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Gardens & Outdoors Manager

Employer
National Trust
Location
SN14 8HY, Chippenham
Salary
32,304 pa
Closing date
24 Nov 2019

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Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Function
Gardening Jobs

Job Details

The Gardens and Outdoors Manager role is a key part of the senior leadership team at Dyrham Park. The role will manage our nationally significant gardens, woodland and parkland with their team of 9 staff and over 150 volunteers. The person in this role will enable their team to perform at the highest level to deliver horticultural excellence, exemplary management of land for high nature status and outstanding visitor experiences.

 

What it's like to work here

Dyrham Park is situated in a spectacular natural setting and the mansion you see today in the hollow of the hills is the creation of William Blathwayt, a government and colonial administrator of the late 17th century. Over the past 15 years, the garden at Dyrham Park has undergone a transformation to create a twenty first century garden with echoes of the path, using the formal designs of the seventeenth century (as illustrated by Johannes Kip) as inspiration. The deer park is a very important part of the property - indeed the name Dyrham, suggests deer have been associated with this place since at least the Anglo-Saxons - and this role has management responsibility for the 150 strong fallow deer herd.

Dyrham Park is at a pivotal moment in its management under the National Trust as we are about to undertake a £10m project Dyrham Park Rework'd - to transform the visitor experience across the site. This role is an opportunity to make a real difference within a swiftly evolving environment where your ideas and input will be valued. It is a vibrant bustling property where everyone embraces our ‘one team’ ethos to achieve the delivery of our strategy.

Open 363 days a year, the management, care and access to the garden and park requires daily focus and long-term planning. The delivery and management of our growth as a business is key is a priority for every department, as well as our everyday excellence

Our care and support of our teams is paramount, and the culture at Dyrham Park is one of collaboration, warmth, exceptional standards and creativity.

 

What you'll be doing

The Gardens and Outdoors Manager role is a combination of strategy and planning, practical application and people leadership. You will be collaborating with your peers and inspiring your team on a daily basis to strike the balance between conservation and access to our gardens on our well-loved estate.

You will lead for horticultural excellence, exceptional presentation standards and development of your team in equal measure. You will be passionate about investing in the next generation of horticultural and countryside leaders and will develop Dyrham Park to be seen as a best in class training ground for professionals and enthusiasts alike.

You will be key to driving and developing the visitor business as a key part of the leadership team. You will see programming and engagement within the garden and park as exciting opportunities to develop creativity within your role and to enable a world class visitor experience within our gardens.

You will lead for nature and sustainable practice in all that you do and take our Land, Outdoors and Nature ambitions to into their next crucial phase.

 

Who we're looking for

This is a significant role and we need someone who can take on a challenge. To be successful in this role, you’ll need to have:

  • Experience of land and access management
  • Strong leadership skills
  • Excellent people management skills
  • Strong experience in corporate communications
  • Proven track record of managing budgets, finances and small projects
  • Great communication skills
  • Knowledge or understanding of conservation of historic landscapes
  • Understanding of horticulture
  • Experience of organising garden and outdoor activities

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, a loan towards rental deposits 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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