Full-Time Gardener – East Calder
Robson Garden Maintenance
£15.00 per hour | 40 hours per week | Monday to Friday | Permanent
Looking for more than just another job?
Robson Garden Maintenance is a growing professional garden maintenance company looking for a new full-time team member to join our East Calder team.
We aren't necessarily looking for someone who has spent years working as a gardener.
In fact, some of the best people who have joined our company over the last nine years started with very little professional gardening experience. We trained them.
What mattered far more was their attitude.
They were hard-working, reliable, conscientious and willing to learn. They cared about doing a good job, treated customers properly and understood that their actions affect the rest of their team.
If that sounds like you, we'd like to hear from you.
Why work with Robson Garden Maintenance?
We want RGM to be a company where good people can build a long-term career.
Our team works Monday to Friday with set working hours. We very rarely work weekends because we believe people should be able to plan their lives and enjoy their time away from work.
We are continuing to grow the business and invest heavily in improving how we operate. New systems, technology and better ways of working are continually being introduced, and we want team members who enjoy being part of that progress.
We also believe that as the company improves, the people helping to build it should benefit.
Team pay has increased by more than 10% in each of the last two years. This position will start at £15 per hour, with opportunities to progress as skills, reliability, responsibility and contribution to the company develop. Our aim is for established team members to move towards the £16–£18 per hour range.
At £15 per hour and 40 hours per week, the starting salary is approximately £31,200 per year.
The type of person who does well at RGM
You may be a good fit if you:
- Turn up when you say you will.
- Take pride in doing a job properly.
- Work hard without needing someone constantly watching you.
- Think about the people working alongside you.
- Are willing to help a teammate rather than saying, "That's not my job."
- Enjoy working outdoors.
- Have an interest in gardens, plants and the natural environment.
- Are friendly and professional with customers.
- Are comfortable learning new skills.
- Are open to new ideas, systems and technology.
- Want to become genuinely good at what you do.
- Would like to be part of a growing company rather than simply collecting a wage.
You do not need to be an expert gardener.
Plant knowledge or previous gardening experience is useful, but attitude, reliability and willingness to learn are much more important to us.
We can teach gardening skills.
Reliability and work ethic are much harder to teach.
What will you actually be doing?
Most of our work involves maintaining customers' gardens on regular scheduled visits.
Typical work includes:
- Lawn mowing and lawn edging
- Strimming
- Hedge cutting
- Shrub pruning
- Weeding and border maintenance
- Plant care
- Leaf clearance
- General garden maintenance
- Using professional garden machinery and equipment
- Loading and unloading vehicles
- Green waste handling
- Speaking with customers and representing the company professionally
There is more variety during the winter, when work can also include larger garden tidy-ups, pressure washing, pruning and other seasonal work.
Gardening is physical work and you need to be comfortable working outdoors throughout the year in Scottish weather.
What the team is like
We have deliberately built RGM around people we can trust.
Many of our current team members have been with us for several years. They work hard, have a laugh, help each other and take pride in the standard of work we leave behind.
One person's attitude can affect an entire team, so who we employ is extremely important to us.
We don't expect perfection and everyone makes mistakes.
What we do expect is honesty, effort, reliability and respect for the people around you.
Training
Don't be put off applying because you haven't worked professionally as a gardener before.
Some of our most dependable team members started with limited gardening knowledge.
We can train the right person in:
- Professional garden maintenance
- Machinery and equipment
- Hedge cutting
- Pruning
- Plant identification
- Lawn care
- Safe working practices
- Efficient working methods
- Customer service
- The systems and technology we use to organise our work
Someone who is enthusiastic about plants and already spends time gardening at home would be particularly welcome, even without professional experience.
Working hours
This is a full-time, permanent position of approximately 40 hours per week.
We normally work:
Monday to Friday
Our aim is generally to begin the first customer visit at around 8:00am and finish around 4:30pm.
Occasionally weather or operational requirements mean working hours need to change, but weekend working is unusual.
We strongly believe that regular time away from work is important.
Driving licence
A full UK driving licence is required.
As the role may involve driving company vehicles, applicants must also be able to meet our vehicle insurance requirements.
Smoking and vaping
We operate a strict no-smoking and no-vaping policy in company vehicles and customers' gardens.
This is important both for our customers and for other members of the team.
Anyone applying for the position must be willing to follow this policy without exception.
What we offer
- £15.00 per hour starting pay
- Approximately £31,200 per year at 40 hours per week
- Full-time permanent employment
- Monday-to-Friday working
- Very limited weekend work
- Company pension
- Professional training
- Opportunity to develop gardening and horticultural knowledge
- Opportunity for increased responsibility
- Pay progression as skills and contribution develop
- Established customer base and organised schedules
- Modern systems and technology
- A growing company with long-term ambitions
- The opportunity to become an important member of a small team rather than simply another employee
This job probably isn't for you if...
We want to be transparent about the type of company we are.
This probably isn't the right position if you regularly struggle with punctuality or attendance, dislike physical outdoor work, need constant supervision, aren't comfortable adapting to new ways of working or don't enjoy working as part of a team.
Our customers expect a high standard from us.
More importantly, our existing team deserves to work alongside people who put in the same level of effort they do.
How to apply
Due to the number of applications we receive, please don't send us a CV on its own.
Along with your CV, send us a short message answering these three questions:
1. Why does this particular job appeal to you?
2. Tell us about a job, hobby, sport or other situation where you have had to work hard and be reliable.
3. What do you think makes someone a good person to work alongside?
You don't need to write an essay.
We're much more interested in getting an impression of who you are than receiving a perfectly written covering letter.
Applications that don't answer the questions may not be considered.
You can find out more about us at:
www.robsongardenmaintenance.com
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: From £15.00 per hour
Hours: Approximately 40 per week
Schedule: Monday to Friday
Work Location: East Calder and surrounding areas
Licence: Full UK driving licence required
Pay: £15.00 per hour
Benefits:
Application question(s):
- Do you hold a full UK driving licence and are you comfortable driving for work if required?
- Are you able to reliably travel to East Calder for an 8:00am start, Monday to Friday?
- Are you willing to follow our strict no smoking / no vaping policy in company vans and customers’ gardens?
- In a few sentences, please tell us why this job appeals to you and why you think you would be a reliable member of our team.
Work Location: In person
