Senior Gardener

Occupying three beautiful campuses (Whiteknights, with its early 19th century planned landscape, London Road with its formal gardens and ceremonial Great Hall, and Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames, with its riverside garden landscape) the unique “University within a Park” setting of the University of Reading is an inspiring place to come to work.

With such a varied range of habitats, gardens and other offsite properties, there is an ever-changing cycle of grounds maintenance tasks carried out by the Grounds Maintenance Team here at Reading. As well as being responsible for the management and maintenance of the grounds surrounding the academic teaching and research buildings, we also care for a significant collection of trees, meadows, woodlands an expansive lake and the university SportsPark pitches. This post is predominantly based at Greenlands Campus, but you will be expected to work in other areas when required. Please apply via the Jobtrain site, ensuring you fully describe how you meet the key recruiting criteria listed below and within the person specification of the job description.

You will be:

• Able to undertake lifting and manual tasks.
• Able to plan own and others work with appropriate scheduling of tasks.
• Able to carry out a range of grounds maintenance tasks.
• Able to communicate with staff, guests and other site users at all levels and attend site specific meetings as appropriate.
• Adaptable to change and willing to work on other University of Reading campuses as required.

You will have:

• A full UK valid driving licence for driving between campuses.
• Confident IT skills and abilities using basic Office programmes.
• Broad knowledge of grounds maintenance practices, use of relevant equipment and health & safety relevant to grounds maintenance.
• Pesticide spraying certification (PA1 and PA6).
• A qualification or time served apprenticeship in Amenity Horticulture or related subject, Level 2-3 (candidates who are currently working towards a qualification will be considered.

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. However, non-UK candidates who do not already have permission to work in the UK should note that by reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship will not be possible under the Skilled Worker Route. There is further information about this on the UK Visas and Immigration Website.

Interview date: 11/04/2024.

Informal Contact Details
Contact role: Head of Grounds Maintenance
Contact name: Rupert Taylor
Contact phone: 0784 3344513 (Office hours only and no voice mail please)
Contact email: r.taylor@reading.ac.uk.

Alternative Informal Contact Details
Contact role: Deputy Head of Grounds Maintenance
Contact name: Lucy Jellis
Contact phone: 07596954130 (Office hours only and no voice mail please)
Contact email: l.j.jellis@reading.ac.uk

The University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce, supports the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and the Race Equality Charter, and champions LGBT+ equality. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.

Advert information