Jobs Archive

Horatio’s Garden is an award-winning national charity creating and nurturing beautifully designed gardens in NHS spinal injury centres.

We are seeking an enthusiastic head gardener for this exciting role at Joe Swift’s designed hospital garden project at the UK’s largest spinal injury centre at Stoke Mandeville. This high-profile garden opened in 2018 and trail blazes the benefits of gardens and health. The project has had widespread publicity including being featured on Gardeners’ World.

The beautiful garden surrounds the spinal centre with contemporary planting designed for all year-round interest and includes a water feature, dense herbaceous planting and specimen trees. There is also a small area of wildflower meadow planting and a stumpery garden beyond the main garden.

Central to the garden is a large Garden room designed by architect Andrew Wells which give patients a warm sheltered place to enjoy the garden in all weather and is as a hub for garden activities and patient events. There is a large accessible greenhouse, cold frames and an area of raised beds for patients to get involved with gardening and a head gardener’s office.

As Head Gardener you will join a team of four other friendly Head Gardeners across the charity’s other projects. You will work with a part-time administrative assistant and a team of trained volunteers to nurture the beautiful space for patients of the spinal injury centre and their visitors. Joe Swift is closely involved, visiting regularly and offering advice.

The Head Gardener also works closely with the spinal injury centre team organising activities and events for patients and families in the garden.

The role is a fantastic opportunity for a gardener with an interest in gardens and wellbeing and a passion for people as well as plants. At Stoke Mandeville there are children with spinal injuries as well as adults and so a particular interest in gardening for children and families would be an advantage.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• Practical experience as a gardener, including experience of garden management
• Empathic, kind and have a love of people
• Experience of leading and managing teams.
• Able to manage budgets and petty cash.

Desirable

• RHS Level 2 Diploma in Principles and Practices of Horticulture.
• Post Graduate Diploma in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture.
• Experience of therapeutic activities.
• Experience with gardening with children
• Management of, and working with, volunteers.
• Good IT skills, specifically proficient with Microsoft Office 365: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
• Supplier management and ordering.
• Working in the voluntary sector.
• NHS experience or work in a health care setting.

Qualities

• Able to meet the physical demands of the job.
• Willingness to show commitment and flexibility in working practice.
• Self-motivated and capable of working with the minimum of direction but understanding the limits of your knowledge and able to seek advice when required.

Person Specification 

Hospitalfield Trust is looking for an enthusiastic, knowledgeable Head Gardener who is a good communicator and enjoys working with people and plants. 

We are looking for someone with vision who will work with the rest of the Hospitalfield team to realise the very great potential there is to manage the land, develop the garden and engage our audiences in the horticultural story of Hospitalfield. 

Skills and Experience

Essential

Qualifications

• Excellent experience of horticulture either to RHS Level 3 level or through practical experience over a number of years working in horticulture.

• Certificates and training in use of garden machinery maintenance.

• Trained in environmental safety and use of herbicides/pesticides (organic/chemical free).

Garden Management

• An demonstrable understanding of the potential and opportunities there are to work within the context of a historic garden and in the grounds of an important Arts & Crafts country house with a fascinating cultural history.

• Ability to establish short, medium and long term strategies and plans for the development of the gardens and grounds.

• Experience of estate management including tree, hedgerow, grass and lawn management.

• Experience of working efficiently with outside contractors where this is required.

• Experience of managing people walking through or using sites that are less and more public/private.

Learning

• Experience of devising and delivering training programmes.

• Experience of and commitment to using the garden as a place for learning and training.

• Experience of working with a volunteer workforce.

• Interest to work with apprentices and enthusiasm to pass on knowledge and experience – consideration of the future workforce.

Approach to work

• Conscientious and organised approach to work.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Good grasp of computer working; e mails, word processing.

• Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines with limited supervision.

• Experience of working as part of a team and independently.

• Willingness to be flexible in this post-Covid time as we incorporate new ways of working in to our staff team particularly in relation to health and safety.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a garden or nursery that is open to the public and therefore has an awareness of the responsibilities of working with the public.

• Understanding of community learning and development.

• Experience of events management.

