Lead Horticulture Trainer

Hours: 35 hours per week, Monday - Friday

Salary: £25,750 - £28,713 pa depending on skills and experience + 5% pension

Contract: Permanent

Annual leave: 25 days per year, increasing by 1 day per year until you reach 30

Location: Share Garden, Springfield Hospital, Glenburnie Road, London, SW17 7DJ

Reporting to:  Head of Training

Apply now

About us

We’re passionate about supporting disabled people to set their own goals for learning and life, and helping them to achieve their aspirations.  Most of our students are people with learning disabilities and/or autism. We also work with people with long term mental health needs or physical impairment. We offer a range of training, employment, personal development, and leisure opportunities, and our horticulture programme, set within a beautiful walled garden in Tooting, has been a popular project for over 20 years. We offer a range of accredited qualifications. An important training and work preparation resource is our social business, Share Nurseries, which sells plants and craft items and is set to grow over the next few years.

We’re entering an exciting phase in our development as we aim to modernise our training programmes, develop robust pathways into independent living and employment for our students, and cater more to the needs of people on the autism spectrum. Our garden is an oasis of calm and creativity. We are keen to encourage more groups from the community to take part in gardening projects.

The role

You will be responsible for leading, developing and delivering horticulture training to disabled adults ranging from entry level to level 2. You’ll lead on organising sessions and assessments, developing learning plans, carrying out risk assessments, fulfilling assessor responsibilities and ensuring that all training activities are linked to our social business, Share Nurseries. You’ll contribute to developing a strong work ethic within the garden, so that students are able to achieve their qualifications and develop their work related skills. Some students may be more interested in the therapeutic aspects of working in a garden so you’ll be flexible in your training approach, ensuring that you work therapeutically with them to build their confidence, develop social skills, make friends, and have new experiences. You’ll maintain student records, report on progress, develop training plans and oversee the preparation of portfolios for verification. The post holder will also have line management responsibilities.

Who we are looking for

If you’re passionate about developing people’s potential, love working outdoors, enjoy working in a team, have the resilience to work in an environment that can, at times, be unpredictable, and are qualified to teach and assess to Level 2 in Horticulture, we want to hear from you. If you’ve got a background in horticultural or occupational therapy as well as training, that would be an advantage.

Main responsibilities

1. To lead on and delivery Horticulture training in QCF approved qualifications including - Level 1 and 2 Work based Horticulture and Skills for Working Life Entry level qualifications to adults with learning disabilities, autism, long term health conditions, and those who have experienced mental health problems.
2. To link the training outputs of the students into Share Nurseries, so that students have ongoing real work experience.
3. To assess new applicants for the training programme, develop individual learning plans with new students, carry out risk assessments, and provide health and safety guidance from the start.  This will involve working closely with colleagues on our Wellbeing Team.
4. To fulfil assessor responsibilities for all accredited training programmes. This may also include on-site assessments at work placements.
5. To develop and maintain training plans for delivery of all accredited programmes, leading and organising the team accordingly.
6. To lead and support the development of resources which enable access to teaching and learning.
7. To encourage and supervise students in activities which will assist the development of skills and experience in horticulture.
8. To manage the preparation and presentation of portfolios for Internal and External Verification.
9. To maintain student records of progress using the Share management information system. Information to include training, qualification attainment, personal development, monitoring, progression and exit information.
10. To review and assess students in accordance with time scales agreed with your line manager - and prepare/complete and submit relevant reports - as required by internal management and external funding bodies.
11. To deputise for the Garden Manager in the event of their absence.
12. To line manage trainers and support workers at the Share Garden site.
13. To ensure adherence to all policies within Share with respect to students and junior staff on the project. To be responsible for the Health, Safety and Welfare at work for those students within the project.
14. To research, and keep up-to-date with any changes to the course/s in accordance with the awarding bodies.
15. To monitor and maintain occupational competency through training and development as required.
16. To attend and participate in staff meetings and any other meetings as required by the organisation.
17. To undertake any other tasks that may be reasonably required by the organisation

Person Specification

Please tell us how you meet our criteria by providing examples on your application form.

Educational Qualifications

1. CTLLS/DTLLS or equivalent teaching qualification
2. Proven occupational competence in Horticulture, qualified to Level 3 or above
3. A qualification in horticultural therapy would be an advantage

Essential Experience

1. Experience of providing horticulture training leading to nationally recognised qualifications, developing individual learning plans and devising tutorials and learning materials appropriate to the needs of the student group, some of whom may face diverse barriers to learning.
2. Experience of leading, organising and contributing to the success of a small team.
3. Experience of assessing students’ work, building and developing portfolios, and submitting work for accreditation.
4. EQA activity with an awarding body in the past 18 months.
5. Experience of managing a busy and varied workload and the ability to work with minimal supervision.
6. Experience of leading on safeguarding, and ensuring that work and study environments meet the highest standards in terms of student welfare and safeguarding.

Essential Skills

1. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to deliver work-based training in a way that enthuses and motivates students who have barriers to learning, whilst maintaining exceptional levels of warmth and empathy.
2. The ability and willingness to drive, and possession a minibus licence would be an advantage.
3. Good written English and numeracy skills and the proven ability to compose high standard letters and reports.
4. Excellent organisational and IT skills, including the being able to manage day to day administration and keep the paperwork relating to students’ portfolio development up to date
5. Ability to use a coaching approach to bring out the best in your colleagues and students.

Essential Knowledge

1. Excellent plant knowledge – including the production of food crops.
2. A good grounding in the principles of horticultural therapy.
3. Knowledge of current best practice in the delivery and assessment of vocational qualifications.
4. Knowledge about autism and different aspects of learning disability.

Personal Qualities

1. A strong commitment to working with people from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and to the inclusion of disabled people in all aspects of life, including employment.
2. Personal flexibility and resilience, and the ability to work in a way that is adaptable and focused on the needs of each individual student.
3. You’ll be someone in whom people trust, and you’ll inspire confidence in clients, carers, colleagues and others.
4. The ability to solve problems creatively and manage stressful situations.

Desirable Qualifications, Experience, Skills and Knowledge

1. Assessor qualification (A1-A2)
2. Experience of working within a therapeutic environment, using horticulture as a tool to aid recovery and wellbeing.
3. Experience with IV and EV assessment practices.
4. Able to track and keep an updated CPD log
5. Knowledge of current developments in Horticulture

How to apply

Please complete our application form and equal opportunities form. 

Copy of about us web footer logos.png