Director of Historic Gardens and Landscape Stewardship
Together SC, Charleston, SC, United States
Overview
Director of Historic Gardens & Landscape Stewardship, Middleton Place Foundation — Charleston, South Carolina
Stewarding a National Historic Landmark as a Living Cultural Landscape
Middleton Place Foundation seeks a distinguished, field-engaged horticultural leader to serve as Director of Historic Gardens & Landscape Stewardship. This is an uncommon opportunity to guide one of America’s most significant designed landscapes through a pivotal period of preservation, ecological resilience, and disciplined institutional alignment.
Designated a National Historic Landmark, Middleton Place encompasses America’s oldest landscaped gardens, historic agricultural lands, natural corridors, sacred spaces, and visitor-serving infrastructure shaped by centuries of labor, adaptation, and change. The Foundation is advancing phased implementation of the Comprehensive Landscape Plan within a unified operational and financial framework designed to ensure long-term vitality.
The Director will steward this landscape not as a static artifact, but as a living cultural system requiring judgment, horticultural excellence, operational rigor, and strategic foresight.
Reporting & Organizational Structure The Director of Historic Gardens & Landscape Stewardship reports directly to the President & CEO.
The Director works in close collaboration with the Vice President of Operations, who oversees Facilities, Safety, and Security, to ensure alignment between landscape stewardship, infrastructure systems, environmental resilience, risk management, and site-wide operational coordination.
The Director also partners regularly with:
Vice President of Museums
Vice President of Advancement & Visitor Engagement
Director of Finance
Director of Stableyards
This role sits at the intersection of preservation, capital planning, visitor experience, and institutional strategy.
Scope of Leadership The Director provides strategic direction, horticultural leadership, fiscal accountability, and operational oversight for the historic gardens and broader landscape systems of Middleton Place.
This is not a purely administrative position. The Director is expected to maintain an active and visible presence in the landscape while contributing meaningfully to capital planning, budget management, and long-range sequencing discussions.
Core responsibilities include:
Leading disciplined implementation of the Comprehensive Landscape Plan through defined and prioritized phases
Developing and managing annual operating budgets for horticulture and grounds
Contributing to multi-year capital forecasting in coordination with the President & CEO and Director of Finance
Translating design intent into durable horticultural execution within defined financial parameters
Stewarding formal gardens, working landscapes, ecological corridors, and sacred sites as an interconnected system
Aligning landscape initiatives with visitor arrival, parking, circulation, accessibility, drainage, and infrastructure improvements
Coordinating closely with Stableyards leadership to ensure agricultural interpretation and land stewardship reinforce one another
Collaborating with Operations on irrigation, utilities, environmental systems, and site safety
Representing landscape priorities clearly and credibly in Board and Committee settings when appropriate
The Director must be able to balance aesthetic excellence with cost control, timeline discipline, and operational sustainability.
Capital & Implementation Leadership A central responsibility of this role is execution of the Comprehensive Landscape Plan within a structured capital framework.
The Director will:
Serve as internal project lead for landscape implementation phases
Coordinate consultants, contractors, and internal teams
Establish realistic timelines and cost projections
Monitor expenditures against approved budgets
Ensure improvements to circulation, accessibility, environmental systems, and visitor comfort align with preservation priorities
Maintain continuity between formal garden preservation and broader site stewardship
This role requires spatial fluency, project management discipline, financial literacy, and the ability to move confidently between strategic planning discussions and field execution.
Documentation, Standards & Professional Practice Middleton Place is committed to maintaining professional standards consistent with national best practices in museum and landscape stewardship.
The Director will:
Ensure landscape practices are documented, measured, and evaluated
Maintain accurate records related to plant collections, maintenance cycles, treatment plans, and capital improvements
Develop written policies and procedural standards where appropriate
Utilize data and field metrics to inform decision-making and resource allocation
Support institutional alignment with AAM and other professional standards
Stewardship at Middleton Place requires both craftsmanship and documentation.
Stewardship Philosophy The Director must be comfortable stewarding a landscape that evolves.
Middleton Place is not frozen in time. It requires informed adaptation grounded in historical understanding and ecological awareness.
