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Assistant Gardener

Employer
National Trust
Location
Thames Valley (based at Basildon Park) Lower Basildon, Reading RG8 9NR
Salary
£9.39 ph
Closing date
23 Jan 2022

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.

You’ll love working outdoors and understand that our gardens and grounds are as significant as our mansion houses 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 they have an amazing experience.

Hours: 18.75 hrs per week

Contract: permanent

What it's like to work here

Basildon Park has 400 acres of parkland with a Georgian mansion at it’s centre, complimented by a mid Victorian pleasure ground and terrace uniting them all. The gardens feature many naturalised spring bulbs, summer rose gardens and late summer borders, offering visitors of all ages wonderful views, peaceful woodland trails and space for children to run and play.

The Thames Valley is a major tourist destination, with historic houses, parks and gardens, cycling, walking and boating on the river. It’s a beautiful area in which to live and work, with numerous small villages and towns in the countryside, yet good transport links to London by train and close to the east-west M4 motorway. The nearby thriving town of Reading with its range of housing types and prices, university and sporting facilities is the most important source for local visitors coming to the National Trust properties in this area. Basildon Park is just 12 miles from Greys Court, with nearby Nuffield Place – the third in the group, forming a close triangle of properties spilling out north across the valley.

What you'll be doing

You’ll assist in making sure that the gardens are maintained to a high standard and be passionate and enthused by plants. This role will include a range of practical horticultural tasks to develop, enhance and conserve the garden and contribute to the delivery of projects. You'll be helping with hard and soft landscaping and general maintenance of the garden, such as mulching, pruning, leaf clearing and weeding. You’ll support with the planting and maintenance of trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants. You’ll be helping to cut the hedges and mow our fine lawns.

You’ll also assist garden volunteers and support and help them to make the most of their time here. You’ll be expected to interact with the public on a daily basis, answering the many questions, or help out with gardening workshops, tours and helping set up events when needed.

As part of this role you’ll be required to work regular weekends as part of a garden-team rota.

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:

  • Previous practical gardening/horticulture experience, as well as some knowledge of plants and horticultural techniques
  • Familiarity with machinery/equipment and accompanying practical certificates
  • Knowledge of Health and Safety compliance requirements
  • Excellent customer service
  • Willingness and enthusiasm to share the history of the garden with visitors, bringing it to life
  • Commitment for what you are doing, always remaining proud of your work
  • You’ll have an NVQ 1-2 in Amenity Horticulture (or equivalent).

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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