Horticultural Therapist & gardener in Swansea

We provide free cancer support and information in our specially designed centres across the UK and online. Working alongside NHS hospitals, Maggie’s centres are staffed by expert Cancer Support Specialists, Psychologists and Benefits Advisors, helping people to take back control when cancer turns life upside down. Our long‑term ambition is to be there for everyone with cancer in the UK, at all 60 cancer centre sites. Our aim is to ensure that there is no‑one living with cancer who is unable to access the expert psychological and information support that they so desperately need to live the best quality of life possible.

About the Post Holder

You will be a professional gardener with experience of maintaining planting and hard landscaping, and experience of working with people who have health problems. You will have strong verbal communication, personal organisation and co‑ordination skills, with experience of planning group sessions and the ability to build rapport with a wide range of people.

About the Role

The post holder will be responsible for the overall maintenance of the gardens at the centre and for the recruitment and management of volunteers to support with the garden maintenance programme. In addition, they will support the centre by organising occasional sessions involving corporate volunteers in collaboration with Maggie’s Corporate Partnerships team. If the post holder holds the correct qualifications then they will have the opportunity to deliver therapeutic gardening sessions for the benefit of people diagnosed with cancer, undergoing cancer treatment, recovering from treatment or surgery, or approaching end of life; as well as their families and friends.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure that the garden is maintained in line with the landscape maintenance plan.
• Dead‑heading, pruning, tying‑in and training climbers, weeding and tidying beds.
• Monitoring plants for signs of pests/diseases and treating as necessary.
• Undertaking any necessary care of sculptures and informing the Centre Head of any damage or need for exceptional maintenance.
• Sweeping all paved areas and maintaining gravelled areas as appropriate.
• Removing tree leaves from borders and areas of hard landscaping.
• Removing all deleterious materials from hard surfaces/planting beds.
• Maintain the site in a clean tidy condition.
• Mulching borders with a 50 mm layer of mulch in late winter, at the end of tree leaf fall.
• Reporting any plants that are dead, dying or otherwise defective, and arranging suitable replacements as agreed with the original landscape designer.
• Watering pots, baskets etc. throughout.
• Report any damage or dangers (e.g. broken irrigation pipes, unsafe trees) to the Centre Head.
• Ensuring that gardening equipment is in good working order before it is used each time.
• Undertaking other site‑specific actions as required.
• Recruiting suitable horticulture/garden design students and appropriate others as volunteers to assist with general garden maintenance.
• Arrange volunteer inductions before they commence gardening work.
• Supervise volunteers in a range of garden maintenance activities, ensuring that they work safely and undertaking appropriate risk assessments.
• Organise occasional sessions (e.g. to undertake winter digging of vegetable beds or planting of bulbs), involving corporate volunteers, in liaison with Maggie’s Corporate Partnerships team.
• Facilitating therapeutic gardening groups for centre users.
• Designing a range of seasonal gardening and garden‑related activities, both indoor and out (e.g. making Christmas/winter wreaths, bulb planting etc) in liaison with the Centre Head.
• Integrating gardening with other aspects of Maggie’s programme such as nutrition, e.g. the nutritional value of herbs.
• Ensuring that the group is able to work safely, displaying sensitivity to the possible health issues of some members of the group and undertaking risk assessments where needed.

Essential skills and experience

• Recognised qualification in horticulture/gardening Certificate or Diploma in Horticultural Therapy.
• Experience of planning group sessions and activities.
• Experience of working with people with health problems which vary in severity.
• Ability to participate in regular, active gardening.