Location: Highgrove Gardens, Doughton, Gloucestershire, GL8 8TQ
Department: Gardening
Reports to: Senior Gardener
Salary: Apprentice National Minimum Wage
Contract: 2-year fixed contract, full-time
Job Summary
The Apprentice Gardener will work on a 2-year fixed contract working alongside the Gardeners to train and gain experience working as a gardener in all areas of Highgrove Garden. The Apprentice Gardener will form an integral part of the garden team ensuring that the garden is maintained to the highest possible standards and in line with the garden’s organic principles.
Main Areas of Responsibility
- Work with the team and assist with the maintenance and development of the garden while abiding by organic principles.
- Help with the maintenance of extensive trees, beds and borders, including dead-heading, staking, tying-in, division, feeding, watering, etc.
- Assist with the maintenance of paths, ornamental hedges and topiary.
Wide use of garden tools, equipment and machinery.
- Assist with a diverse range of horticultural duties, including grass mowing and maintenance, seed-sowing and methods of propagation and pruning, coppicing for plant support materials, the maintenance of water features/formal ponds, hedges and topiary, care and maintenance of the kitchen garden, including vegetables, herbs and fruits, etc.
- Comply with all Health and Safety policies and procedures, reporting any accidents, near misses or dangerous occurrences as necessary.
- Under guidance, use of and assist with the maintenance of machinery and equipment. As part of this, ensure that faults in machinery or equipment are reported. Undertake, as directed, machinery pre-start and post-finish checks.
- Under guidance, organic weed, disease and pest control.
- Any other duties as required.
Training, tutoring and assessment
Support from WCUC’s Lackham for study and assessment is to be delivered one day a week at Lackham campus during term time only (delivered remotely if needed) and in the workplace with a visit from your tutor every 10 to 12 weeks.
As part of the apprenticeship programme, you’ll need to record a minimum of 6 hours per week of ‘off-the-job’ training time. This can include college attendance, work shadowing, training, workshops, online learning, tutor sessions, revision, webinars, industry visits—anything that supports your learning on the apprenticeship and is supported by your dedicated assessor.
Essential skills:
- Grades 2– GCSEs
- Ability to balance work and study, follow the course curriculum and study schedule
- Effective time and workload management skills
- Evidence of a passion for horticulture and gardening and a desire to pursue a career in the industry
- Physical ability to participate in strenuous activities outside at all times of the year
- Good numeric and writing skills and IT literate
- Current driving UK licence.
Desirable skills:
- LANTRA certificates in machinery
- A specific interest in gardens and their planning, development, and maintenance.
Hours of Work
Normally, 8:00am–4:30pm, Monday–Friday (40 hours per week, plus an unpaid lunch break). Extra weekend watering duties are required on a rota basis.
Additional Information
This job involves strenuous physical activity including soil cultivation, plant establishment, maintenance and the use of a range of powered machinery.
Applications
Please submit a completed Application Form along with a cover letter and CV, to the following email address: hr.recruitment@kings-foundation.org.
View and download job description
Highgrove Gardens
Highgrove Gardens is a highly renowned garden, described as one of the most inspiring and innovative gardens in the UK. Since 1980, the gardens have been managed organically and include a variety of garden features and areas, including a walled kitchen garden, a thyme walk, topiary and hedging, a terrace garden, a cottage garden, wildflower meadows, island beds, an arboretum, a woodland garden, and various water features.
The King's Foundation
The King’s Foundation is a charity founded by King Charles III and was first formed in 1990. Inspired by the vision and values of His Majesty, the Foundation focuses on creating better communities where people, places and the planet can coexist in harmony.
The charity offers education courses for over 15,000 students annually, health and wellbeing programmes for nearly 2,000 people every year, and spearheads placemaking and regeneration projects in the UK and overseas to revitalise communities and historic buildings.
The King’s Foundation is headquartered at its flagship regeneration project, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, and acts as custodian of other historic Royal sites including the Castle of Mey in Caithness, Scotland, and Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, which are open to visitors. The Foundation also carries out its work at educational and cultural hubs in London, based at The King’s Foundation School for Traditional Arts in Shoreditch, Trinity Buoy Wharf on the River Thames and the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea.
The work of The King’s Foundation is underpinned by our Founder His Majesty The King’s philosophy of harmony: that by understanding the balance, the order and the relationships between ourselves and the natural world we can create a more sustainable future. We have a diverse and inclusive workplace, creating a welcoming, safe space for everyone. This means that every member of our team can bring their whole self to work. We encourage qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply to and join The King’s Foundation and bring their valuable skills and experiences.
The Foundation is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees, including the provision of workplace adjustments. We do not tolerate discrimination based on protected characteristics (age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership) or other differences such as socio-economic background or social origin.
Closing date for applications: Monday, 2nd September 2024