The successful candidate will:
Recognize that gardens require thoughtful evolution rather than replication
Integrate agricultural history and Lowcountry ecological systems into daily management
Approach burial grounds and culturally significant spaces with ethical care and restraint
Embrace accessibility and universal design as integral to preservation
Balance horticultural refinement with long-term environmental resilience
Leadership & Team Development The Director leads horticulture and grounds staff while collaborating across divisions in a unified operational model.
Responsibilities include:
Supervising horticulture and grounds personnel
Developing seasonal and annual work plans aligned with institutional priorities
Reinforcing safety standards and operational accountability
Supporting professional development and certification
Participating in cross-divisional coordination to ensure whole-site cohesion
The ideal candidate leads by example: steady, disciplined, collaborative, and present in the field.
The Ideal Candidate Middleton Place seeks a leader who brings:
Deep plant knowledge and horticultural expertise
Demonstrated experience in historic landscape preservation or senior-level public garden leadership
Comfort working both in the field and in executive planning discussions
Experience managing complex landscape projects and operating budgets
Confidence operating within defined financial and governance structures
Understanding of Lowcountry ecology and agricultural history
Respect for culturally significant landscapes and layered narratives
Qualifications include
Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, Plant Science, or related field (advanced degree preferred)
7–10 years of progressively responsible horticultural or landscape management experience, including supervisory responsibility
Demonstrated success managing budgets and capital projects
Pesticide applicator certification (or ability to obtain)
Compensation Salary range: $85,000–$95,000, commensurate with experience and reflective of the operational, financial, and preservation responsibilities of the role.
Middleton Place Foundation offers a competitive benefits package including health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off, and professional development support. Relocation assistance is available as needed.
Why Middleton Place Middleton Place is entering a period of strategic clarity and disciplined growth.
With strengthened governance, a unified budget structure, and a comprehensive preservation framework underway, the Foundation is positioning the site for long-term vitality.
The Director of Historic Gardens & Landscape Stewardship will help shape how this nationally significant landscape evolves — preserving its beauty, honoring its history, and stewarding it responsibly for generations to come.
To Apply Qualified candidates are invited to submit a letter of interest and résumé to:
Carol Page, Human Resources Manager
cpage@middletonplace.org
Middleton Place Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Stewarding a National Historic Landmark as a Living Cultural Landscape
Middleton Place Foundation seeks a distinguished, field-engaged horticultural leader to serve as Director of Historic Gardens & Landscape Stewardship. This is an uncommon opportunity to guide one of America’s most significant designed landscapes through a pivotal period of preservation, ecological resilience, and disciplined institutional alignment.
Designated a National Historic Landmark, Middleton Place encompasses America’s oldest landscaped gardens, historic agricultural lands, natural corridors, sacred spaces, and visitor-serving infrastructure shaped by centuries of labor, adaptation, and change. The Foundation is advancing phased implementation of the Comprehensive Landscape Plan within a unified operational and financial framework designed to ensure long-term vitality.
The Director will steward this landscape not as a static artifact, but as a living cultural system requiring judgment, horticultural excellence, operational rigor, and strategic foresight.
Reporting & Organizational Structure The Director of Historic Gardens & Landscape Stewardship reports directly to the President & CEO.
The Director works in close collaboration with the Vice President of Operations, who oversees Facilities, Safety, and Security, to ensure alignment between landscape stewardship, infrastructure systems, environmental resilience, risk management, and site-wide operational coordination.
The Director also partners regularly with:
Vice President of Museums
Vice President of Advancement & Visitor Engagement
Director of Finance
Director of Stableyards
This role sits at the intersection of preservation, capital planning, visitor experience, and institutional strategy.
Scope of Leadership The Director provides strategic direction, horticultural leadership, fiscal accountability, and operational oversight for the historic gardens and broader landscape systems of Middleton Place.
This is not a purely administrative position. The Director is expected to maintain an active and visible presence in the landscape while contributing meaningfully to capital planning, budget management, and long-range sequencing discussions.
