Garden Center Department Manager

Garden Center Department Manager

Lititz, PA

Lead a team that inspires customers and delivers outstanding service across every season, while using your horticultural knowledge to cultivate a thriving retail environment.

Why You'll Love Working with Us

• Grow with Purpose: Join a family-owned company where your leadership helps customers, employees, and our business flourish season after season.
• Make a Lasting Impact: Lead multiple departments with the freedom to influence merchandising, customer experience, and team development.
• Work with Exceptional Products: Be surrounded by high-quality plants, unique garden products, and ever-changing seasonal displays that keep every day engaging.
• Be Part of a Supportive Team: Collaborate with experienced leaders who value hard work, creativity, and investing in one another's success.
• Enjoy Meaningful Benefits: Take advantage of competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, employee discounts, and a company that believes in giving back to its employees and community.

About Us

Esbenshade's Garden Centers is family-owned with more than 60 years of experience helping gardeners, homeowners, and landscapers succeed with quality plants, exceptional products, and knowledgeable service. We take pride in growing much of what we sell, building lasting relationships with our customers, and creating an environment where our team members can grow personally and professionally. As a faith-based company, we value integrity, hard work, collaboration, and making a meaningful impact in the communities we serve.

What You'll Do as Our Garden Center Department Manager

• Lead the daily operations of our Garden Center, Patio, Gift, Birding, Pottery, and Christmas departments, ensuring each area is well-stocked, organized, and welcoming for customers.
• Hire, coach, and develop department team members by providing training, scheduling support, performance feedback, and ongoing leadership that encourages growth and accountability.
• Manage merchandising, seasonal transitions, inventory levels, and product presentation to create an exceptional shopping experience throughout the year.
• Partner with our Lead Buyer to forecast inventory needs, monitor stock levels, and help maximize department sales and profitability.
• Collaborate with store leadership, Receiving, E-commerce, and Accounting to ensure smooth ordering, inventory accuracy, and efficient day-to-day operations.
• Build strong relationships with vendors by attending trade shows, evaluating new products, and staying informed on horticultural and retail trends.
• Deliver knowledgeable, solution-focused customer service while helping customers find the right plants, gardening supplies, patio products, gifts, and seasonal merchandise.
• Monitor department performance by managing labor, expenses, and inventory while identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, sales, and the overall customer experience.

Our Ideal Garden Center Department Manager

• Experienced Leader: Three years of required management experience and know how to coach, develop, and motivate a retail team to achieve outstanding results.
• Horticulture Expertise: You bring strong knowledge of garden center operations, horticulture, gardening, and seasonal retail products, with experience in a garden center or closely related industry.
• Organized Decision-Maker: You confidently balance staffing, merchandising, inventory, budgets, and multiple priorities while making sound decisions in a fast-paced retail environment.
• Technology Proficient: You are comfortable using Microsoft Office, inventory management systems, and retail POS software; experience with Epicor is a plus.
• Hands-On Contributor: You enjoy working alongside your team, can lift up to 50 pounds, and are comfortable working indoors and outdoors in varying weather conditions.
• Values-Driven Professional: You lead with integrity, foster collaboration, and take pride in creating a positive environment that reflects our commitment to serving our customers, supporting one another, and strengthening our community.

What We Offer Our Garden Center Department Manager

• Pay: $19-$22/hour, based on experience.
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Holidays
• Retirement Plan
• Life Insurance
• Christmas Bonus
• Employee Assistance Program
• Generous Employee Discount
• A company that invests in its employees and gives back to the communities it serves

To Apply

Garden Center Managers, Retail Department Managers, Horticulture Managers, Nursery Managers, and Retail Operations Leaders with a passion for horticulture and customer service are encouraged to explore this opportunity with Esbenshade's Garden Centers.

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• 3 years of management experience required
• Experience with horticulture, gardening and seasonal retail products experience
• Microsoft experience
• POS experience