Assistant Gardener

As Assistant Gardener, you'll be working with a team to deliver the day-to-day care of the garden and maintain high presentation standards. This role will include a range of practical tasks to develop, improve and look after the garden and contribute to the delivery of projects and a great visitor experience., For this role, you'll need to complete our online assessment instead of using a C.V. or online application form. This will help us understand more about your strengths and give you more information on the role. What it's like to work here In this role, you'll report to the Senior Gardener and work 7.5 hours a day (37.5 h per week) between 08:00 and 16:15 Monday to Friday with occasional bank holiday, weekend or evening events cover, shared among the team, for which you'll get time off. The Garden team includes our Garden & Outdoors Manager, our Senior Gardener, two Gardeners plus our volunteer gardeners who help on different days. Ightham Mote has a great variety of garden areas for you to practice and develop your gardening skills, knowledge and enjoyment of working outdoors with guidance from our staff. You will enjoy sharing gardening ideas, learn new skills and gain valuable career experience from being part of our team. What you'll be doing Daily responsibilities will include assisting with plant propagation, weeding, tidying, planting and maintaining herbaceous plant and shrub borders, ponds, paths, orchard and grass areas, including mulching, hedge cutting and lawn mowing. You'll work alongside our gardeners and volunteers, meeting 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 can-do approach to getting the day-to-day work done and an interest in plants, gardens and nature. The role can sometimes be physically challenging and in cold and wet weather. We use a wide range of tools and machinery to help us get our work done including grass and hedge trimmers, pedestrian and ride-on mowers and utility vehicles, for which training will be provided. You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all of the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what's possible in this role.

• comfortable working in a flexible and adaptable way
• a team player, but also happy to work on your own initiative
• focused on giving great service to everyone you meet
• willing to learn new skills
• focused on detail
• well organised approach
  
  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)
• Rental deposit loan scheme
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
• Perks at work discounts such as 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 Trust places