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Program Assistants Horticulture Center, Part-Time - ( 25000236 )

Description

Located in Hershey, PA, Milton Hershey School (MHS) is a top-notch home and school where over 2,000 pre-K through 12th grade students from disadvantaged backgrounds are provided with an extraordinary cost-free, career-focused education. This is made possible by the generosity of Milton and Catherine Hershey, who established the school in 1909 and ensured it was fully endowed. Thanks to that foresight and generosity, the school has over 12,000 graduates and is expanding to serve more students.

MHS is seeking two part-time **Program Assistants for the School’s Horticultural Center** , **Greenhouses, and gardens.** These assistants will support the full-time Horticulture Coordinator by strengthening the MHS Horticulture Center’s instructional programs and operational excellence. Each assistant will bring specialized abilities: one focused on **floral design and arrangement skills** , and the other on **houseplant care and propagation techniques** . These competencies will enhance experiential learning opportunities for students, ensuring they gain practical, industry-relevant skills aligned with the School’s Agricultural and Environmental Education (AEE) Program literacy standards.

The Center sustains **high-quality horticultural practices** , improves **integration of hands-on learning into classroom instruction** , and proactively expands program offerings. In collaboration with the coordinator, these roles will contribute to **program management** , **activity oversight** , and **student engagement** , guaranteeing authentic, real-world experiences that prepare students for success in horticulture and related fields.

**Work schedule:** Monday-Friday, including some weekends and evenings, up to 29 hours per week. Starting pay is in the range of $22.33 - $29.81/hour, pay is determined based on experience. This is an on-site position located in Hershey, PA.

Key responsibilities:

+ Supporting the Instructional Advisors at the Horticultural Center to provide engaging, authentic, hands-on educational experiences in the horticultural center which includes greenhouses, hydroponics, and outdoor gardens.

+ Facilitating educational and inspiring after-school clubs and other horticultural activities and programs.

+ Supporting operational functions that ensure the greenhouses and gardens are healthy, well maintained, and annually productive with products students can plant, nurture, harvest, and sell.

+ Utilizing greenhouse mechanical systems.

+ Assist with greenhouse and outdoor garden management (cultivar selection, scheduling, crop management, harvesting).

+ Assist with integrated pest management systems, as well as fungicide and pesticide applications.

Qualifications

+ High School diploma or GED. Degree in horticulture or agriculture recommended.

+ Demonstrated success in ensuring healthy and productive greenhouse crops and gardens.

+ Knowledge of greenhouse and gardening management is preferred.

+ Knowledge of integrated pest management systems, as well as fungicide and pesticide application. PA Pesticide Applicators license a plus.

+ Demonstrated success with hydroponics preferred.

+ Demonstrated success in providing youth with engaging agricultural or horticultural educational programming.

+ Experience with diverse Pre-K -12 grade students from lower income backgrounds a plus.

+ Proficient with Microsoft applications, Google docs, and Internet, as well as the ability to effectively incorporate various technologies into educational experiences.

+ Exceptional interpersonal skills, including the ability to collaborate, lead, educate, and inspire.

+ Ability to work an average of 29 hours/week on a flexible schedule (including weekends as needed).

+ Candidates must demonstrate a high degree of integrity, as all MHS staff are role models for MHS students.

+ Candidates must be willing to actively engage with students beyond the scope of their job responsibilities.

**Schedule** : Part-time

Job Type** **: Standard

Job Posting** **: Dec 11, 2025

**Req ID:** 25000236

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Milton Hershey School does not discriminate against applicants or employees, in hiring, promotion or any terms or conditions of employment, on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion or religious creed, veteran status, disability or use of a guide or support animal because of the blindness, deafness or physical handicap of the user or because the user is a handler or trainer of support or guide animals, or any other status protected under applicable federal or Pennsylvania law.