Garden Manager

A very special and rare opportunity has arisen for an experienced Garden Manager to manage Weleda’s 13-acre biodynamic and biodiverse gardens, where we grow many different medicinal plants. These range from trees like Birch and Thuja, shrubs and hedgerow bushes like Blackthorn and Hawthorn, field crops of Calendula, Oats and Chamomile, smaller quantities of herbs and wildflowers, to vegetables and weeds! Initial cultivation for field crops is done with a tractor using a plough and spading machine; everything else is done by hand.

Garden Manager Responsibilities:

• Manage and develop the Weleda gardens and work alongside a small team of gardeners.
• Grow medicinal plants to Demeter standard and secure our annual certification, meeting the established high standard of biodynamic practice.
• Ongoing surveillance of new and changing Demeter and GACP legislation and for introducing such legislation into Weleda UK.
• Make tinctures and dry plants to Ph.Eur and pharmacopeia standards, to meet the needs of our annual production requirements in line with Good Manufacturing Practice and Standard Operating Procedures
• Create value-adding activities for the Weleda business, including facilitating garden tours, educational demonstrations and workshops
• Develop and maintain The Field and our Head Office show gardens to meet the needs of Production, Marketing and Staff Welfare
• Liaison with external suppliers of fresh plant material and external test houses.
• You will be an excellent proven manager, who has strong communication and collaboration skills with an inclusive style.
• Organise and facilitate garden tours, educational demos and workshops for all visitors to The Field, supporting the Weleda brand and ethos.

Garden Manager Requirements:

• Sharing our values on a day-to-day basis is essential to this role, as will be the following attributes: -
• At least 3 years experience of working in a professional, productive garden, ideally with a formal qualification in horticulture
• Practical experience of biodynamics
• An understanding of medicinal plants, herbal medicines and/or Anthroposophic medicines
• Experience of manufacturing to GMP standards
• An understanding of a conservation approach to land management with regard to biodiversity, habitat creation, wildflower meadows and ponds
• Enthusiastic, organised, motivated, positive, resilient and a flexible team player
• Competent in the use of garden machinery, including tractors
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, including Excel

About Weleda:

Weleda was established almost one hundred years ago as a place of human development through a common goal - to create natural products that support and enhance health and well-being, profitably.

Today, we operate globally across 50 countries, and we are recognised as the industry leader.

We share a common culture founded upon strong sustainable principles for the environment, for the economy and for our personal well-being and development. This includes adopting a flexible approach to work; acting responsibly, honestly and ethically and placing responsibility on each and every one of us to uphold these values.