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Head Gardener

Employer
National Trust
Location
TN17 2AB, Cranbrook
Salary
40,000 pa
Closing date
18 Apr 2019

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Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Function
Gardening Jobs

Job Details

What does your dream garden look like? 

Does it include colour-themed areas, irresistible charm and undeniable appeal? 

Does it include noble Wisteria brachybotrys and blowsy double blooms of Papaver ‘Fire Ball’ intertwined with blue trails of Trapaeolum polyphyllum? 

If so, your dream garden sounds very much like Sissinghurst Castle Garden and we are pleased to announce that we have a rare and tremendous opportunity as the Head Gardener of this famous garden. If you are an innovator, are looking to use your horticultural knowledge and work with an experienced team in an aspirational property, this role could be the one you’ve been waiting for.

We are holding an Open Day at the property on Monday 15th April from 10am for all interested potential applicants. We would like to give you the chance to come along and ask any questions. 

Please note we are offering an attractive salary ranging from £38,000 - £40,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience, plus an impressive benefits package. This role comes with Key Representative accommodation. The house was built in 1937 and has always been home to Sissinghurst’s Head Gardeners, including Pamela Schwerdt and Sybille Kreutzberger. It is an attractive four-bedroom cottage with large garden and a wonderful view to the tower. Key Representative duties will include being on call throughout the week and weekends, these duties are shared by two similar roles at the property to ensure some time off to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

The gardens are a result of the creative tension between the formal design of Harold Nicolson and the exuberant planting of Vita Sackville-West. Sissinghurst is a highly personal garden planned by a couple who each had a unique point of view.

Today, Sissinghurst is a place for innovation. It remains at the forefront of horticulture both internationally and closer to home and welcomes over 200,000 visitors a year. To perpetuate a garden made by two such individuals requires gardeners not only with supreme horticultural knowledge and skill but also those with vision, sensitivity and most importantly an instinctive feeling for the spirit of the place.

Sissinghurst is visited by a wide-ranging audience with different needs, you’ll be part of a high performing property team who welcome visitors seven days a week, 363 days a year. Collaborative working is key, you’ll need to be a great communicator.

We have created a range of material to bring to life Sissinghurst Castle Garden. Our Instagram feature can be viewed on our National Trust Jobs account, follow @NTjobs. Lastly, please read our attached candidate pack which provides further information about the role, history and recruitment timeline.

 

What you'll be doing

As Head Gardener, you’ll have a wide remit. You’ll lead with passion and flair, whilst looking to develop and maintain the gardens day to day, in addition to you’ll motivate a large team, including lots of enthusiastic volunteers and have a clear understanding of budget management.

You’ll think strategically about its future, ensuring the very highest standards of conservation, horticulture and visitor experience. It’ll be down to you to engage visitors interest in the gardens, delivering a first-class visitor experience, as well as attracting donors and working with the local community, encouraging a culture of openness and involvement for all.

As a member of the senior leadership team you will be involved in strategic decisions and thinking, plus several compliance tasks.

It won’t all be strategic thinking though – you’ll get a chance to put your green fingers to use and get involved in the day-to-day upkeep of the gardens with your team of highly skilled and professional gardeners.

This is a key ambassadorial role, not just for Sissinghurst but for gardens nationally.

You’ll also have responsibility for three other gardens within the portfolio, Smallhythe Place, Lamb House and Stoneacre as well as the nursery and vegetable garden.

 

Who we're looking for

You will have the following, but not limited to:

·       High level of horticultural experience, supported by appropriate qualifications to RHS level 3 or above (or equivalent level of vocational experience).

·       Excellent to good level of plantsmanship/plant husbandry skills. Knowledge of a wide range of horticultural techniques covering a range of plant types. Some artistic plantsmanship/design skills.

·       Experience of organising garden activities which enhance garden visits.

·       Leadership skills including coaching, team development, motivation and communication.

·       Good people skills enabling strong relationships to be built and maintained, externally and internally.

·       Budget management skills, with a record of managing finances and small projects.

·       You may be asked to participate in media campaigns, so you will need to be confident in dealing with these matters.

·       Part of the role involves managing the smaller gardens and vegetable garden, so any experience around this is welcome.

 

The package

Benefits

Benefits include flexible working whenever possible plus free parking at most locations. You’ll be entitled to discounts in high street stores and cinemas, National Trust shops and NT cafes, and have free entry to NT properties for you, a guest and your children (under 18).

Your health and wellbeing is important to us and is supported through generous annual leave and the option to buy additional days (minimum contract length applies), a cycle to work scheme, subsidised health cash plan and confidential access to a free support service 24 hours a day should you need it.

Your future financial health is helped by an employer matched - up to 10% of basic salary - contributory pension scheme and you can further your career with training and development tailored to you.

All of this and the opportunity to give something back to your community with up to 5 days of paid volunteering per year!

 

 

 

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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