Core responsibilities include:
Leading disciplined implementation of the Comprehensive Landscape Plan through defined and prioritized phases
Developing and managing annual operating budgets for horticulture and grounds
Contributing to multi-year capital forecasting in coordination with the President & CEO and Director of Finance
Translating design intent into durable horticultural execution within defined financial parameters
Stewarding formal gardens, working landscapes, ecological corridors, and sacred sites as an interconnected system
Aligning landscape initiatives with visitor arrival, parking, circulation, accessibility, drainage, and infrastructure improvements
Coordinating closely with Stableyards leadership to ensure agricultural interpretation and land stewardship reinforce one another
Collaborating with Operations on irrigation, utilities, environmental systems, and site safety
Representing landscape priorities clearly and credibly in Board and Committee settings when appropriate
The Director must be able to balance aesthetic excellence with cost control, timeline discipline, and operational sustainability.
Capital & Implementation Leadership A central responsibility of this role is execution of the Comprehensive Landscape Plan within a structured capital framework.
The Director will:
Serve as internal project lead for landscape implementation phases
Coordinate consultants, contractors, and internal teams
Establish realistic timelines and cost projections
Monitor expenditures against approved budgets
Ensure improvements to circulation, accessibility, environmental systems, and visitor comfort align with preservation priorities
Maintain continuity between formal garden preservation and broader site stewardship
This role requires spatial fluency, project management discipline, financial literacy, and the ability to move confidently between strategic planning discussions and field execution.
Documentation, Standards & Professional Practice Middleton Place is committed to maintaining professional standards consistent with national best practices in museum and landscape stewardship.
The Director will:
Ensure landscape practices are documented, measured, and evaluated
Maintain accurate records related to plant collections, maintenance cycles, treatment plans, and capital improvements
Develop written policies and procedural standards where appropriate
Utilize data and field metrics to inform decision-making and resource allocation
Support institutional alignment with AAM and other professional standards
Stewardship at Middleton Place requires both craftsmanship and documentation.
Stewardship Philosophy The Director must be comfortable stewarding a landscape that evolves.
Middleton Place is not frozen in time. It requires informed adaptation grounded in historical understanding and ecological awareness.
The successful candidate will:
Recognize that gardens require thoughtful evolution rather than replication
Integrate agricultural history and Lowcountry ecological systems into daily management
Approach burial grounds and culturally significant spaces with ethical care and restraint
Embrace accessibility and universal design as integral to preservation
Balance horticultural refinement with long-term environmental resilience
Leadership & Team Development The Director leads horticulture and grounds staff while collaborating across divisions in a unified operational model.
Responsibilities include:
Supervising horticulture and grounds personnel
Developing seasonal and annual work plans aligned with institutional priorities
Reinforcing safety standards and operational accountability
Supporting professional development and certification
Participating in cross-divisional coordination to ensure whole-site cohesion
The ideal candidate leads by example: steady, disciplined, collaborative, and present in the field.
The Ideal Candidate Middleton Place seeks a leader who brings:
Deep plant knowledge and horticultural expertise
Demonstrated experience in historic landscape preservation or senior-level public garden leadership
Comfort working both in the field and in executive planning discussions
Experience managing complex landscape projects and operating budgets
Confidence operating within defined financial and governance structures
Understanding of Lowcountry ecology and agricultural history
Respect for culturally significant landscapes and layered narratives
Qualifications include
Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, Plant Science, or related field (advanced degree preferred)
7–10 years of progressively responsible horticultural or landscape management experience, including supervisory responsibility
Demonstrated success managing budgets and capital projects
Pesticide applicator certification (or ability to obtain)
Compensation Salary range: $85,000–$95,000, commensurate with experience and reflective of the operational, financial, and preservation responsibilities of the role.
Middleton Place Foundation offers a competitive benefits package including health insurance, retirement contributions, paid time off, and professional development support. Relocation assistance is available as needed.
Why Middleton Place Middleton Place is entering a period of strategic clarity and disciplined growth.
With strengthened governance, a unified budget structure, and a comprehensive preservation framework underway, the Foundation is positioning the site for long-term vitality.
The Director of Historic Gardens & Landscape Stewardship will help shape how this nationally significant landscape evolves — preserving its beauty, honoring its history, and stewarding it responsibly for generations to come.
To Apply Qualified candidates are invited to submit a letter of interest and résumé to:
Carol Page, Human Resources Manager
cpage@middletonplace.org
Middleton Place Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.
#J-18808-Ljbffr