Gardenshop Director bei COASTAL MAINE BOTANICAL GARDENS

Description

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is hiring a Gardenshop Director! 

Are you a strong retail manager, experienced in visual merchandising and leading large teams, excited about inspiring meaningful connections among people and nature in one of the most beautiful settings in Maine, and committed to supporting the Gardens’ Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility goals? 

This is a year-round, full-time, benefits-eligible position.  

$90,000 – 100,000 salaried, exempt 

The Gardenshop supports the mission of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens by extending our reach beyond the physical bounds of the campus and into the larger world, providing guests with a thoughtfully curated collection of ethically sourced and sustainably produced goods that, whenever possible, uplift our vibrant community of local makers, especially those most impacted by inequity. Through retail merchandising and partnerships with local makers, the Gardenshop Director identifies and pursues opportunities that advance the work of the Gardens.   

The Gardenshop Director will manage the team that oversees the operations of our onsite retail shop, webshop, and buying functions, and is responsible for visual merchandising, product design, and collaboration with our Marketing team. They work to identify and articulate messages from our horticultural, educational, and plant science initiatives through retail product, and develop relationships and merchandising opportunities across departments within the organization and with mission-aligned vendors and partners outside of the Gardens. This effort results in a retail experience that enriches a guest’s visit while generating meaningful financial support for the Gardens and our community.     

When the Gardens is closed, the schedule will generally be Monday – Friday; when the Gardens is open, weekend and/or evening work will regularly be required.   

Primary Functions:

• In collaboration with the Buyer, curate and design a collection of merchandise that is profitable, supports educational messages from Gardens’ programming, and speaks directly to the experience of being at the Gardens.  
• Lead visual merchandising of the shop, including seasonal displays and managing two distinct seasons and customer shopping experiences (the Gardens’ regular season, and Gardens Aglow).  
• Leverage the visitation and visibility of the shop to uplift makers from marginalized communities and those most impacted by inequity, forming partnerships based on community and trust, leading to shared and equitable profitability.  
•  Recruit, train, and mentor an exceptional management team of retail professionals to administer the daily operations of retail and web shops and the flow of merchandise.  
• Develop and support relationships with partner departments across the organization and collaborate to meet both departmental and organizational goals.?Collaborate closely with the Marketing and Communications team to set promotional strategies, branding guides, and to articulate Gardenshop messages to the guests and the broader public.  
• Demonstrate excellent financial planning and stewardship through the careful creation and administration of department budgets, scaling the department and funding profit-generating projects as needed in multi-year arcs, controlling cost-to-profit ratios to assure that expenses are correctly proportional to revenue and in line with the Gardens’ organizational goals.  
• Lead successful departmental management of key operating functions including inventory management, sales analysis, and margin strategies. Ensure the sustainability of Gardenshop’s work by establishing and maintaining a system of documented standard operating principles and procedures that are scalable and repeatable.  
• Participate in Gardens-wide initiatives including Gardens Aglow assignments. 

Physical Requirements:

Despite having a strong administrative component requiring time at a desk, this is an active job on a large campus sometimes requiring up to eight hours of standing, walking, kneeling, squatting, bending and reaching up. This job requires standard visual acuity and the ability to operate a PC with or without accommodation.   

Application review will begin September 26, 2025.

Selected candidates will receive an initial virtual interview, and finalists will be invited for a follow-up in person interview at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. 

Requirements

• At least five years of retail management experience with a successful work history in both operations and visual merchandising and display.  
• Proven leadership abilities, work history, and/or coursework focusing on recruitment and team building. Must have direct people management experience.  
• Excellent relationship building skills, with an ability to establish and deepen relationships that support the work of the Gardens, from vendors and makers to peers within the organization.  
• Experience with product development and collaboration with designers.  
• At least three years or equivalent work history and/or coursework with both the mechanics and philosophy of retail buying.  
• At least three years or equivalent work history and/or coursework related to managing business metrics and sales analysis.  
• Strong conceptual and working understanding of brand as a fundamental tool which creates culture, informs decision making, recruits and retains visitors and other constituents, and drives profitability.  
• The ability to learn new technology and a working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Word and Excel.  
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite or other design software needed for product development.  
• Commitment to working across the organization to support the integration of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility principles into the Gardens’ internal operations and its relationships with visitors and guests.