Experienced Gardener Jobs

Join our talented multi-disciplinary college team as a Learning Support Assistant in North London. Come and support our students aged 16 - 25 with learning differences, with their learning, work experience, personal growth and independence.  

We specialise in horticulture, retail and general employability skills. You will support our students to participate fully at the Harington Scheme’s training centres in Highgate and Hornsey or on work experience. There will also be opportunities to support with enrichment, mentoring and group activities.  We promote high standards of welfare, self-care and independent living skills for the individuals we support.  
  
About you  
  
We are looking for someone with excellent verbal and written communication skills, along with patience and understanding to work with students to give them maximum choice and independence. You must have previous experience working with learners with learning disabilities, ideally within a classroom setting. 

You should have literacy and numeracy skills with at least grade 4 in GCSE Maths & English.   

You may also be a keen gardener, have experience in retail or experience of supporting people into employment. 

About us  

Harington is an Ofsted regulated specialist college based in north London, working with young people with learning differences aged 16-25. Our students undertake individualised learning programmes that lead to vocational qualifications and other aims, including gardening, retail, English, maths, employability and independent living.  We also deliver a supported internship programme.   

Our charity's learning centres in Highgate and Hornsey alongside our charity's gardening business and two charity shops, provide a unique opportunity for students to practically apply their learning on work experience placements. We also work with other employers to provide opportunities in other settings to meet the aspirations of our students.  

Our larger Highgate training centre is located in beautiful grounds, with a 1.8 acre horticulture site where we grow vegetables and flowers to sell at local markets. 

Our benefits  

If you are looking for flexibility in a role to fit around your other life commitments this could be for you. We are looking for someone that can work between 3 or 4 days a week. These can be flexible. This is a term-time only role with shorter days which run from 8.45am - 4.15pm apart from Wednesdays, when we finish at 5pm. (Please see our website for the exact term dates). 
  
In addition to excellent staff training, our employees are also rewarded with various other benefits offered as part of your employment: 

• Opportunity to pursue recognised qualifications and training  

• Confidential employee assistance programme  

• Cycle to Work Scheme  

• Fully paid for DBS  

• Contributory pension scheme   

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion  

We value diversity and positively welcome applications from all backgrounds. This will help ensure our workforce better reflects the diverse wider community we support.   

Safeguarding   

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing and safety of our students and our staff.  We expect everybody working for the Harington to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced disclosure through the Disclosure and Barring Service for applications of employment as part of our safeguarding procedures.   

Some of our positions involve regulated activity relevant to vulnerable children, adults and young people. It is a criminal offence for people who are barred from working in regulated activity to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with that particular group. Our vacancies are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.  
  

How can you apply?  

To apply, please send us a CV and show how us how you meet all of the essential criteria in the person specification by writing a personal statement which is a maximum of two sides of A4. The closing date is 9am on Thursday 25th April 2024. The interviews will be held on Friday 3rd May 2024. 

All offers are conditional and subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks and references including an enhanced DBS check. The salary range advertised is based on the full-time equivalent and appointment on the scale is dependent on the role, qualifications and experience.  

Previous applicants need not apply.

Roma Outreach Worker (Full-time, 12-month fixed term contract)
Kingston upon Thames, Greater London
37.5 Hours per week

This role will require the person to work early mornings and late nights in order to conduct outreach shifts in the Borough.

UK Driving Licence and Romani or Romanian language skills are essential.

About Us

We are SPEAR, a charity dedicated to helping homeless people in South and West London find secure accommodation and work towards a positive future. For 30 years, we’ve worked tirelessly to support homeless people to recover from their personal issues and break down the barriers that they face. We recognise that homelessness is much more than just a housing issue, so we provide a range of accommodation and support services to help people reach their full potential.

The Benefits

– Salary of £31,500 per annum
– 34 days’ holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) increasing with length of service
– Pension scheme
– Access to a free Employee Assistance Programme
– A range of benefits including cycle to work scheme and staff wellbeing sessions
– Refer a friend bonus scheme

This is a superb opportunity for an individual with drive, focus and a desire to work with our outstanding charity to help us to combat homelessness. You’ll discover a passionate, supportive environment where the entire team are working toward the same goals and are dedicated to making positive change and producing great results.

The Role

The purpose of the Roma Outreach Worker role is to deliver an effective service to single people who are currently rough sleeping. This post will actively support Roma clients, providing a continued and consistent point of contact whilst assisting them in navigating the various change pathways available to them.

Are you passionate about utilising your language skills to assist in ending rough sleeping? Our organisation takes a proactive stance in supporting individuals away from rough sleeping, aiming for permanent transitions from rough sleeping.

