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Senior Gardener

Employer
National Trust
Location
Morpeth, Northumberland
Salary
£24,075
Closing date
14 Jun 2019

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Job Details

If you want a career in Gardening, we can offer you some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the UK to work in as well as one of the largest plant collections in Europe.

What it's like to work here

Wallington is set in the middle of Northumberland approximately twenty miles north-west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The house, at the south end of an estate which extends to nearly 13,500 acres, is surrounded by parkland and arable farmland watered by northern tributaries of the river Wansbeck. From the house the land rises to the estate village of Cambo, and then on to poorer upland grazing, peaking at Hemmel Hill in Harwood Forest (330 metres, 1083 ft) towards the north of the estate. Shaftoe Crag is prominent in southern views from the estate; to the east Rothley Crag, topped by a folly castle, guards the road to Scotland; and to the north and west are the Simonside Hills and the Cheviots. In its glorious countryside setting Wallington survives, one of the great estates of the north, owned by a single family, loved and embellished by succeeding owners for nine generations.

What you'll be doing

You’ll love working outdoors and understand that our gardens and grounds are as significant as our mansion houses, collections and our historical places. Our visitors tell us how much they enjoy the peace and tranquillity of our well-kept outdoor spaces, which makes your role vital in making sure our visitors have an amazing experience.

We don’t just need you to manage our beautiful gardens, although this is an important part of the role; we’d like you to help manage the team too. As the Senior Gardener in our team, we’d like you to lead by example, with exceptional gardening skills, but you’ll also understand how to manage the workload for this team, and deliver exceptional training to new staff and volunteers.

Please also read the full role profile attached to this advert.

Who we're looking for

To be successful in this role you should be able to demonstrate the following:

  • Significant practical experience in horticulture supported by relevant qualifications
  • Have supervisory experience from a similar role
  • Excellent knowledge of plants
  • Competent with the use and maintenance of garden machinery including chainsaws, tractors, hedge trimmers, pedestrian and ride on mowers
  • Knowledge of relevant health and safety legislation and practice

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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