Summer Camps, Winter Solstice, and more.
Collaborate in planning, developing, and coordinating programs.
Apply basic youth development principles to foster positive relationships, respect for diversity, and youth empowerment.
Review programs and provide constructive feedback.
Actively participate in assigned program duties.

Curriculum Development:
Create and develop engaging program curricula exploring the connections between plants, the natural world, and STEAM-based subjects.
Write engaging program curricula.
Modify existing activities and curricula as needed.
Review curriculum and provide constructive feedback.

On-Site Event Staff:
Serve as dedicated on-site event staff during programs.
Ensure full presence for the duration of assigned program shifts.
Maintain a positive, proactive, solution-oriented demeanor when interacting with guests, volunteers, coworkers, performers, and vendors.

Health and Safety Standards:
Uphold high standards of health and safety.
Adhere to all Garden safety and security rules, procedures, and guidelines.
Monitor supplies, equipment, and facilities to ensure proper utilization, care, and maintenance.
Promptly notify management of any unusual circumstances, safety issues, or damages to property.

Representation of Red Butte Garden:
Act as a representative of Red Butte Garden when interacting with program guests, volunteers, performers, and vendors.
Provide excellent customer service to program guests.
Ensure ongoing guest satisfaction throughout programs.
Engage with large crowds of guests and assist with crowd management.
Effectively communicate relevant information to performers and vendors.
Provide direction, leadership, and feedback to support staff, including seasonal education staff, volunteers, and interns.
Respond calmly and attentively to unexpected incidents related to events.

Additional Responsibilities:
Assist with other activities and programs as needed by performing other relevant duties as assigned.

Preferences:
Excellent customer service skills. Self-directed, punctual, enthusiastic, and highly organized. Experience crafting or creating backgrounds, sets, props, or other decorative elements. Previous experience working at festivals or special events. Ability to think creatively and respond calmly and quickly in stressful situations. Enthusiasm, sense of humor, and patience. Dependable and punctual. Ability to accept supervision and guidance.

Education and Experience

Associate’s degree in a related field or equivalency (one year of education can be substituted for two years of related work experience) required. Two years of related experience, ability to use logic and reasoning to prioritize tasks, expertise using MS Office software, and demonstrated human relation and effective communication skills also required. Database experience preferred. Bachelor’s degree in a related field may be preferred.

Applicants must demonstrate the potential ability to perform the essential functions of the job as outlined in the position description.

Additional Information

Other perks of working at the Garden, a department of the University of Utah:

Discounts for campus events and the campus store, as well as campus library privileges.
Staff receive a half-price discount on Garden classes, an employee discount in our gift shop, advance registration opportunities for kid’s camps and concerts, and two free concert tickets for our Outdoor Concert series.

Red Butte Garden is accessible via several bus routes that stop in Research Park and at the University Medical Center, as well as the Trax Red line, followed by a short walk or on-demand university campus shuttle. The campus shuttle offers a direct line to Red Butte Garden via the Sunnyside Route.
For more information see:

https://commuterservices.utah.edu/uta/
https://commuterservices.utah.edu/campus-shuttle/
https://www.redbuttegarden.org/directions/

Application Instructions

Job Post Link: https://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/155349