Horticulture Technician (Cultivate)

An exciting opportunity has now arisen for an enthusiastic and experienced individual to join the Shaftesbury Millie College Enterprise team as an Enterprise Technician within the Cultivate team. This team focuses primarily on the outdoor Enterprises areas, including Horticulture and Conservation. The two areas work closely together, aligning curriculum areas with the natural environment.

Shaftesbury Millie College is a post 16-25 education setting helping young people with a range of learning and physical disabilities in Dorset and the local area, bridging the gap between education and employment. It is a one-of-a-kind work environment, set on a 350-acre countryside site near Poole. The college's curriculum is directly aligned to its natural environment and the enterprise activities that operate there, including creative crafts, catering and retail, conservation, horticulture and animal care.

As Conservation Technician, part of the Enterprise Cultivate Team, you will be responsible for ensuring the smooth running of Conservation Horticulture Enterprise activities on site. You will work directly with the Horticulture Technicians and liaise with the education team, operating and maintaining clean, safe and accessible learning environments. These areas include our plant nursery, greenhouse, polytunnels, kitchen gardens, and food forest. The conservation areas on site cover habitats like woodlands, wetlands, and heathland within the 350-acre nature reserve. There are also designated conservation areas for learning, including ponds, a forest school, bird hides, the cabin workshop, and an accessible conservation paddock.

The successful candidate will be dedicated, enthusiastic, self-motivated, with a passion for the outdoors and supporting student learning in our unique environment. Confidence in Horticulture and Conservation areas is essential, along with the ability to identify learning and growth opportunities within your role.

This role requires a calm working approach, multi-tasking ability, responsiveness to change, flexibility, and commitment, as weekend work will be required on a rota basis. Part-time working patterns are available and can be discussed with candidates.

• Oversee the Conservation Horticulture enterprise areas across Shaftesbury Millie College.
• Maintain records for health & safety and compliance.
• Inspect grounds and structures regularly for health and safety concerns and ensure high standards of maintenance.
• Communicate effectively with Enterprise managers to ensure smooth enterprise delivery.
• Identify repairs or replacements of equipment and fencing, ensuring routine checks are performed.
• Alert the Maintenance Team to site or building damage and coordinate repairs.
• Support ordering of materials and equipment for the Enterprise activities.
• Undertake any other duties as required.
• Comply with all relevant Health and Safety procedures.
• Be prepared to work out of hours and weekends as needed, and at other local sites.
• Adhere to all Shaftesbury and school policies.
• Support the Christian aims of Shaftesbury.
• Assist with college events and Open Days.
• Contribute to college newsletters and social media with updates and success stories.