Grounds & Gardens Operative in Chesterfield

Our people are our greatest strength and through our people we strive to make continuous improvements. To provide a full range of gardening and grounds maintenance duties to our site at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and surrounding RPC sites. The post will also require internal maintenance and decluttering of hospital areas. Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them under the most recent Health & Safety at Work Act and ensure that the agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe environment for employees, patients, and the organisation.

A recognised Certificate of Competence is required for using professional plant protection products (PPP’S), or you must work under the direct supervision of someone who holds one.

• Hoeing, digging, planting out, cultivating, fertilising, staking and tying of plants & shrubs as appropriate.
• Pruning of flowers, trees, plants, hedges and shrubs.
• Application of required herbicides as required (Dependent on qualifications).
• Watering, scarifying, spiking, rolling, re-seeding.
• Cutting grass, road & pathway sweeping, leaf clearance, edge cutting, litter clearing using hand operated or mechanically propelled equipment in a safe manner ensuring no damage to surfaces and including the removal of all clippings, cuttings and debris from hard surfaces as set out on the operating procedures.
• Operating rotary mowers, trimmers, and associated garden equipment.
• Cleaning of garden equipment, storage areas.
• Snow/Ice clearance by hand or mechanical equipment where appropriate.
• Seasonal leaf removal and collections.
• Gritting of roads, paths, car parks and entrances in frosty or snowing weather.
• Upkeep and maintenance of the Memorial Garden Pond.
• Safety inspections of vehicles, plant, pedestrian and hand machinery ensuring the safe operation and movement of vehicles and plant in accordance with agreed practices.

The standard requirement you must possess for using hand-held, knapsack or similar pesticide equipment is a combination of PA1 (Safe Use of Pesticides foundation module) and PA6 (Handheld Applications).

Derbyshire Support and Facilities Services Ltd. (DSFS) is a subsidiary company that’s 100% owned by Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. DSFS has just over 900 staff across Soft and Hard Facilities Services, and our corporate services including ICT, Patient Records, Switchboard, Procurement, Finance and Clinical Engineering. Very much part of the ‘Chesterfield Royal family’, DSFS builds on solid NHS foundations to offer a more commercial approach that’s dynamic, flexible, and proactive.

DSFS are proud to be striving to achieve a truly diverse and inclusive flexible workforce by valuing and welcoming everyone’s abilities, uniqueness, and individuality. All our colleagues have the right to and should be able to feel 100% themselves at work; we believe that all our people add to and should improve our culture and not just fit in with it. By embracing our diverse backgrounds and differences our culture becomes richer and makes us stronger together.

Derbyshire Support and Facilities Services Limited currently do not offer a Certificate of Sponsorship, any applications which require sponsorship will not be considered.

Please see the Job description and Person Specification in the attachments. This document contains a full detailed description of the role and what the main responsibilities and duties are along with the criteria that are required.

• Qualifications and Training: Full driving license CAT B/E NVQ qualification or equivalent experience in Horticultural/Landscaping.
• Experience: At least 3 years of Grounds/Gardening/Landscaping experience. Experience of working in the NHS.
• Skills and Knowledge: Able to work with minimum supervision, able to work as part of a team or lone work. Able to maintain and inspect equipment certification.
• Personal Attributes: Conscientious, good time keeping, motivated, enthusiastic, can-do attitude.

When DSFS Ltd are able to offer sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK), applicants will be required to provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.

Derbyshire Support and Facilities Services (‘DSFS’) is committed to ensuring the safety of all our staff and patients therefore encourages and supports staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as this remains the best line of defence against the virus.

Communications throughout the application process will be via e-mail therefore please check your e-mail account, spam folders and NHS Jobs (where applicable) account regularly.

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.