We are seeking a dynamic and self-driven individual with language proficiency in Romanian or Romany to join our Kingston Outreach Team as a Roma Outreach Worker. In this pivotal role, you will engage in street outreach shifts, assess needs, and deliver personalised case management. It is the beginning of assisting clients on their journey from homelessness to independence.

To be considered for the role of Roma Outreach Worker, you will have:

- Able to speak Romani or Romanian fluently or to a high level.
- Full and clean UK driving licence.
- Good understanding of the Roma communities.
- Experience of working within the homelessness or social care sector.
- Have a creative, solution-focused approach to overcoming challenges.
- Knowledge of GDPR and data management.
- Knowledge of current drug and alcohol provision and relevant services, pathways and conditions.
- Emotional resilience to deal with challenging behaviour and to facilitate ongoing constructive engagement.
- Solid IT skills with the ability to record sound and accurate records in a timely fashion on IT applications such as CHAIN and Inform.
- A commitment to learning and continuous improvement.
- Experience of support planning and risk assessing clients with complex needs, including safeguarding knowledge.
- Able to develop positive and professional working relationships with clients to facilitate the best possible outcomes and address issues of social isolation and exclusion.
- Experience in conducting client assessments and interviews and outcome monitoring.

For further and more detailed information on the role and person specification, please review the Job Description.

SPEAR is an equal opportunities employer, values diversity and is strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environment is, the better our work will be.

At SPEAR, we welcome and encourage applications from everyone, regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. We are facing diverse problems, so need diverse people to tackle them.

So, if you’re seeking your next challenge as a Roma Outreach Worker, please apply via the button shown.

At Thrive, we use gardening to enable people with long term health conditions and disabilities to improve their health and wellbeing and our vision is that Social & Therapeutic Horticulture (STH) services are available wherever people live.

We’re looking for a supportive Regional Centre Manager who can enable our passionate and committed Birmingham team to deliver an excellent service for our client gardeners.

Proactive business development skills are needed to identify new partnerships and expand our program delivery to ensure the continued sustainability of the centre.

If you are a confident manager with experience of working in social care or charities, Thrive can offer you a varied and rewarding challenge.

Our Regional Centre Manager in Birmingham will be based in our Birmingham Kings Heath office, Option for hybrid role with up to 2days Remote/Home working per week.

Appointment to this post will be subject to a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service check. Thrive complies fully with the DBS Code of Practice. Having a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an individual from working for Thrive.

For more information, please download the Information Pack. For an informal conversation about the role, please email recruitment in the first instance.

To apply, please email recruitment with your CV and a written statement explaining how you meet the person specification and what you will bring to Thrive.

Closing date for applications: 9am on Thursday 25th April 2024.

First round interviews will be on friday 10th May in Birmingham

Introducing Harington

Harington is an Ofsted registered specialist college based in North London rated good, working with around 52 young people with learning differences aged 16-25. Our mission is to create an inclusive environment, that delivers outstanding personalised education, learning, and support, which leads to further education, employment opportunities, and a fulfilling life for each of our students. 

We specialise in horticulture, retail and general employability. Our students undertake individualised learning programmes and supported internships that lead to vocational qualifications and achieving other aims. We support the wellbeing of our young people through providing mentoring, counselling, enrichment and other one-to-one support.

Our charity has two learning centres in Highgate and Hornsey. We also operate a gardening business and two charity shops, providing income for our charity, work experience placements for our students and employment for 14 young people. We work with local employers and partners to provide work experience and other opportunities for our students.

The Role

This is an exciting time to join the Harington, as we have recently appointed a new Principal/CEO. We want to ensure that the Harington is able to fulfil and secure its mission to benefit our young people, both now and into the future.

In the next year we will consolidate what we do well and seek to strengthen the areas where we could do better. The Interim COO will work with all stakeholders and closely with the Principal/CEO to review, plan and implement the necessary changes. The role is initially for 9 months, but it is anticipated that it will continue after the initial review and planning period.  

This Interim Chief Operating Officer role will:-

1)Support the development and implementation of the strategic plan and through the annual Operations Plan and Budget, and be responsible for measuring and evaluating progress against goals and targets

2)Drive excellence and efficiency across Finance, HR, Governance, Operations, and IT, strengthening and embedding the right policies, systems, processes, technology and infrastructure ensuring seamless execution and robust management of risk.

