Head of Horticulture

About Borde Hill

Borde Hill is a registered charity and a Grade II* listed English Heritage Garden set within 380 acres of parkland and woodland in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Created in the early 1900’s with plants gathered by the great plant hunters from their travels to the Himalayas, China, Burma, Tasmania and the Andes, Borde Hill features one of the best private collections of champion trees in Britain and one of the most comprehensive collections of trees and shrubs in the world. In addition to the living collection, the Garden also has a rare surviving written archive which allows us to better understand the plant collection and social history to engage our visitors about “the world in one garden.”

The Garden today offers a high level of visitor interest and has become extremely popular, with 60,000 visitors each season, offering the wellbeing benefits of being in the open air, immersed in the beauty of nature.

The Stephenson Clarke family have been custodians of Borde Hill for five generations, and are at a stage of generational change that will see investment, new energy, opportunities and ideas aimed at broadening our visitor demographic and ensuring Borde Hill is sustainable for future generations. This will include new pillars of field to fork eating, a biodynamic growers project and a rejuvenated family parkland offering with improved infrastructure, better horticultural interpretation and plant management.

We are looking for our new Head of Horticulture to play a key part in developing and delivering this ambitious and exciting vision alongside us.

Our Vision

We have a passion for nature and plan to revitalise Borde Hill, becoming more inclusive by reaching a wider demographic of visitors to share the beauty of Borde Hill, enabling them to benefit from nature’s physical and mental wellbeing.

You will play a key role in helping to realise the full horticultural and curatorial potential of the Garden, Woodland and Parkland, supporting our journey to establish Borde Hill as one of the most distinctive visitor destinations in the country, with a coherent, inspiring brand, within which you will be a key anchor.

The curation of the Garden, Woodland and Parkland, and its significant plant collection will include research, recording, labelling and interpretation in imaginative and relevant ways, coordinating and conducting verification of the collection. You will ensure best practice follows local, national, and international legislation and guidelines e.g. CITES, CBD, GSPC, Plant Health and Biosecurity etc.

You will develop and maintain collaborative relationships with local Gardens and national botanical organisations to reconnect Borde Hill with the other important botanical collections. You will also support the stewardship and innovative use of the more ecological aspects of the estate’s natural capital, seeking a more sustainable future, as well as representing BH through talks, tours and proactively engaging with various forms of social and traditional media to share the Borde Hill journey.

You will have financial responsibility for managing the horticultural budget, propagating plants for sales, contributing to grant applications and fundraising. Be departmentally responsible for ensuring the safety of the Garden team, and in maintaining health and safety records.

Management Structure

The Head of Horticulture will be employed by the Family’s private business Borde Hill Events which runs the commercial and public aspects, and supplies services to the Garden Charity. You will report to the Executive Manager and support the Garden Directors and the Family.

You will have the following responsibilities:

• Line manage a team of 4.5+ FTE Gardeners / apprentices and further develop the valuable support we receive from volunteers.
• Have managerial oversight for a vegetable grower for the Growers Project for the Stables
• Performance-manage all reports on an ongoing basis to develop a high-performing collaborative team culture where everyone feels valued and included.
• Coordinate and supervise training for Garden staff on the safe use of equipment and machinery and report any potential hazards to the Directors. The variable and dynamic nature of this role requires a flexible approach to working out of regular hours as required.
• Contribute to BH’s wider work as a member of the senior management team, actively participating in scheduled and ad hoc departmental meetings with the Executive Manager, Family, Directors, etc

Essential selection criteria

We are looking for someone who will passionately share our vision to move our horticultural heritage forward. We want to reset our visitor offering and it is important that you play an active role in our journey.

Skills required:

• Passionate about people and plants.
• Energetic, proactive, inclusive, enthusiastic and organised.
• A desire to collaborate with our new field to fork chef and grower partners, showing a passion for plants.
• A desire to have a social media presence as the Garden team become more visible and accessible.
• Excellent communication skills to work collaboratively with the Executive Manager, Garden Directors, Family, and all members of the Borde Hill team; with the ability to explain horticultural procedures to trainees and volunteers with diverse backgrounds.
• Able to lead by example with demonstratable people management skills and experience working in a collections-based garden.
• A qualification such as Botanic Garden Diploma, ND, HND, B.Sc. in horticulture, or a subject relevant to plant collections and garden management.
• Knowledge and experience of Health and Safety.
• Computer literate with experience of MS Office software, and able to use databases accurately.
• Experience and knowledge of modern garden machinery and equipment.

Desirable selection criteria

• Extensive experience in effective management of a team of horticultural staff to deliver against the strategic needs of a garden/organisation, through good planning, and performance management.
• A horticultural or botanical specialism would be an advantage.
• Experience of delivering horticultural or botanical courses for adults and children, including disadvantaged groups.
• A full, clean driving license
• Understanding and experience of organic and /or biodynamic principals.
• Experience of producing written resources (e.g., interpretation material, articles for magazines) and in writing fundraising requests.
• Productive growing, propagation and biosecurity. 

The role and responsibilities are likely to further develop as the Garden and Estate continues its transition to the next generation of the Family and the detail of the emerging strategy and vision are refined.

Accommodation on the estate may be available