Gardener
Location: Kenwood House, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JR
Salary: £24,059 / 36hours a week/ Permanent
Job type: Permanent
Ref: 15485

Would you like to work for the leading Charity in the heritage sector? If so, we would love to hear from you, and for you to join us at English Heritage. With 14 main garden sites and dedicated garden teams, we are the organisation that looks after England's most important buildings and monuments, making sure our country's amazing history is available for everyone to enjoy. From world-famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, Roman forts to a Cold War bunker, we bring the history of England to life.

Kenwood is set on 112 acres of wonderful green parkland on Hampstead Heath. It's listed designed landscape was the vision of Humphrey Repton in the 1790's. Some features include a pasture ground which is neighbouring the SSSI ancient woodland, ponds and open meadows. Smaller themed gardens areas entice our many visitors to walk around the estate and enjoy shows of rhododendrons, woodland plantings, an old kitchen garden, now planted with mixed herbaceous borders, and ornamental plantings around the cafe terrace designed by Arabella Lennox-Boyd. Kenwood is a real oasis in busy London!

The Gardener works closely with 3 others and multiple volunteers. You will play a vital role in ensuring that all work carried out in our garden by our fantastic team of volunteers is to the highest of standards.

Benefits include:

- Comprehensive training and CPD

- The opportunity to progress your career

- Apprenticeship opportunities

- Flexible hours

- Opportunities to go to some of our great live music or history events

- Free access to all English Heritage sites for you, another adult and up to 6 children

- 25% discount in our shops and cafes

-Corporate subscription / memberships to gardening organisations

- Enhanced maternity/paternity/Shared Parental leave

- 25 days' holiday plus Bank Holidays pro rata rising to 28 days after 3 years

- Options to buy additional leave

- Matched pension contributions up to a maximum of 10%

As a Gardener, you'll play a vital role in ensuring our gardens are well-maintained and well-presented, wonderful places to spend time in. You'll contribute to bringing to life the stories that our gardens tell, helping visitors of all ages to make new discoveries.

You will have high-quality garden experience, ideally including experience in ornamental gardens and herbaceous border care and an interest in woodland and meadow conservation. Stepping away from the ornamental areas at Kenwood, your regular tasks will also require your leadership skills in operating volunteer sessions while managing invasive species by hand or with hand machinery across site, protecting ancient and veteran trees and maintaining the SSSI woods and sphagnum bog - home to rare species. You will be able to learn the key features of machinery upkeep including Gators, use of a tractor to turn the compost heaps, and light chainsaw activity (training possible if not currently certified).

Excellent plant knowledge and horticultural skills are essential. Our many shrubs need regular pruning, so you will be willing to build confidence working with woody species as well as herbaceous. It's such a varied role that you will enjoy if you are up for a challenge to grow your skills and knowledge along with us.

You'll enhance our visitors’ days out - from sharing your gardening knowledge, to ensuring their health and safety. Being able to ensure the smooth running of weekly jobs and input into the work plans are also a must for this busy and engaging role.

You will be qualified to at least NVQ level 2 standard in amenity horticulture, and have previous experience of working in a high quality horticultural establishment. You will work to high standards and be effective and efficient when working on your own or as part of the wider team.

Find out more about us and what we do, meet some of our People and hear about why they enjoy working with us on our website.

Everyone is welcome at English Heritage. We are always looking for people who reflect the diversity of the country today, to help us make it more relevant to the diversity of the people, communities and places we serve. From remote sites to inner city monuments, from regional teams to our Head Office, the diversity of our teams is critical to making sure our heritage is inclusive, exciting and accessible. We continually look for new ways to promote the past in a way that is inclusive to all and that celebrates the cultural diversity of England's heritage. By joining us, you will be part of a charity that is already on an exciting journey to tell everyone's story with an inclusive working atmosphere where everyone from all backgrounds, religions and with different needs will be supported. To support this work, we have a number of EDI networks that you can join as either a member or ally. These networks include Ethnic Diversity, Faith & Belief, Social Mobility, LGBTQ+, Neurodivergence and Gender Specific Issues

We would be delighted to hear from you if you would like to talk to us about this role before you apply, e.g. regarding workplace adjustments, working patterns, please contact Crissy Mulrain. No agencies please.

Interviews will be held on June 24 & 25 2024 at Kenwood, NW3 7JR.

Closing date: 10/06/2024 23:59:59

Other organisations may call this role Groundskeeper, Grounds Person, Horticultural Technician, Horticulture Operative, or Horticulturalist.

So, if you’d like to join us as a Gardener, please select the apply button shown!