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.

Job description

Sydenham Garden is seeking to appoint a Garden Project Worker for 18.75 hours per week across 2.5 days, on a one-year fixed term contract. You will plan and deliver our therapeutic garden sessions and support a team of volunteers, empowering and supporting people living with mental and physical ill-health in south-east London.

Position:                 Garden Project Worker.

Contract:                1 Year Fixed Term.

Hours:                    18.75 hours per week across 2.5 days.

Salary:                    £29,726 per annum pro rata.

Annual leave:         33 days inclusive of 8 bank holidays pro rata.

Location:                De Frene, 35A De Frene Road, SE26 4AB & Sydenham Garden Resource Centre, 28A Wynell Road, London, SE23 2LW.

Application closing date:  9am Monday 10 August.

Interview date: TBC

 

Our Organisation

Sydenham Garden, based in Lewisham in South-East London, is a special, unique and beloved wellbeing centre utilising its gardens, nature reserve and activity rooms to help people living with and recovering from mental and physical ill-health and dementia. We were established in 2002 and will celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2027. We provide nature and arts based creative, social and therapeutic activities for co-workers (the name we give our primary beneficiaries). People are referred to us from community organisations and health professionals and we use an integrative approach where those with different degrees of mental and physical ill health come together with volunteers from the local community to reduce social exclusion and prejudice. Each year we work with on average over 250 co-workers and over 70 volunteers.

Some examples of our impact from our most recent annual report include:

• 95% of our co-workers reported increased confidence to advocate for themselves
• 93% of our co-workers and 100% of our volunteers reported increased contentment with life
• 91% of volunteers reported improving their skills

The Role

As Garden Project Worker, you will plan and deliver three high-quality, therapeutic garden sessions per week, offering a choice of physical and gentle activities suited to co-workers with a range of abilities. Working alongside the Garden Project Lead, you will co-manage a team of 8-12 group support volunteers, running briefing and de-brief sessions around each session.

You'll help maintain the garden and nature reserve, support the growing of salads, vegetables and plants for sale at community events, and keep accurate records of attendance and progress. You'll also play a role in supporting co-workers approaching the end of their placement, helping them review their progress and plan their next steps.

 

About you

You'll have experience facilitating horticultural and/or nature-based group activities in a community setting, and confidence managing and supporting volunteers. You'll bring excellent people skills, with sensitivity, kindness and a person-centred approach to different mental, physical and neurological needs, alongside a Level 2 horticulture qualification (or equivalent experience) and the ability to inspire others about the benefits of nature and urban growing.

You'll understand what it takes to work with people living with mental and physical health conditions, and you'll care about building safe and inclusive spaces, with a good understanding of how Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Safeguarding principles apply in our setting.

This role requires an Enhanced DBS check.

Why you should join us

Sydenham Garden is a small team rooted in our local community, and that community is at the centre of everything we do; from the people we support, to the volunteers and neighbours who get involved in our gardens and our work in all sorts of ways.

We work collaboratively, support each other across different areas of the organisation, and aren't afraid to try new approaches and learn from what doesn't work. We're values-led, we care deeply about our impact, and we hold ourselves accountable to the people and communities we serve.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Sydenham Garden is committed to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). We want to build a diverse and inclusive staff, volunteer and trustee team where everyone feels that they belong and that reflects the profile of the communities we serve. Therefore, we will welcome and consider applications from candidates of all backgrounds and protected characteristics, and we particularly encourage applications from people of African or Caribbean heritage to ensure our staff team represents the communities we serve.

Application information

How to Apply 

Please click here to download the full job description and person spec which can be found on our website.Sydenham Garden – A growing community – recovery and wellbeing in the heart of Lewisham

To apply, please send us a CV together with a supporting statement that addresses how you meet the Person Specification, including how you have gained the experience and abilities required (maximum 2 pages). Applications should be made by email to:  jobs@sydenhamgarden.org.uk with ‘Garden Project Worker’ in the subject line. 

We understand applicants may use AI tools for accessibility support and for proofreading or structuring their thoughts. However, we're looking for authentic examples from your own experience and your genuine voice, so please don't draft your supporting statement entirely through generative AI.

Do you have any questions? If you would like to find out more about the role, we can arrange an informal chat with Ollie - please contact jobs@sydenhamgarden.org.uk to arrange a call.

A diverse workforce is important to us, and for this reason, we request that you complete our equal opportunities form, which is kept separately from the recruitment process

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs