JOB DESCRIPTION
Job title:
Gardens & Designed Landscape Advisor &
School of Heritage Gardening Coordinator
Reports to:
Head of Gardens & Designed Landscapes
Location:
Based at Gardens & Designed Landscapes Office,
Hermiston Quay, 5 Cultins Road, Edinburgh,
EH11 4DF
(Whilst based in Edinburgh, the role involves regular travelling
throughout Scotland)
September 2014
Business Function:
Conservation Services & Projects
A summary of Terms & Conditions is available on request.
Pay Band/Starting Salary: Band F
Starting Salary £31,508 rising to £33,166 after oneyear’s successful performance
An Essential Business Car User Allowance of £3800 p.a.
is provided
Type of Contract: Permanent / full-time
CONTEXT
The Gardens & Designed Landscapes team provides overarching strategic direction, support, advice and
monitoring to the National Trust for Scotland’s Gardens Community comprising over 115 horticulturists as well
as many other staff responsible for the day-to-day management of the Trusts 66 great and small gardens and
designed landscapes. The Gardens & Designed Landscapes team is lead by the Head of Gardens and supported
by an Administrator and three Gardens Advisors1, one of whom also has responsibility for the coordination and
delivery of the Trust’s School of Heritage Gardening.
The National Trust for Scotland has been providing professional gardener training programmes for over fifty
years and whilst this traditionally took place at Threave Garden near Dumfries many other Trust gardens now
support horticultural students. The Trust offers one- and two-year practical training courses and, in partnership
with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, a four year joint training programme, as well as offering shorter
specialist courses in a variety of subjects.
A permanent full time opportunity2 exists for a suitably qualified and experienced horticultural professional to
join the Gardens & Designed Landscapes team to provide general gardens advisory support and to lead on the
coordination of the School of Heritage Gardening.
Critical to the success of the role will be to develop quickly a thorough understanding and knowledge of Trust
gardens and the School of Heritage Gardening programme in particular, in order to provide support services and
to deliver a range of tasks across the Trust’s gardens portfolio. In this respect visits to garden properties will be
required on occasions. The post holder will be proactive in providing support to the Head of Gardens &
Designed Landscapes, Gardens Advisors and Head Gardeners so far as the scope of the role is concerned in order
to ensure a high quality of work delivery carried out in an accurate and timely manner.
KEY PURPOSE
This job exists in order to:
1. Provide general gardens advisory support to a range of NTS gardens & designed landscapes;
2. Deliver the key priority tasks aligned to the Gardens & Designed Landscapes Policy, Strategic Plan and
Key Performance Indicators all of which relate to the Trust’s five year Corporate Plan 2011-2016.
3. Coordinate, promote and develop the Trust’s School of Heritage Gardening (SoHG) programme though
existing and future business models demonstrating that the Trust’s gardens and designed landscapes are
ideal contexts in which to deliver a wide-range of horticultural learning activities that will help ensure
current and future gardeners have the skills and mind-set required for heritage gardening.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Key Purposes of the Job will include:
1
General Gardens Advisory input through:
Between August 2014 and August 2015 the team will comprise Head of Gardens, two Gardens Advisors; Gardens Coordinator; Gardens Assistant and
part time Administrator;
2 It should be noted that at the current time an operational review of the School of Heritage Gardening and its association with Threave Garden is being
carried out, the results of which will be known in late 2014 and following this a new business and operational model may evolve. The School of Heritage
Gardening Coordinator will play an important role in this and in the development & implementation of future training initiatives.
1
a Supporting the work of the Gardens & Designed Landscapes team with the setting- and monitoring of
horticultural standards at a designated number of properties such that gardening teams are fully
enabled to deliver their jobs to the required levels;
b Supporting the Trust’s Priority Properties, where delegated, and contributing to the development of
Heritage Garden Management Plans;
c Working collaboratively with Head Gardeners, Property Managers and the Gardens & Designed
Landscape team over proposed changes to any garden, to ensure that its use, development or re-design
does not adversely affect its significance or amenity and is in line with agreed conservation objectives;
d Making regular visits to assigned garden properties to monitor standards and support garden staff;
e Undertaking research and development projects in support of Trust gardens and designed landscapes
including the writing of Timelines3; contributing to the development of garden interpretation, talks and
presentations;
f Supporting, as appropriate and with others, the Gardens & Designed Landscapes team Plant Collections
Strategy and in particular encouraging Head Gardeners to input and maintain their garden’s plant
records through the Demeter database;
g Analysing plant records to better understand their significance in local, regional, and national contexts;
and to proactively use them to support conservation management and planning at the local level (e.g.
property management plans, propagation programmes) and at the national level (e.g. Trust-wide
strategic and policy procedures);
h Supporting or leading in project design and management;
i The development of specialist guidelines and operational instructions aligned to the work of the
Gardens & Designed Landscapes team;
j Assisting Head Gardeners with the recruitment, management, and development of their staff.
2
School of Heritage Gardening coordination:
a Coordinate, promote and develop the Trust’s School of Heritage Gardening (SoHG) programme though
existing and future business models demonstrating that the Trust’s gardens and designed landscapes
are ideal contexts in which to deliver a wide-range of horticultural learning activities that will help
ensure current and future gardeners have the skills and mind-set required for heritage gardening;
b Championing the implementation of the Trust’s horticultural learning opportunities by supporting the
existing initiatives and coordinating the delivery of a range of courses suitable for life-long learning.
