Horticulturist (NCWI)

Summary

The Horticulturist (Farm Program Coordinator, NCWI) at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System manages the Veterans Farm Program, leading therapeutic horticulture and urban agriculture activities for homeless and food-insecure Veterans. This role oversees daily farm operations, coordinates volunteers and community partnerships, and develops programs that support Veterans' physical, emotional, and social well-being while producing fresh food to address food insecurity.

Duties

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until December 31, 2026 or until position has been filled. Qualified applicants will be considered and referred. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be October 30, 2026, with subsequent cut-offs every 2 weeks. Duties include but are not limited to; Serve as program manager for the Veterans Farm Program, overseeing planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Develop annual work plans, including production goals, therapeutic programming calendars, staffing/volunteer coverage, and timelines. Analyze and resolve issues related to plant cultivation and unique participant needs in farm and urban environments. Provide technical solutions and prepare reports with recommendations for improving food production, public spaces, biodiversity, and sustainability. Manage and track program resources (supplies, equipment, materials); identify and cultivate grant, donation, and in-kind resource opportunities. Prepare proposals, applications, and required reporting for funders and donors at local and federal levels. Oversee administrative management of program records, reports, progress notes, files, and statistical data, ensuring compliance with VA requirements. Manage inventory and data management activities using spreadsheets and databases; analyze trends and prepare reports for leadership. Coordinate daily tasks and work assignments for trainees, volunteers, and farm support team members; plan and lead volunteer days and community engagement events. Serve as primary point of contact for visitors and external partners; establish and maintain community partner relationships. Provide horticulture and agriculture educational training and classes; communicate and collaborate with internal and external partners. Plan, schedule, grow, harvest, and distribute crops and plant materials; ensure production and distribution targets are met. Establish program performance measures and benchmarks; track and analyze outcomes for production, therapeutic impact, and community engagement. Assess opportunities for pilot programming, applied research, and funding for quality improvement and program expansion. Collaborate with senior leaders to develop strategic vision, long-range goals, and growth plans for the Veterans Garden Program. Represent the program in leadership meetings, committees, and planning forums. Ensure compliance with VA policies, safety regulations, and accreditation standards. Oversee daily farm operations, including growing spaces, orchard, greenhouse, and infrastructure; implement crop plans and planting schedules. Monitor and address pests, weeds, crop health, soil health, composting, and organic growing practices. Maintain irrigation systems, tools, equipment, and farm facilities; ensure safety and longevity of therapeutic and healing gardens. Develop, conduct, and evaluate greenhouse operations, including environmental monitoring, crop scheduling, seed sowing, irrigation, and pest management. Work as part of a treatment team to help participants meet measurable goals and objectives. Collaborate with other disciplines to maximize therapeutic gardening as a treatment modality. Develop and implement interdisciplinary therapeutic gardening/farming programs, including individual and group interventions. Write plans, develop curriculum, and provide education in horticulture for therapeutic activities and events. Direct crews and conduct formal/informal interpretive programs, site tours, and demonstrations for varied audiences. Research topics for interpretive programming; develop and post educational content for social media and Public Affairs. Develop, conduct, and evaluate outdoor recreation and farm management studies/programs for therapeutic interventions. Adapt, develop, or modify techniques and procedures to accommodate individual Veterans' limitations or needs. Work with Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) participants in farming, gardening, and grounds-related tasks. Provide customer service in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner to all stakeholders. Ensure care and services are appropriate to the age, development, and cultural needs of patients. Protect sensitive data and maintain information security and confidentiality in accordance with federal and VA policies. Work Schedule: Various tours of duty based on the needs of the service. Compressed/Flexible: May be available based on the needs of the service. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Horticulturist (NCWI)/PD150180 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/31/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. To qualify for the GS-0437 occupational series, applicants MUST possess the following: Degree: horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, of which at least 16 semester hours were in horticultural subjects such as those dealing with the breeding, care, management, production, and post harvest handling of horticultural crops. OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in horticulture or a related discipline of basic plant science that included course work as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Education: Courses in botany, plant physiology, plant taxonomy, plant pathology, genetics, agronomy, horticulture, and similar courses may be used to meet the 30-semester-hour requirement in basic plant sciences. The 16-semester-hour requirement in horticulture includes course work in basic horticulture and course work related to any of the recognized subject-matter fields of horticulture, i.e., fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, nursery work, seed production, or course work in related areas of science, such as micro-biology, entomology, plant pathology, plant physiology, or genetics that is directly related to horticultural work Grade Determination. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement above, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next