Research and Development Supervisor

Botanica is the largest landscape nursery in the region. It is part of Red Sea Global's planet-first approach, seeking to enrich the natural environment around us and set new standards for sustainable development.

Operational since 2020, Botanica has grown and supplied more than 7 million plants to landscape RSG's destinations, aiming to deliver 30 million plants by 2030. Botanica also provides immersive educational experiences for guests at The Red Sea, AMAALA, and beyond.

The nursery features diverse local plants, flowers, and other vegetation. Any new species introduced is carefully planned and follows comprehensive evaluations to guarantee harmonious integration with the existing flora and fauna.

The R&D Supervisor oversees the design, execution, and operational integration of nursery focused research trials, while supervising daily activities of the R&D Technicians and coordinating closely with Quality Control and Plant Health team members. This role ensures that innovations in propagation, production systems, plant health, and quality standards are effectively trialed, validated, documented, and transitioned into scalable operational practices.

The R&D Supervisor acts as the link between R&D research objectives and nursery operations-ensuring that new protocols, and quality insights are implemented consistently and effectively.

• Oversee data recording, validation, and analysis using statistical approaches appropriate to experiment design.
• Review technical reports, dashboards, and trial summaries prepared by R&D Technicians.
• Consolidate trial outcomes into clear, actionable recommendations for operational teams.
• Present findings to R&D leadership, production management, and cross functional stakeholders.
• Lead planning, prioritization, and scheduling of R&D trials across propagation, nursery production, plant health, and biosecurity.
• Review and validate experimental designs prepared by R&D Technicians to ensure scientific rigor.
• Oversee execution of trials involving substrates, irrigation strategies, fertigation recipes, species specific propagation, and climate adaptation methods.
• Monitor trial progress, troubleshoot issues, and ensure protocols are followed precisely.
• Ensure collection of high quality datasets and maintain full traceability for all experiments.

• Coordinate with operations, propagation, plant health, and QC teams to pilot and implement new SOPs
• Track adoption and performance of new technologies, tools, substrates, and methods in the nursery.
• Facilitate training sessions for nursery teams on updated practices and innovations.

• Supervise, guide, and evaluate the R&D Technician (Propagation & Trials).
• Provide technical support and coordination to QC Nursery Technician and Plant Health & Biosecurity Technician
• Ensure team members comply with R&D documentation, QC standards, and nursery hygiene practices.

• Work closely with QC Nursery Technician to integrate production quality findings into new R&D trials.
• Collaborate with Plant Health & Biosecurity Technician to incorporate health risk assessments into propagation trials and resilience studies.
• Support cross departmental investigations into root cause of quality or health failures, contributing R&D insights and trial based evidence.
• Participate in development of monitoring tools, checklists, and early warning systems related to plant quality and health.

• Maintain full documentation of trials, SOPs, risk assessments, and material inventories related to R&D.
• Support internal audits and external compliance checks, providing evidence from ongoing trials.

• Bachelor's degree in Horticulture, Plant Science, Agronomy, or related field (Master's preferred).
• Minimum 4-6 years of experience in horticultural R&D, commercial nurseries, or propagation.
• Proven experience in experimental design, data analysis, and technical reporting.
• Strong knowledge of plant propagation, nursery production systems, and plant health fundamentals.
• Experience supervising technical staff in nursery/ research environments.
• Familiarity with native or climate resilient species.
• Practical experience with substrates, irrigation automation, fertigation programs, or sensor based monitoring.
• Training in statistical analysis, data visualization, or R&D software tools
• Strong leadership and team coordination skills
• Analytical and problem solving ability
• High attention to detail and research rigor
• Strong communication and report writing skills
• Ability to work cross functionally and manage multiple projects
• Commitment to plant health, quality standards, and biosecurity