Gardener - permanent contract
(28 hours per week/ equivalent of 4 working days)
The Gardener will support the Head Gardener in maintaining the gardens and outdoor spaces at Charleston’s Firle and Lewes sites.
This is a varied role covering the care, presentation and day-to-day management of Charleston’s gardens and outdoor areas. It would suit an experienced gardener who can balance practical horticultural work with public-facing responsibilities.
The successful candidate will have a strong interest in heritage gardening and horticulture, alongside enthusiasm for contemporary, environmentally sensitive practices. They should be comfortable working outdoors in all weather, have good horticultural knowledge, and work well as part of a friendly team.
The role includes working in public areas throughout the year. Experience of supporting or supervising volunteers would be useful..
Duties and Responsibilities
The Gardener will help with the following areas of work:
- Maintain the Walled Garden and other historic spaces, including hand-weeding, watering, planting and pruning.
- Prepare floral arrangements for the house and events.
- Maintain ponds, woodland areas and hedges.
- Maintain lawns, meadows and verges, including mowing and strimming.
- Maintain gravel paths, terraces, car parks and visitor walkways, including weeding, raking and strimming.
- Maintain courtyards and outdoor utility areas, including jet washing, weeding and sweeping.
- Respond helpfully to visitor questions.
- Delegate tasks to volunteers and supervise their work.
- Maintain the nursery, including propagating plants for sale in the shop.
- Propagate annuals, biennials and other plants for use in the garden.
- Support waste management, including compost heaps and dead hedges.
- Manage pests and diseases, particularly in relation to the garden’s historic box hedging.
General duties
- Support the Head Gardener across all areas of their work.
- Work independently when needed.
- Support the events team with festivals and events.
- Attend and contribute to team training, staff meetings and briefings where appropriate.
- Work flexibly across the organisation during busy periods, supporting other teams as required.
- Be willing to learn about budgets, risk assessments and formal tree surveying.
- Manage the garden using organic principles.
Essential
- Good organisational skills and reliable timekeeping.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work independently and adapt to changing priorities.
- At least two years’ professional gardening experience.
- RHS or City & Guilds Level 2 in Horticulture, or equivalent experience, is desirable.
- Relevant technical qualifications are desirable, such as NPTC Level 2 in Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross-cutting, or Safe Use of Brushcutters and Trimmers.
- Experience of maintaining tools and machinery.
- Interest in the garden’s history, conservation and long-term development.
- Interest in sustainable and environmentally sensitive horticulture, such as meadow management, water storage and organic gardening.
- A practical approach to problem solving and strong attention to detail.
- Ability to work in a physically demanding role in all weather, including repetitive tasks such as hand-weeding.
- A creative and proactive approach to gardening.
- Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends.
Apply today!
Charleston is committed to equal and equitable opportunities, and to becoming a workforce that represents the diversity of our community. We positively encourage applications from Disabled people, Global Majority people, and working-class people, as people from these groups are currently underrepresented in our organisation.
Application deadline: Sunday 23 August, 2026
Interviews: w/c 31 August 2026 at Charleston in Firle, BN8 6LL
To apply, please email a covering letter of no more than 2 pages detailing how you meet the person specification, along with a CV to [email protected]
Alternatively, you can submit a link to an audio or video file that details how you meet the person specification, with an overview of your professional experience and skills. This should be no more than 10 minutes.
Interview process
Shortlisting
We will create a shortlist of applicants for interview based entirely on merit and suitability for the role, assessed against the person specification. If you are not selected to progress to the interview stage, we will let you know the outcome of the shortlisting process. Due to capacity, we’re unfortunately unable to provide individual feedback at this stage. Interviews We will share the core interview questions with you in advance so you can feel prepared. There may be a few questions that won’t be shared ahead of time, but we’ll keep these to a minimum. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you during the interview process, please do let us know in advance, we’re happy to help. If you’re not successful following the interview, you’re welcome to request feedback on your performance. All positions at Charleston are offered subject to the following conditions:
- Receipt of two satisfactory references
- Proof that you are legally entitled to work in the UK.
For further questions about the role, please email [email protected].
Pay: £26,100.00-£29,600.00 per year
Work Location: In person
