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Senior Gardener

Employer
National Trust
Location
Kent
Salary
25,000
Closing date
30 Jan 2022

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Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Function
Gardening Jobs
Sector
Charity & Voluntary, Landscaping

Job Details

Are you looking to progress your 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.

The Senior Gardener role is a fantastic opportunity for someone with a good depth of gardening knowledge, skill and experience seeking to develop their career.

Ightham Mote is a stunning 700-year-old moated mansion house nestling in the tranquil setting of its beautiful and varied 15-acre garden.

You'll support the Head Gardener in managing our enthusiastic team of staff and volunteers to ensure the highest standards of conservation and horticulture and the delivery of a great visitor experience.

What it's like to work here            

With its beautiful mansion and garden, secluded valley setting and medieval water system and friendly, dedicated team, it is easy to see why our visitors, volunteers and staff love Ightham Mote.  

The gardens are increasingly valued as a reason to visit and we want to conserve, revitalise, and open more areas, to tell the story of its 700-year history and to provide interest for our visitors throughout the year.

We have a charming mix of formal lawns and gardens with spring-fed fountain pools, courtyards, herbaceous borders, cottage gardens and an orchard; plus, informal pleasure grounds with a stream, two small lakes and cascades, ornamental and indigenous planting, lawns and trees which blend into the surrounding woodland.

This is a key role within in a lively, dedicated garden team for you to make the most of your knowledge, skill and experience in the day-to-day organisation and delivery of our work and contributing ideas to future planning to enhance the spirit of place of our garden and mansion within their wonderful setting.

You will enjoy talking to visitors, garden staff and volunteers about the garden and the work involved: inspiring, supporting and developing their understanding and skills. Collaborating with other teams on programming, interpretation, supporting garden and wider-property activities and events, will add further enjoyment, variety, and a sense of community to working at Ightham Mote.

We are located a little off the beaten track so you’re likely to need your own transport.  

Please see attached property information sheet to hear more about the wonderful portfolio.

Click here for more information about this location

  What you'll be doing            

You’ll love working outdoors, have a passion for and skills in a full range of hands-on gardening tasks and a feel for the spirit of place and high standards expected. As the Senior Gardener in our team, we’d like you to lead by example: planning and managing the day-to-day workload, developing, using, and passing on your skills by working alongside and training the team and in your engagement with visitors.

You'll also support the Head Gardener by contributing to the planning of longer-term conservation and development of the garden, leading on the delivery of small projects and deputising when required.

This role reports to the Head Gardener and will form part of the management structure of the garden team which also has two Gardeners, an Assistant Gardener and 4 to 6 volunteers each weekday.

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 to RHS level 3 (or equivalent vocational experience)
•          Have supervisory experience and be able to manage and motivate staff and volunteers
•          Good knowledge of plants, plant husbandry and horticultural techniques
•          Competence with the use and maintenance of garden machinery such as: pedestrian and ride-on mowers, hedge trimmers, strimmers and brush cutters, tractors, chainsaws and Pa1 plus Pa6a or Pa6aw certification
•          Knowledge of relevant health and safety and compliance requirements
•          Some knowledge of budgets and finance
•          Experience of leading and participating in garden activities and events

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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