Assistant Gardener - Morpeth Morpeth
Job description
Assistant Gardener - Morpeth
Summary
If you want a career in Gardening, we can offer you some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the UK to work in.
You’ll love working outdoors and understand that our gardens and grounds are as significant as our mansion houses and our historical places. Our visitors tell us how much they enjoy the peace and tranquillity of our well-kept outdoor spaces, which makes your role vital in making sure they have an outstanding experience.
This role is based on annualised hours, where the amount of hours you work each month may vary, however your salary will be paid in equal instalments over the year. You’ll work 725 hours over the duration of the contract and on average, you’ll be working between 3 – 4 days per week.
Contract: Fixed term until February 2024
Salary: £10.78 per hour
Hours: Ideally you'll work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays however we are flexible to whatever days suit you. Please speak to us about the hours you are able to do.
Interviews: 26th July which will include a tour of the gardens and an opportunity to meet the garden team.
What it's like to work here
Our gardening team is made up of 6 staff and a small team of dedicated volunteers, all with different skills and working closely together. We work in a supportive learning environment helping one another to make Cragside gardens the best they can be.
Set in the heart of the stunning Northumberland landscape, Cragside is a unique place to work. Here William Armstrong, the brilliant engineer and manufacturer, built a wonder of the Victorian age. Here he created artificial lakes, generated his own hydro-power, pioneered electric lighting, installed telephone systems and built a world of experimentation and innovation that inspired the way we live today.
We carry this ethos into the 21st Century – developing and implementing experimental and innovative ways to bring Cragside to life for today’s visitor. Just as Armstrong’s vision was brought to fruition through creative collaboration, today a multi-disciplinary team works to look after the place in a way that makes it enjoyable and relevant to our visitors, allowing them to connect with it on an emotional level too.
William Armstrong and his wife Margaret also created their Victorian formal gardens, one of the few in the North of England as well as the ‘ultimate designer garden’, a grand garden on a substantial scale set across the rocky Northumbrian valley.
You'll be part of a team who maintain this variety of garden environments within the role. While the high Victorian Ornamental Gardens gleam with vibrant formal bedding-plants you will also help maintain the large rock garden, gorge and pinetum. Work in the formal gardens involves showcasing exotic vibrant borders to the highest of standards.
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What you'll be doing
Daily responsibilities may include assisting with the planting and maintaining of the shrub and formal borders, mulching and weeding, strimming, hedge cutting and lawn mowing. There will be large shrub areas to be cut back as well as project work and some nursery glass-house work as well.
Working alongside gardeners and a team of volunteers, you’ll talk to the public every day, answering a variety of garden-related questions and talking about what you are doing with pride.
We’re looking for someone with a practical approach to work, getting the day-to-day work done and a passion for plants. The role can sometimes be physically challenging, and we use a wide range of machinery and equipment to help us get our work done.
Who we're looking for
- Comfortable working in a flexible and adaptable way
- Able to work alone or under direction and as a team
- Positive with the aim to get things done
- Keen to learn new things
- Focused on detail
- Passionate about the work you do and happy to share this with visitors.
The package
The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.
- Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
- Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
- Tax free childcare scheme
- Rental deposit loan scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Perks at work discounts i.e. gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
- Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria
- Flexible working whenever possible
- Employee assistance programme
- Free parking at most locations
- Independent financial advice
