Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Garden Supervisor

Borde Hill Garden Ltd
Haywards Heath

Posted: 14 May 2025

Deadline: 6 Jun 2025

Compensation: £30-£33,000 depending on experience

Living Wage employer

Paid Full-time Permanent

Job description

Borde Hill Garden is a stunning Grade II* English Heritage-listed Garden set in 383 acres of parkland and woodland. The Garden is a registered charity whose core purpose is to enhance and preserve 17 acres of formal garden and 18 acres of woodland.  Established in the early 1900s with plants collected from global expeditions, it now features over 70 champion trees and 8,000 species catalogued by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

We are looking for a Garden Supervisor to support the Garden Curator in leading the horticultural team. You will play a key role in maintaining high standards across the Garden working with the agreed work plan. 

As a key team member, you’ll support daily horticultural operations across the Garden and Woodland.  You should have a keen interest in plants and a willingness to learn more about our historic collection to support its development for the future.  You will also assist the Garden Curator with health and safety, operating within the Borde Hill Health & Safety Policy, to ensure safety of the team, volunteers and visitors.

This hands-on role expects you to have excellent plant knowledge, good people skills, and the confidence to lead garden tours and support public engagement, including through social media when needed.

Knowledge, skills and experience:

(Please provide evidence in your Covering Letter and CV)

Essential:

• Hands-on experience backed by relevant qualifications (e.g. RHS Level 2, Botanic Garden Diploma, ND, HND, or BSc in Horticulture).
• Knowledge of herbaceous and woody plants, propagation, cultivation, and plant collection management.
• Knowledge of a range of horticultural techniques.
• Skilled in using a wide range of horticultural equipment and machinery.
• Awareness of health and safety, including COSHH and risk assessments.
• Proficient in MS Office and database use.
• Full, clean driving licence.

Desirable:

• Experience of a similar working environment, ideally within a visitor attraction with permanent collections.
• Some experience of staff and volunteer supervision
• A horticultural or botanical specialism
• NPTC PA1 and PA6 spraying certifications.

Key Attributes

• Flexible, calm, and willing to support other departments as needed.
• A team player with good communication skills.
• Energetic, inclusive, proactive, and well-organised.

Borde Hill has a Family-led small, dedicated, professional and friendly team who embody a ‘one team’ culture. We want everyone to feel valued and fairly rewarded for the work they do and your package includes:

• A Borde Hill annual family membership allowing free entry to the Garden and Parkland
• Discount in the Borde Hill shop and catering outlets
• Free tickets for selected events throughout the open season
• Free access at selected times to our Partner Gardens (Chelsea Physic Garden, The Newt, Sculpture by the Lakes and The Lost Gardens of Heligan)
• Free entry to selected RHS events
• Free access to our wellbeing programme
• A flexible working pattern where possible

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

Application information

Please send your CV and covering letter to manager@bordehill.co.uk

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