• Understanding of the ways in which horticulture can be used in the context of well-being.

• Interest in growing food and the link to the catering/food destination that Hospitalfield will become.

Based in CCI offices, Langloch Farm, Lanark – Work sites across Lanarkshire3.5 days per week (26.25 hours)

Introduction to Clydesdale Community Initiatives (CCI)

Clydesdale Community Initiatives (CCI) is an innovative social enterprise with a core mission to give people who are experiencing significant barriers to inclusion, due to their learning disability, mental health issue or other challenging circumstance, the opportunity to make a positive contribution in their community.

The role of the Community Gardener

We are now seeking a community gardener who will support small groups to engage in projects that make a tangible high profile difference to their community. These activities include therapeutic gardening at Langloch Farm and supporting food growing initiatives within the Clydesdale Food Growing Network.

The work will require engaging individual volunteers with support needs; including adults with learning difficulties and complex mental health issues, as well as local community volunteers to work on small scale food growing and horticulture based projects.

Job Description

Delivering programmes of gardening / food growing activities to individuals with a range of support needs

• Ensuring that sites are well planned, organised and attractive for both participants and the wider public.
• Taking active responsibility for an effective, safe and happy team that is inclusive of volunteers from across the community
• Reporting and dealing with all volunteering issues constructively with the CCI team.
• Developing and delivering workshops to community and school groups on a range of gardening activities and environmental topics.

Essential skills and qualities

We are looking for an individual that takes pride in their work and can reliably deliver quality jobs:

• Evidence of gardening expertise.
• Experience of supporting people to make a contribution to their community, develop their skills and improve their health and wellbeing.
• Able to balance the dual task of getting a job done and supporting volunteers.
• Evidence of a flexible, positive can do attitude to planning and managing work.
• Experience of undertaking onsite risk assessments and being responsible for the safety of everyone on site (ensuring that social distancing and appropriate hygiene protocols are followed).
• We are looking for someone who can work independently and as part of the team.
• Ability to use IT, including email, and to keep and share essential admin information.

Horatios Garden are seeking an enthusiastic head gardener for this exciting role in a new Tom Stuart-Smith designed hospital garden project at London’s only spinal injury centre. This high-profile garden is due to open in August and will trail blaze the benefits of gardens and health. The project has had widespread publicity throughout the fundraising and development.

The garden is a contemporary masterpiece with two interconnected gardens – a woodland reflective garden with three water features, dense herbaceous planting and birch trees and a more gregarious social garden filled with vibrant planting.

Garden rooms designed by renowned architect Stephen Marshall give patients warm sheltered places to enjoy the garden in all weather. There is a large accessible greenhouse, an area of raised beds for patients to get involved with gardening and a warm contemporary head gardeners office looking out over the garden. Go to www.horatiosgarden.org.uk/the-gardens/londonappeal/ for more details about the project.

The Head Gardener will join a team of four other Head Gardeners across the charity’s existing projects. They will work with a volunteer co-ordinator and a team of trained volunteers to nurture the beautiful space for patients of the spinal injury centre and their visitors. Tom Stuart-Smith will be closely involved as the garden grows, visiting regularly and offering advice.

The role is a fantastic opportunity for a gardener with an interest in gardens and wellbeing and a passion for people as well as plants. 

The post is available immediately to coincide with planting the garden. Flexible working considered. Salary depending on experience approx. £32,300 FTE

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential

• Practical experience as a gardener, including experience of garden management
• Empathic, kind and have a love of people
• Experience of leading and managing teams.
• Able to manage budgets and petty cash.

Desirable

• RHS Level 2 Diploma in Principles and Practices of Horticulture.
• Post Graduate Diploma in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture.
• Experience of therapeutic activities.
• Management of, and working with, volunteers.
• Good IT skills, specifically proficient with Microsoft Office 365: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
• Supplier management and ordering.
• Working in the voluntary sector.
• NHS experience or work in a health care setting.

Qualities

• Able to meet the physical demands of the job.
• Willingness to show commitment and flexibility in working practice.
• Self-motivated and capable of working with the minimum of direction but understanding the limits of your knowledge and able to seek advice when required.