This will involve both strategic planning and the day-to-day delivery and support of student gardeners
undertaking the one- and two year training programmes;
c Building on the current programme to develop and promote horticultural learning opportunities –
whether formal (e.g. apprenticeships, partnerships with further education bodies, partnerships with
external schemes [e.g. Historic & Botanic Garden Bursary Scheme] and Royal Botanic Garden,
Edinburgh) or informal (e.g. public courses, workshops, demonstrations) – in order to increase practical
horticultural skills in heritage gardeners and raise awareness of the Trust as a principal owner/manager
of heritage gardens and designed landscapes;
d Advocating the SoHG concept to external stakeholders and seeking income streams (e.g. event fees,
sponsorship, donations, grants) to deliver the current SoHG Business Plan;
e Critically appraising the existing training programmes and associated current & future business plans in
order to ensure continuity and enhancement of gardener training opportunities appropriate to the
current skills shortage;
f Influencing Trust staff (particularly Head Gardeners and Property Managers) to secure their
understanding and “buy-in” to the importance of the SoHG concept, and their practical support in the
management and delivery of e.g. apprenticeships, student placements, workshops, lectures, events etc;
g Ensuring an appropriate Safety, Health, and Environment regime – compliant with Trust wider policy –
is in place for all SoHG activities;
The current duties of this post do require a criminal records (Disclosure Scotland) check to be carried out.
SCOPE OF ROLE
People Management
 No direct line reports but the postholder will work closely with internal- and external audiences in
coordinating training programmes, including Head Gardeners and Instructor Gardeners;
 Will hold regular tutorials with students, chair SoHG team meetings and will oversee students on
courses and volunteers in the Gardens Office;
3
Garden Timelines are research documents that illustrate the sequential development of gardens & designed landscapes held by the National Trust for
Scotland and are useful in summarising the history and changes of a site. Timelines are currently being prepared for all NTS gardens & designed landscapes





Works closely with gardens’ property-based staff, student gardeners and Gardens Advisers in the
running of training courses, in particular supporting Head Gardeners and Instructor Gardeners and also
with the annual Head Gardeners’ Meeting;
Works closely with People Development staff;
Works closely with the Gardens Advisory Team to ensure that activities are an integral part of objectives
of the Conservation Services and Projects Division and with Property Managers and garden teams;
Works closely with the Development Department to achieve fundraising targets;
Participate in multi-disciplinary project teams consisting of in-house staff and external advisers where
required.
Simplified staff structure: This post
Director of
Conservation &
Projects
PA to Director CSP
Head of Gardens &
Designed
Landscapes
Gardens Advisor
Gardens Advisor
(Post holder on Sabbatical
June 2014 to Aug 2015)
Gardens Advisor &
SoHG Coordinator
Gardens Coordinator
Aug 2014-Aug 2015
Gardens
Administrator
Gardens
Assistant
Part-time
Aug 2014Aug 2015
Oct 2014Aug 2015
SoHG Staff and
Approx 12 x Student
Gardeners
Financial Management
 Delegated responsibility for the School of Heritage Gardening annual revenue budget of £116,500;
budget & spending forecasting, providing reports and managing day-to-day expenditure;
 Works closely with the Head of Gardens and Designed Landscapes to prove the continuous viability of
the School of Heritage Gardening initiative to an internal and external market;
 Occasional project management responsibility for gardens-related activities up to £100,000.
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE
The job holder will need to possess and exercise the following:
Essential qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge:
 You will possess a Botanic Garden Diploma, Higher National Diploma in Horticulture or equivalent to
SVQ Level 5; trained at recognized establishment such as Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; Royal
Botanic Garden Kew; RHS Garden, Wisley; National Trust for Scotland; or horticultural college;
 You will also hold qualifications and experience demonstrating practical horticultural knowledge, e.g.
NVQ/ SVQ Level 2 in amenity horticulture or City & Guilds Level 2 and or National Diploma in
Horticulture;
 You will have worked as a head gardener or in other lead or supervisory roles in an amenity, heritage or
botanic garden.
 Experience in conservation garden management and an understanding and appreciation of Scottish
garden history;
 You will have excellent plant knowledge;
 You will have the ability to keep up-to-date with new technical advances and to share this with
colleagues;
 You will have an awareness of horticultural training in the United Kingdom and in particular in Scotland
or you will have the confidence and ability to explore this area to fulfil the requirements of the role.





Excellent organisational, administrative and time-management skills with the ability to prioritise and reprioritise workload to meet changing demands, with occasional need for overtime (for which time off in
lieu may be granted) and nights away in distant or remote parts of the country;
Ability to think and act quickly when confronted with challenging situations;
Have a flexible approach and attitude to work and a willingness to engage in broad Gardens & Designed
Landscapes team objectives for the common good of the department;
Competent user of Microsoft Office products and database systems;
Current driving license valid for use in the UK
Desirable
 An empathy with people and their varying needs, but a resolution to ensure that policy/procedure is
applied appropriately and consistently;
 Technical ability to assimilate and critically appraise information relevant to the planning and
management of gardens and to apply this across a range of situations;
 You will have had experience in management planning skills
The Key Responsibilities, Scope of Job, and Qualifications, Skills, Experience & Knowledge reflect the
requirements of the job at the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate
consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any activities that it believes to be reasonable within
the broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.
Applications:
Interested applicants should forward a completed application form to Human Resources Department
(Applications), The National Trust for Scotland, Hermiston Quay, 5 Cultins Road, Edinburgh EH11 4DF by
mail or by email via [email protected], by first post (i.e. 10.00am) on 22 September 2014 Interviews are
likely to be held at Hermiston Quay, 5 Cultins Road, Edinburgh on 2 October 2014.