Sole Gardener
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Sole Gardener with experience with estate maintenance, to join the garden and grounds of a beautiful residential property located on the picturesque island of Jersey. The owner now requires a skilled gardener with additional handyperson qualities to assist in the ongoing maintenance and development of the gardens and grounds to become part of the small, friendly, family-like team consisting of a Personal Assistant, Cleaner and live in Housekeeper.
The stunning 2-acre gardens feature fine lawns, one of which at the front of the property provides unspoilt views of the ocean. There is a greenhouse propagating a wide variety of plants such as cyclamens, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs from both cuttings and seeds. The tennis court has been converted into raised bed vegetable garden growing produce for the house, a selection of fruit trees including lime, lemon and orange which need to be wrapped in the winter months. Also, within the grounds is an indoor swimming pool and cutting garden growing roses and dahlias for the main house.
Our client seeks a highly skilled Gardener/Groundsperson to help maintain the gardens on a year-round basis. Applicants should ideally possess several years’ experience working within a private estate setting, in a similar role. As such, excellent plant knowledge and technical skills are essential for this position with experience in compost management, propagation, kitchen gardening, specialist pruning, spraying, weeding, strimming, edging and rejuvenating beds. The owner is a keen gardener, who is happy to collaborate with the gardener with regards to ideas on the development of the gardens.
In addition to gardening responsibilities, the successful candidate will be expected to be fully competent in maintenance and groundsman activities, which include but are not limited to, power washing the paths and driveway, topping up bird feeders, monitoring irrigation, leaf blowing, raking, digging, and managing compost. As such, this is a physically demanding position which requires a fit and strong individual who is also flexible in their work to provide basic DIY assistance around the house as and when required. Other general duties will include occasional chauffeuring and valeting of the owners 2 cars on a monthly basis.
Management of external contractors will be an additional feature of this position and therefore previous experience in doing so will be advantageous for prospective candidates. Applicants should be physically fit and with a ‘can do’ attitude. A self-motivated individual with a strong work ethic, ability to work to their own initiative and willingness to work to consistently high standards are qualities which are essential for this role.
A full, clean UK driving license, previous experience in the use and maintenance of a wide range of gardening machinery including PA1 and PA6 spraying, and chainsaw certification are a requirement for this position; however, external contractors are to be used for large hedge works. The house is well equipped with machinery, which the gardener should be capable of maintaining between services.
This position comes with a beautiful one bedroom, furnished flat, situated on site which boasts glorious views of the surrounding countryside. The flat is suitable for a non-smoking single occupant or a couple, however, not suitable for pets and/or children. A requirement of the role involves completing daily security checks and monitoring the main house when the principle is away. The successful candidate will need to liaise with the live in Housekeeper to ensure that there is no cross over with annual leave or absences with regards to security duties.
The hours of work for this position are 7:30am-4.30pm, Monday-Friday with a coffee break 10:00-10:30am, and lunch break 1pm-1:30pm. Please note, the successful candidate will be subject to a DBS check.
SALARY: Up to £40,000 depending on experience
LOCATION: St Lawrence, Jersey
JOB No: EC64282
If this Sole Gardener vacancy is of interest, please apply or contact Sophie Sharpe on 01233 733510 or info@englishcountrygardeners.co.uk.
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Thank you for the interest you have shown in this Sole Gardener vacancy. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, it is not possible to respond to every one. Therefore, unless you hear from us within the next 14 days, your application for this Sole Gardener vacancy will have been unsuccessful.
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