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Head Gardener

Employer
National Trust
Location
S80 3AZ, Worksop
Salary
£31,819 pa
Closing date
12 Dec 2018

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Job Details

Summary

This is an incredible exciting time to join the Gardens Team at Clumber Park. We’re currently undertaking a 10 year, £9 million property revitalisation plan and we are looking for an experienced Head Gardener who can work with the team to help deliver the project and maximise its potential. This role requires the ability to balance both the demands of managing and developing our gardens with those of a busy, high profile, visitor environment.

Please be advised that this role will involve weekend and Bank Holiday working. Additionally, you’ll be part of our Duty Management rota – further details will be discussed at interview.

What it's like to work here

Clumber Park is a beautiful expanse of parkland, heath and woods covering more than 3,800 acres. Clumber was once the country estate of the Dukes of Newcastle. Although the house was demolished in 1938, there are many glimpses of its grand past to explore. From the Gothic-style chapel, often referred to as a 'Cathedral in miniature', you can follow in the footsteps of Dukes through the peaceful pleasure ground to the Walled Kitchen Garden where you can experience sights, scents and a taste of the past.

Clumber Park is a special and important place, one of just a handful of Grade 1 registered parks in the country enjoyed by over 650,000 people. Our investment programme is predominately focused on conservation, and improving our visitor experience for the thousands we welcome to Clumber Park every year, as well as ensuring our financial sustainability.

What you'll be doing

As Head Gardener, you’ll be responsible for the management of a team of 7 Gardeners who care for both the walled kitchen garden, and the pleasure grounds garden. You’ll lead and develop your high performing team of staff and volunteers, to develop the gardens to the highest professional horticultural standards whilst showcasing the distinctive specialness of place through delivery of garden management plans.

Working alongside the Conservation Manager, you’ll lead the pleasure grounds workstream and work as part of the wider project team on the Clumber Revitalised project. You’ll inform decision making, lead changes and ensure our visitors and stakeholders are engaged and understand the work being undertaken.

You’ll develop and coordinate a wide range of horticultural operations, commission specialist contractors, and build relationships with stakeholders both internally and externally. You’ll instil a culture of exceptional service, ensuring every visitor receives a high quality, consistent welcome with access to our unique stories which bring this special place to life.

Putting conservation at the heart of everything you do, you’ll help to shape and develop a vision for the gardens, and then you’ll plan and deliver a programme of work to deliver these ambitions, working with our visitors and community to involve them and enable access into our wonderful gardens.

You’ll be responsible for effectively managing the budgets, equipment and resources, and ensuring we get the best value when purchasing assets and services. You’ll always be considering how we can reduce our human footprint on the environment with a long-term focus on care and sustainability.

Who we're looking for

To deliver this role successfully, you’ll need to be proud to work in such a beautiful location and thrive on delivering exceptional care for our environment and our visitors. So, you’ll be;

  • An experienced people manager with the ability to lead a team to deliver effectively. Who can demonstrate leadership skills including coaching, team development, motivation and communication
  • Experienced in relevant horticultural environments (especially historic gardens) and skills (RHS level 3 or equivalent)
  • Experienced in project management
  • An excellent communicator, with experience in stakeholder management
  • Able to demonstrate a clear passion for plants and gardens, and have the ability to share that with the team and the public
  • Excellent understanding of garden history and development
  • Able to understand both the big picture thinking, and the finer detail requirements of the garden
  • Customer aware and take pride on delivering excellent customer service
  • Enthusiastic, knowledgeable, organised and self-motivated
  • Confident in managing budgets, finances and contracts
  • Knowledgeable in health and safety requirements and other compliance issues relating to horticultural and visitor activities

The package

Looking after you

  • Health cash plan – from as little as £3.09 per month for you and your dependents
  • Pension contribution match up to 10%
  • EAP and proactive Health and Wellbeing
  • Discounted gym membership at over 100 leisure facilities across the country

Looking after your career

  • Grow your career through professional training courses across the Trust
  • Develop your skills with an internal secondment
  • Pay review linked to values and behaviours, commitment to progression
  • Income protection due to illness

Unique to Us

  • Work in some of the most beautiful, iconic and unique locations in the UK
  • Free entry to NT properties for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
  • 20% off in our Retail and Food & Beverage outlets
  • Discount up to 35% off a National Trust holiday cottage booking

Company

There's no other organisation like the National Trust. No other organisation that brings such an amazing variety of places and spaces to life.

We are a charity founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, three people who saw the importance of our nation’s heritage and open spaces, and wanted to protect them for everyone to enjoy. More than a century after we were founded, our values are still at the heart of everything we do. And we do a lot more than you might think. 

We welcome some 22.5 million visitors, from all ages and backgrounds, every year. We care for historic houses, gardens, mills, forests, castles, miles of coastline, islands, holiday cottages, pubs and inns, whole villages and even a goldmine. We also run a huge retail chain, a multi-million pound food and beverage business and much, much more. And we do all of this so that everyone can enjoy and make the most of the green spaces and beautiful places that England, Wales and Northern Ireland has to offer. 

The National Trust is described by its employee gardeners as “dynamic, supportive, inquisitive and fun”, where its beautiful places “lift your spirits naturally” and “somewhere you can expand new skills”. The organisation is currently recruiting for a number of gardening roles. 

Read more in our latest articles:

What makes the National Trust a special place to work?

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