Horticulturist

Senior Horticulturist (Campus & Corporate Landscape)

Location: Raghu Engineering College, Visakhapatnam (On-site)

Experience: 6+ years (large campuses/corporate parks/IT parks)

Role Summary

Own the end-to-end planning, upkeep, and enhancement of a modern, corporate-grade landscape across an education campusbalancing aesthetics, safety, cost, and sustainability for a coastal-humid climate.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day softscape & turf O&M: mowing, edging, pruning, staking, mulching, fertilization, plant health care, seasonal color beds.
• Manage irrigation & fertigation: design/optimize drip/sprinkler networks, set watering schedules, prevent over-watering, and reduce losses.
• Plant health & IPM: implement integrated pest management (monitoring, thresholds, biologicals, safe chemistries), maintain spray logs & MSDS.
• Tree care & arboriculture: inventory, risk assessment, formative pruning, storm-readiness, safe removals, and replacement plans.
• Nursery & sourcing: set up/oversee a micro-nursery for campus needs; qualify vendors, negotiate pricing, maintain BOQs and planting stock SOPs.
• Sustainability: compost green waste, reuse treated water where available, expand native/low-water, pollinator-friendly species.
• Hardscape interface: coordinate with civil/maintenance on paving edges, planter details, lighting integration, drainage, and root-zone protection.
• Event & display: festival/convocation/guest-visit theming with temporary planters, hanging baskets, vertical greens.
• Team & vendor management: plan manpower rosters, upskill gardeners, enforce safety/PPE, audit contractor SLAs.
• Budgets & reporting: annual O&M plan, CAPEX proposals, monthly dashboards (cost/, water use/, survival %, turf quality).
• Documentation: landscape master plan updates, weekly punch lists, plant palette register, as-built drawings, photo logs.
• Cross-functional: hostels, academic blocks, sports grounds, parking medians, signage islandsuniform standards and response SLAs.

Must-Have Qualifications

• B.Sc./M.Sc. in Horticulture/Agriculture/Horticultural Science (or equivalent).
• 6+ years managing mid/large multi-acre landscapes for corporate campuses/IT parks/educational institutions.
• Proven command of irrigation systems, turf management, IPM, and nursery propagation at scale.
• Ability to lead multi-vendor teams and 10+ field staff; strong planning and supervision discipline.
• Working skills in BOQs/estimates, reading landscape drawings; solid Excel/Sheets. (AutoCAD/SketchUp/GIS basics are a plus.)
• Safety/compliance mindset (chemical handling, storage, PPE, signage). ISA arboriculture exposure is a plus.

Good-to-Have

• Experience with moisture sensors/automated valves, fertigation tanks, and water budgeting.
• Knowledge of rainwater harvesting integration, storm-water swales, and soil amendment programs.
• Familiarity with corporate FM practices: SLA/OLA, checklists, audit scoring, vendor governance.
• Basic aesthetics/design sensibility for corporate-clean look (planter sizing, symmetry, sightlines).

Visakhapatnam-Specific Knowledge (Coastal–Humid, Cyclone-Prone)

• Climate & risk: High humidity, salt-laden winds, intense monsoon bursts, and periodic cyclonic storms—plan wind-resistant plantings, staking, and pre-storm pruning schedules (Oct–Dec emphasis).
• Soils & water: Lateritic/sandy patches and varying TDS—run soil tests, manage salinity (gypsum/organic matter), prefer raised beds and well-draining mixes.

First 90-Day Plan

1. Audit & map: Full inventory (trees/shrubs/turf/irrigation zones), soil & water tests, hazard trees, drainage pain points.
2. Stabilize basics: Irrigation schedule by zone, pruning calendar, mulch top-ups, fertilizer plan, and campus-wide weed control.
3. Quick wins: High-visibility entrances/medians refreshed; broken sprinklers/valves fixed; clear edging lines & sightlines.
4. Monsoon/cyclone readiness: Staking specs, pre-storm prune list, pot securing SOP, emergency vendor roster.
5. Sourcing & nursery: Approved vendor panel, price list/BOQs, on-campus micro-nursery plan for staples and seasonal color.
6. Dashboards: Baseline KPIs and monthly reporting format rolled out.

Working Details

• Language: Comfortable managing Telugu-speaking field teams; English/Hindi for reporting/co-ordination.
• Schedule: On-site, 6-day style ops (peak seasons/events may need flex hours).
• Travel: Occasional visits to sister campuses/facilities if required.

How to Apply

Share your CV with a 1-page portfolio of before/after campus areas you maintained (with area/scale, plant palettes used, irrigation method, and budget ballparks). Include two references from corporate/educational campuses.