Careers & Opportunities

Posted: November 26, 2025

Application Deadline: December 17, 2025

Bartram’s Garden seeks a Maintenance Technician to join the Landscapes & Facilities team that maintains this 50-acre Southwest Philadelphia asset as a dynamic civic commons and river garden. Responsibilities include custodial duties, site safety and security, routine building maintenance and monitoring, emergency repairs, cyclic maintenance and site-specific trades work. Reporting to the Director of Facilities & Capital Projects, the Maintenance Technician personally accomplishes daily maintenance, operations and repair work, and works with the Landscapes & Facilities team on larger projects.

Duties and Responsibilities 

• Facility Maintenance & Upkeep
  • Perform general facility maintenance including but not limited to general building maintenance and upkeep for modern and historic infrastructure alike, fences, handrails, pathways, site storage, etc.
  • Preventive maintenance and repair of geothermal and traditional HVAC systems, refrigerators, and walk-in coolers
  • Coordinate work performed by contractors, to include building maintenance, advanced repairs, and preservation work. Offer technical assistance where applicable. This may require occasional schedule flexibility with earlier mornings or later afternoons.
  • Ensure workshop is kept safe, organized, accessible and that time/access is scheduled for teams needing its use. Build and implement tool tracking procedures/systems for all staff.
  • Manage and ensure supplies for maintenance and upkeep projects are stocked and accessible (lumber, hardware, shop consumables, paints, solvents, adhesives, batteries, etc.)
  • Respond to site issues such as vandalism, graffiti, and emergency infrastructure issues, ensuring safe and timely repairs and/or restoration
  • Monitor and maintains site utilities (electrical, plumbing)
• Vehicle Fleet
  • Maintain Bartram’s Garden fleet of on- and off-road vehicles including preventive maintenance, emergency repairs, cleaning, and upkeep (trucks, van, golf carts, mini truck)
  • Collaborate with Horticulture team to maintain tractor and/or any additional heavy machinery and its associated attachments/implements
  • Maintain vehicle reservation and scheduling calendars
  • Keep fuel supplies topped-up and available for use (gasoline cans, diesel fuel, propane cylinders)
• Site Safety & Security
  • Maintain alarm and fire detection systems and electrical, plumbing, and building monitoring systems. Respond to building system failures and security alerts and ensure proper response is undertaken to restore proper operations
  • Maintains security camera system operation and upkeep
  • Ensure first aid kits, AEDs, fire extinguishers, vehicle emergency kits, and any other safety/first aid supplies are stocked and up to date
• Work Tracking & Reporting and All Other Duties
  • Utilize MaintainX work management software to plan and log all work as well as up/downtime for assets, vendors, parts, etc.
  • Update and maintain standard operating procedures, cyclic maintenance plans, applicable safety/compliance documentation, such as MSDS, instruction manuals, and maintenance manuals, with Director of Facilities & Capital Projects
  • Plan longer-term infrastructure improvements and maintenance with Director of Facilities & Capital Projects
  • Plan and run volunteer/staff work sessions to accomplish body of work as necessary and appropriate
  • Participate in snow removal and other weather response in conjunction with appropriate teams including but not limited to Horticulture and CES
  • Support ongoing programs and special events as assigned/required

Qualifications 

• 3 years of experience in trade or facility maintenance required; public garden and/or historic site setting preferred
• Valid PA driver’s license required
• Experience with historic sites and building trades (plumbing, domestic electrical, carpentry) preferred
• Experience in operation of machinery, small power equipment, and power tools (utility cart, bobcat, mowers, chipper, etc.)
• Experience working with the public. Volunteer coordination experience is a plus
• Must be able to lift 50 lbs. and be able to perform physical tasks both indoors and outdoors and in all weather conditions
• Ability to work collaboratively with people from diverse backgrounds in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, and religion
• Openness to personal growth and new experiences
• Personal or professional familiarity with Southwest Philadelphia preferred

Additional Requirements

Prior to start date, the employee will be required to submit and renew at least every 5 years the following:

• Pennsylvania Criminal History Check through the Pennsylvania State Police (PATCH)
• Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Check through the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
• FBI Criminal History Check

Physical Requirements 

The Maintenance Technician is a physically demanding position that is conducted outdoors, often in difficult weather conditions, and in an office setting.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee will regularly be required to move and operate vehicles and power equipment and to work in immediate proximity to the public in a safe and friendly manner. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Kneeling, squatting, standing, and walking for extended periods of time, in all weathers and temperatures, and on uneven ground will be required.

The administrative components of this position require the ability to sit/stand at a desk, work on a computer, and use a monitor for extended periods of time.

Schedule and Compensation   

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

Our site is open daily, and the Maintenance Technician will be required to work one weekend day: Sunday–Thursday schedule preferred. The employee will also be required to work occasional holidays, weekends, early mornings, and late nights throughout the year.

Additionally, all full-time staff support annual site-wide weekend and evening events including Southwest Spring Fest (April); Juneteenth (June); Twilight in the Garden (October); Indigenous People’s Day (October); Harvest Fest (October); and Handmade Holidays (December).  

Starting salary is between $44,000–$48,000 annually, depending on experience. Benefits include healthcare and dental coverage, short and long-term disability coverage, and paid holidays, vacation, and sick time.  

Application Information 
To apply, please send your resume along with a brief note describing your interest in the position to with “Maintenance Technician” in the email subject line. Only those whose applications are being considered will be contacted. No phone calls or visits, please.

The John Bartram Association is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

All individuals, including those from historically under-represented groups, are strongly encouraged to apply. In addition, any form of personal or professional connections to Southwest Philadelphia will be considered a plus for all applicants. If desired, applicants are invited to reflect in their cover letter or other written statement on how their professional and lived experiences position them for their requested role.  

About Bartram’s Garden 

Bartram’s Garden is a 50-acre public park and National Historic Landmark in Southwest Philadelphia, situated on Lenape territory on the banks of the Tidal Schuylkill River. Welcoming more than 125,000 visitors annually, it is a venue for art, an access to the tidal river and wetlands, an outdoor classroom, and a living laboratory. Bartram’s Garden attempts to hold the colonial legacy of the land with a commitment to learn and share the whole truth about the plants of Southwest Philadelphia and the people who grow them. The site encompasses the Bartram family’s 18th-century house and farm buildings, the country’s oldest surviving botanic garden, a reclaimed meadow, tidal wetlands, the Sankofa Community Farm, recreational trails, and the riverfront with an accessible public boat dock and community boathouse. 

The Garden is operated and maintained by the non-profit John Bartram Association in cooperation with the City of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department. The mission of the John Bartram Association is to co-create equitable relationships among people and nature through immersive, community-centered experiences that activate the Bartram legacy, Garden, and House, on land and on the Schuylkill River, in Southwest Philadelphia.  

Bartram’s Garden has been working to build its local Southwest-focused programs and activities and strengthen its community partnerships with nearby families, schools, and neighborhood groups. Thanks to plans for significant upcoming site investments, including major construction projects and expanded partnerships, the Garden is in the midst of transformation, with unprecedented opportunities for growth and renewal.