Gardener - Polegate Summary As a Gardener for the National Trust at Alfriston Clergy House, you will be reporting to the Senior Gardener who leads the horticultural ambitions across two South Downs Property locations. You will work independently for the majority of your time, being hands on and involved in every aspect of maintenance at the Clergy House gardens and the leading of the dedicated volunteer teams. The role requires a sensitivity to wildlife and nature to support the National Trust’s new conservation strategy, ‘People and Nature Thriving’ and our Property Group’s specific differentiation, ‘Restore Nature’. You will also play a vital role in improving the experience of visitors to the Clergy House. What it's like to work here This role offers a unique and exciting opportunity to care for our very first National Trust property, Alfriston Clergy House and Gardens purchased in 1896 for the sum of 10. The arts and crafts designed garden, plays a key part in the overall visitor experience. Although only an acre of garden, there is diversity of interest. There is an orchard, kitchen garden, large herbaceous borders, reedbed and Italian garden. We require high horticultural standards, the supportive leadership of our fantastic volunteer teams, whilst gardening sympathetically in harmony with nature and the Clergy House’s historical spirit. The work can be physically demanding but very rewarding as you see the fruits of your work being enjoyed and appreciated by our visitors. No two days are the same in the Trust, and we work together to care for our nation’s nature, beauty and history across all our locations. If you are an experienced, highly organised and motivated gardener with great people skills, then this could be the ideal role for you. The role requires a 22.5hr working week, split equally over three days. These days are Monday and Friday to allow for the supervision of our volunteer teams and either a Tuesday or Thursday, the appropriateness of which can be discussed at interview. You may be asked to cover our second site, Monk’s House, in the village of Rodmell at certain periods such as the Senior Gardener’s annual leave, so will, in time, be familiar with the garden here too. What you'll be doing As a hands-on gardener, you’ll assist in making sure that the gardens are maintained to a high standard. You’ll love working outdoors and understand that our gardens and grounds are as significant as our mansion houses, collections and our historical places. Working as the Senior Gardener's daily eyes and ears on the ground, you will also support workload and activity planning and contribute towards the delivery of projects and the strategic priority to recover nature within the gardens here. You’ll be passionate and knowledgeable about the varied plants within the garden, and you will support with the selections, planting and maintenance of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. This role will include a range of practical horticultural tasks to develop, enhance and conserve the garden including helping with hard and soft landscaping and general maintenance such as mulching, pruning, mowing, hedge cutting, leaf clearing and weeding. Our volunteers are vital in helping us achieve our ambitions and you’ll support and help them to make the most of their time with us. You will do this through ongoing coaching and mentoring, setting daily direction and managing workload and team safety, as well as help keep them informed through regular communication and engagement. Visitors are our key supporters and as a charity, they help enable much of our care here. You’ll be expected to interact with the public when the property is open, answering the many questions or helping with gardening workshops, tours and helping set up events as required. In summary, to be successful in this role you must be a great communicator and all-round people person; your interpersonal and leadership skills will be just as important as your technical horticulture skills. Who we're looking for an experienced horticulturist and hands-on gardener, who’s worked with hard landscaping before knowledgeable about plants, with a great eye for detail a driver with a full licence able to manage a demanding outdoor role confidence in communication and public engagement experience in work programme and project support needs competence with handheld machinery, hedge-cutters and strimmer's. 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 Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.