We are looking for a dedicated and hardworking individual to lead our gardening team as Head Gardener. This hands-on role involves working outdoors year-round, carrying out a wide range of gardening, grounds maintenance, and horticultural tasks. You will help maintain the highest standards of presentation, conservation, and guest experience across the grounds.
What does this role entail?
Reporting to the Head of Facilities as the Head Gardener, you will be responsible for planning organising and managing a team who carrying out a wide range of grounds and gardens maintenance duties in an outdoor environment throughout the year.
Your work will involve all aspects of horticulture, including grass mowing, hedge trimming, bedding maintenance, and the clearance of leaves and litter, ensuring that all outdoor areas are maintained to the highest standards of presentation and guest experience.
You will assist with both hard and soft landscaping tasks and be expected to operate in accordance with company policies, procedures, and health and safety guidelines. Daily responsibilities will also include turf care, such as mowing, aeration, and repair of damaged areas, as well as the upkeep and cleanliness of your work areas and equipment.
Key duties will include:
- Curating the gardens at Longleat so that its history and artistic integrity are conserved and presented in an exemplary manner, and documented to according to the Longleat Estate Heritage Management Plan.
- Managing and maintaining the presentation of the formal gardens day-to-day to ensure the lawns, borders, hedge maze, horticultural displays.
- Leading a guest focused culture with exemplary standards of garden and landscape maintenance, presentation, interpretation and promotion.
- Responsible for the day to day running of the garden and supervision of staff, to ensure that appropriate horticultural standards are maintained, guided by the conservation management plan.
- Ensure that exemplary standards of horticultural husbandry and plantsmanship, as befit a prestigious Estate such as Longleat, are employed and presented to the public throughout the gardens.
- To assist with the development of a planned 12 month planting programme to ensure we always look at our best for our guests this will include achieving key deadline dates through the year.
About you
- NVQ level 3, RHS Level 3 or equivalent practical experience
- Experience of leading a team in a specialist field with the ability to coach mentor and develop a team
- Extensive knowledge of plants, gardening practices and use of garden machinery for formal hedge trimming / grass cutting
- Sound knowledge of H&S legislation, formal training in manual handling and Risk Assessment
- Full clean driving licence
Your contract
This is a permanent 39 hour contract, working 5 days out of 7 with working hours to vary over a 7 day rota basis, including weekends, evening and bank holidays as required. The earliest start time is 8am, and the latest finish time is 5pm, varying in accordance with opening times. Positions available for immediate start.