Garden Manager in Suffolk

Location: Fullers Mill Garden, West Stow, Suffolk

Accountable to: Commercial Development Director

Staff reports: The Gardens team, Visitor Services team

Fullers Mill Garden is an enchanting and tranquil waterside and woodland garden, situated on the banks of the River Lark at West Stow in Suffolk. It combines a beautiful site of light dappled woodland with a fabulous collection of rare and unusual shrubs, perennials, lilies and marginal plants, collected over the course of 50 years by the creator of the garden, the late Bernard Tickner MBE. This is an exciting opportunity to lead Fullers Mill Garden into its next chapter as a Perennial garden, maintaining and evolving a beautiful garden with a team of gardeners, volunteers and trainees – to give our garden loving visitors a magical experience on each visit. The garden is currently undergoing a process of proposed investment in its visitor infrastructure.

Overall purpose

• Through high standards of garden and landscape management and garden maintenance, ensure that the history, ecology, evolved design and artistic integrity of Fullers Mill and other grounds associated with the site are conserved and presented to an exemplary standard.
• To recruit, train, manage and develop staff to achieve high standards of garden presentation and visitor satisfaction.
• To build a culture that makes involvement in the garden a rewarding, rich and enjoyable experience for visitors, volunteers and staff.
• To identify and develop opportunities for the promotion of the garden and the development of the visitor experience managing partnerships and relationships.

Main responsibilities and duties

• Management of gardens and landscape
  • To be responsible for the maintenance and management of the garden and its associated landscape within an approved budget.
  • To maintain high standards of garden and facilities presentation at all times.
  • Responsible for the day to day running of the garden and supervision of staff, volunteers and contractors to ensure that appropriate horticultural and service standards are maintained.
  • To oversee the management and delivery of educational, training and skills activities and events, utilising the facilities and buildings within the site.
  • To undertake the direct delivery of activities on selected topics relating to horticulture and the garden.
  • To contribute as a key member of the Perennial project team in the formulation and delivery of the plan for the long-term future of Fullers Mill garden and buildings.
  • To co-ordinate the Fullers Mill Garden Committee, establishing sound relationships with its members and utilising their knowledge and experience in maintaining and developing the garden.
• Financial Management
  • Work alongside the Commercial Development Director to manage allocated budgets, prepare and provide bids for capital expenditure and small projects associated with the site.
• Staff management, training and development
  • To be responsible for staff recruitment, training and development of competencies to deliver agreed maintenance and presentation standards and to be responsible for staff welfare, discipline and other employee issues in consultation with the organisations central support team.
• Projects and coordination
  • To participate in the project team overseeing the creation of new visitor facilities and infrastructure;
  • To manage and oversee work delivered by external contractors or agencies.
  • To ensure a coordinated approach for all site-based garden maintenance, development, visitor facilities and services and to effectively manage change as appropriate.
• Business Development and Public Relations
  • To work with the marketing team to explore and deliver initiatives both nationally and regionally to increase awareness of both the charity and its gardens.
  • Where appropriate explore and support local marketing opportunities to encourage greater access for visitors, to identify and engage in opportunities which promote the charity and the garden as a high quality visitor attraction.
  • To act as site representative, promoting the charity and the garden to ensure positive relationships.
• Documentation
  • To ensure that all site documentation is maintained and distributed where appropriate.
  • To create and maintain records relating to changes to the garden through maintenance, restoration and conservation.
  • Maintain appropriate records for the effective management of staff, equipment, machinery and health and safety on site.
• Health and Safety
  • To conduct, review and maintain all risk assessments across site.
  • To ensure all staff and volunteers are trained and have a good understanding of health and safety requirements where applicable.
  • To ensure correct PPE and COSHH records are reviewed and maintained.
  • To ensure correct documentation and risk assessments are provided by external contractors.
• Other
  • Any other duties as instructed by the line manager that may be required within the general purpose of the job.

PERSON SPECIFICATION (E = essential; D = desirable)

• Experience and Qualifications
  • Managing a garden of quality to a high standard (E)
  • RHS level 3 or equivalent qualified by experience (D)
  • Managing and controlling complex budgets to reduce costs and exceed income targets
  • Staff management within a horticultural, conservation or visitor attraction setting (E)
  • Experience of visitor attractions (E)
  • Representation and speaking in public (E)
  • Health and safety in a garden environment (E)
  • Working with and leading volunteers (E)
  • Willingness to develop professionally and to undertake training (E)
  • Holder of HSE recognised First Aid at Work certificate (D)
  • Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders (D)
  • IOSH trained (D)
• Circumstances
  • Holder of a full UK driving licence (E)
  • Able to work flexibly, including weekend rotational working hours in season (E)

MAIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This is a full-time post working 5 days across 7.
• Location: Fullers Mill Garden, West Stow, Suffolk
• Salary: £42,000 + benefits
• Hours: 37.5 hours per week
• Pension: up to 7% employer’s contribution to matched employee contribution to the charity’s stakeholder pension.
• Holidays: 25 days per annum plus Bank holidays
• Sick pay; death in service benefit (3 x salary); Perennial has a number of well-established flexible working policies including ‘buying’ extra (unpaid) leave, time off for dependents, variations to normal working hours, private health care on completion of probation.

The outline of terms and conditions are provided for information only and do not represent a contract.

Closing date for applications is midnight on 2nd August 2026. Interview dates TBC. We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive sufficient applications.