Head Gardener and Volunteer Co-ordinator
Richmond Park, Richmond upon Thames

The Organisation

The Royal Parks is a charity created in March 2017.

We manage over 5,000 acres of diverse parkland, rare habitats and historic buildings and monuments in eight Royal Parks across London. These are: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Green Park, St James’s Park, The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park and Bushy Park.

We also manage other important public spaces including Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens. Our eight Royal Parks and other public spaces are among the most visited attractions in the UK with 77 million visits every year.

We are looking for a Head Gardener and Volunteer Co-ordinator to join us on a permanent, full-time basis.

The Benefits

- Annual salary of £29,001-£35,076
- Pension scheme
- 26 days’ annual leave (plus Bank Holidays), increasing to 29 days after three years’ service
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee Health Cash Plan and Private Health Insurance

This is an incredible opportunity for a passionate, horticultural specialist to work in an incredible part of London’s largest Royal Park.

Home to unique habitats, rare plants and ancient trees, the historic Isabella Plantation is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest which provides valuable natural habitats. First opened to the public in 1953, the gardens are best known for the National Collection of Wilson 50 Kurume Azaelas and large collections of Rhododendrons and Camellias.

Run on organic principles and managed with nature in mind, we have cultivated an environment where Native plants commonly grow alongside exotics throughout the plantation.

What’s more, you’ll be rewarded with an excellent benefits package as well as the chance to implement your expertise to preserve and develop this historic landscape.
The Role

As the Head Gardener and Volunteer Co-ordinator, you will lead a team of gardeners and volunteers in maintaining and developing Richmond Park’s Isabella Plantation.

You will oversee the planning and implementation of horticultural operations for a range of ornamental plant collections with an emphasis on conservation and expansion.

Supporting the Assistant Park Manager, you will support the development and delivery of professional tours and visits to the plantation, ensuring an excellent visitor experience.

Additionally, you will:

- Act as the day-to-day operational point of contact for apprentices and volunteers
- Assist in annual stock checks, propagation, identification and labelling of the collection
- Support the selection and recruitment of your team
- Work with members of the RHS

About You

To be considered as Head Gardener and Volunteer Co-ordinator, you will need:

- Experience of managing staff and volunteers
- The ability to lead on a range of practical horticultural activities and tasks
- Good working knowledge of horticultural plants and machinery operations
- Experience of writing risk assessments
- Proficiency in IT, including experience of using MS Office
- A formal horticultural qualification, e.g., National Certificate in Horticulture, National Diploma, NVQ Level 3 (amenity horticulture) or RHS or RHS General Qualification
- A full, valid driving licence

Other organisations may call this role Senior Gardener, Lead Gardener, Horticultural Manager, Parks Gardening Manager, or Head Grounds Person.

Webrecruit and The Royal Parks are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you’re interested in this unique opportunity as a Head Gardener and Volunteer Co-ordinator, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.