Sole/Head Gardener – Job Vacancy
Summary
Location: Great Sankey, Warrington
Salary: £27,852k to £34,723 DOE
Hours: 37.5 hours per week (flexible working)Please email the Deputy Clerk of Great Sankey Parish Council, Lynne Brereton, if you require further information: [email protected]
An exciting full-time permanent opportunity has arisen for a Sole/Head Gardener to join Great Sankey Parish Council and lead the Council in providing an in-house garden maintenance and development scheme. We are seeking an energetic, creative, gardener who possess the skills to maintain the Council’s portfolio of land and develop innovative community minded garden initiatives.
Who We Are
Great Sankey Parish Council is a local authority who manages five Community Centres, three of which have gardens. A beautiful newly landscaped park; Vicarage Community Park, Lingley Green, Tim Parry Recreation Ground and Childs Wood. The estate in total is seven and half acres.
Five years ago the Parish Council embarked upon an ambitious ‘Greening of Great Sankey’ campaign. Great Sankey has undergone significant change and development and the Parish Council has been at the forefront in developing innovative green spaces to address issues from speeding traffic to designing and landscaping Parks to improve the quality of the green spaces and the mental wellbeing of residents.
The Council is now ready to bring the service in house and is looking to recruit the right candidate to take the campaign to the next level.
What you’ll be doing
This role is a hands-on role which includes a range of practical horticultural tasks to develop, enhance and conserve the Parish Council’s grounds, gardens and parks and proactively identify, manage and deliver future projects. You’ll be delivering hard and soft landscaping and general maintenance of the garden, such as mulching, pruning, leaf clearing and weeding. You’ll identify and deliver new planting schemes, cut the existing hedges, and mow our array of grounds delivering a different level of cut for each scheme.
You will also be responsible for the management of all the health and safety, and risk assessments for garden operations.
Please also read the full job profile attached to this advert.
Who are we looking for
To be successful in this role you should be able to demonstrate the following:
- Excellent communication and organisation skills
- RHS Level 2 (or equivalent) as well as practical gardening / horticulture experience
- An excellent understanding of horticultural techniques and plant identification
- Experience of using and maintaining garden machinery
- Ability to maintain and demonstrate high horticultural standards
- Experience of hard and soft landscaping
- Knowledge of Health and Safety compliance requirements
- Willingness to engage with members of the public, sharing the Parish Council’s enthusiasm for green spaces and future plans
- Ability to creatively design and deliver new planting schemes
- Be self-motivated, proactive and able to work on their own initiative
- Basic computer skills: knowledge of MS Office preferred
The package
Great Sankey Parish Council is a small team delivering big results. We adopt an inclusive flexible culture, where your voice can be heard, and your ideas realised into delivered projects.
You will report into the Clerk for the Council, mainly working alone but on occasions alongside the Centre Maintenance Officer.
We offer Flexible working whenever possible. Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary. Further training opportunities
Additional information
Closing date 20th January 2023
To apply for this vacancy please send your c.v. to [email protected]
Great Sankey Parish is committed to equal opportunities and welcome applicants regardless of religious beliefs, political opinion, race, sex, marital status, age or disability. You can read our Equal Opportunities Policy here.