Jobs

KEY PURPOSE
To assist and support the property and gardens team in the conservation, care and presentation of the property’s kitchen garden, designed landscape and estate, ensuring that all areas are maintained to the highest standards and to the enjoyment of all visitors and supporters, whether through delegation to other staff/volunteers, or personal work. The garden is managed, maintained, and developed to provide produce to sell on site, and to use in the café, contributing to the property’s overall conservation and development, and its enjoyment by visitors and supporters. Newhailes is an 84-acre designed landscape including woodland, water gardens, playpark, market garden, follies, open fields and arable land.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Key Purposes of the job will be met by:
 Undertaking practical maintenance of the garden (e.g., managing trees and shrubs, herbaceous plants, bulbs, fruit and vegetables; turf care; pest/disease/weed control; biosecurity, plant propagation, irrigation, staking, plant nutrition, composting and soil improvement to the required standards expected by the Trust and for the maximum safety of, and enjoyment by visitors.
 Plantsmanship (e.g., the identification, knowledge and understanding of this high calibre plant collection, including recording and labelling using IrisBG database of individual plants and recognised collections).
 Fostering positive relationships with local communities and organisations and promote the work of the Trust.
 Resource management. Ensuring effective and efficient use of machinery, equipment, materials, and all other resources.
 Working to the Trust’s Environmental Policy with respect to sustainable gardening activities, including energy, water, peat, and pesticide use.
 On occasion, supervising and working with volunteers and/or staff members to ensure they deliver required outputs at the appropriate standard, and gain benefit/satisfaction from their activities.
 By the nature of the role, there will be periods of lone working, the candidate will demonstrate good self-motivation, organisation, ability to plan, prioritise and manage own and others’ time.
 Customer service and care delivered to a high standard to ensure that the property’s reputation for excellence is maintained and enhanced.
 Undertaking such other reasonable duties as may from time to time be required to ensure the smooth running of the property as required by the Head Gardener.
 Ensuring compliance with the Trust’s health, safety, and environment policies and procedures.
 Helping elsewhere on the estate where necessary, in support of wider public engagement events.

Your role is one for which the duties/responsibilities/accountabilities of the role require you to become a member of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme, which replaces the ‘Enhanced Disclosure’ check and is administered by Disclosure Scotland.

Application Deadline: Sunday 28/09/2025