Grounds Manager

Deerfield is a premier continuing care retirement community nestled in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. We are seeking an experienced and hands-on Grounds Manager to lead our Grounds Department and help maintain the beautiful campus that our residents and team members enjoy every day.

This position is ideal for a landscaping professional who enjoys leading a team, takes pride in creating exceptional outdoor environments, and is passionate about serving older adults within a vibrant community.

Position Summary

The Grounds Manager is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Grounds Department, ensuring Deerfield's campus remains safe, attractive, and well-maintained year-round. This role supervises grounds staff, coordinates daily work activities, manages landscape maintenance projects, and supports departmental planning and budgeting efforts.

Reporting to the VP of Facilities, the Grounds Manager plays a key role in preserving the beauty, functionality, and safety of Deerfield's expansive campus.

Essential Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Management

• Supervise and support the daily work of Grounds Department employees.
• Schedule and assign work to ensure efficient operations.
• Provide coaching, training, and performance feedback.
• Assist with onboarding and development of grounds personnel.
• Promote a positive, collaborative, and safety-focused work environment.

Grounds & Landscape Operations

• Maintain lawns, landscaped areas, roads, sidewalks, and walking trails.
• Oversee mowing, trimming, edging, pruning, planting, mulching, and seasonal clean-up activities.
• Coordinate snow and ice removal efforts as needed.
• Ensure high standards of campus appearance and curb appeal.
• Recommend and implement landscape improvements.

Safety & Compliance

• Ensure safe operation of equipment and compliance with safety procedures.
• Conduct regular inspections of grounds and work areas.
• Identify and address hazardous conditions promptly.
• Maintain compliance with organizational policies and regulatory requirements.

Equipment & Resource Management

• Monitor equipment condition and coordinate maintenance and repairs.
• Manage inventories of supplies and materials.
• Recommend equipment purchases and operational improvements.

Qualifications

Required

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Minimum of three (3) years of progressive landscaping or grounds maintenance experience.
• Previous leadership or supervisory experience.
• Ability to operate landscaping equipment safely and effectively.
• Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Preferred

• Technical school training in landscaping, horticulture, grounds maintenance, or a related field.
• Experience managing grounds operations in a healthcare, retirement community, hospitality, higher education, or large-campus environment.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to work outdoors in varying weather conditions.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, lift, push, and pull throughout the workday.
• Ability to lift and move up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to operate grounds maintenance equipment and tools safely.

Full-time employees enjoy a full suite of benefits including PPO health insurance (no high deductible plans), dental, vision, 403(b) with employer match, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, generous time away, professional development, and scholarship opportunities. In addition, our employees enjoy access to many community amenities and a workplace culture that seamlessly blends heart and mind.

Deerfield is faith-based, nonprofit, open to all, and provides a continuum of services to empower residents to live life to the fullest. We enrich the lives of those who live and work at Deerfield and commit to be a leader in the field of aging services. We provide a non-smoking campus. All new employees must successfully complete a background check and drug screen as part of our onboarding process.

Deerfield is committed to providing access, equal employment opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individual with disabilities in all aspects of our employment, our services, programs and activities. To request reasonable accommodation or for additional information, contact us at askhr@deerfieldwnc.org.