3)Manage our three commercial businesses (two charity shops and Harington Gardeners) so they meet our social, learning and business aims

4)Oversee Harington’s fundraising so we secure the income we need from trusts and foundations, individual donors and community fundraising

5)Ensure effective management of the buildings and estate of a multi-site organisation, and the support services required to provide a suitable and safe environment for learning and working, that meets the required health and safety standards

6) Ensure that all staff feel valued and supported, with effective management of staff, operations and administration

The person

 You are an exceptional senior leader that is passionate about achieving the best outcomes for young people with learning differences.

Working as part of the senior leadership and management team you will ensure that Harington is a safe environment where students can learn, work, thrive and grow. You will ensure our staff team is valued and supported, and our management team and trustees are kept up to date and fully informed.

You are an energetic, organised, and positive team player, similarly comfortable working independently. It is a very varied role and one that needs calm focus as well as spontaneity and initiative.

You are adept at getting to the root of an issue, finding the solution and making things run smoothly and efficiently.

We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements and would consider 4 days a week or compressed hours.

Essential skills

• Successful senior leader within a medium sized organisation for a minimum of three years, with a results-proven track record
• Worked in charity and/or education setting
• Sound understanding of financial management, reporting and accounting systems
• Experience of successfully managing and implementing changes to improve the way things run
• Highly motivated and driven self-starter, able to adapt quickly when priorities change
• Highly proficient in Microsoft Office products and database management systems
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience in creating high-level reports and presentations

Our benefits 

In addition to excellent staff training, our employees are also rewarded with various other benefits offered as part of your employment: 

• Confidential employee assistance programme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Fully paid for DBS
• Contributory pension scheme

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion 

We value diversity and positively welcome applications from all backgrounds. This will help ensure our workforce better reflects the diverse wider community we support. Applicants who declare a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the role will be guaranteed an interview.

Safeguarding 

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the wellbeing and safety of our students and our staff.  We expect everybody working for the Harington to share this commitment. The successful applicant will be required to undertake an enhanced disclosure through the Disclosure and Barring Service for applications of employment as part of our safeguarding procedures.

Some of our positions involve regulated activity relevant to vulnerable children, adults and young people. It is a criminal offence for people who are barred from working in regulated activity to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with that particular group. Our vacancies are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

All offers are conditional and subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks and references including an enhanced DBS check. The salary range advertised is based on the full-time equivalent and appointment on the scale is dependent on the role, qualifications and experience.

We care about our staff and our volunteers.

The logistics and communications officer role is to support the whole staff team, volunteers and the stakeholders of Let’s Grow Preston. We are looking for a flexible, competent and creative person to join our dynamic team. The role is predominantly administrative, but there will be days when the role will require you to collect food for distribution, load and unload the van with trolleys and plants for an event, or just to drop off at another community hub.

A full clean driving licence is essential to enable the post holder to drive the charity’s van.
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES
1. To assist and communicate with the support of Let's Grow Preston's existing network of community groups across the PR postcode area and support regular network meetings.
2. To assist and communicate with the support of Let's Grow Preston's existing network of contacts within the charity, public and private sectors; including local schools.
3. To support the work of the staff to ensure that all communications are delivered in a professional and friendly style.
4. To ensure that all volunteers have access to and understand the volunteer handbook and that any amendments in policy are alerted to the volunteers and staff in a timely fashion.
5. To oversee the calendars of Let’s Grow Preston, to help to coordinate the volunteering sessions and the van to ensure that there are appropriate staff to cover volunteering sessions and that there are adequate resources such as the van, gazebos are available, drivers forms completed and filed etc.
6. To assist the Chief Executive and staff to establish robust methods of evaluating the work of Lets Grow Preston against project indicators.
7. To deliver and co-ordinate workshops, evaluation and feedback, reviewing activity and making recommendations for revised activity, or new opportunities.
8. To promote the work of Lets Grow Preston and support, coordinate and communicate on the delivery of key events in the organisations calendar e.g. Spring Fair, Christmas Fair etc.
9. To develop and implement robust health and safety procedures and working practices including keeping of relevant records.
10. To keep accurate records of equipment provided, activities undertaken, location of activities and number of participants.
11. To support the Chief Executive and Volunteer Co-ordinator in ways in which local businesses can be involved and linked with LGP to promote corporate involvement and support going forward.
12. To produce regular LGP newsletters and update LGP's website and social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram and X.
13. To help keep all of the LGP sites clean and tidy including the office spaces and other buildings.
14. To uphold and demonstrate the spirit and core values of Let’s Grow Preston
15. Any other duties commensurate with the post.

• Min 5 GCSE at Grade A_C or equivelent and above inclusing Maths and English
• Keen interest in horticulture
• Experience of dealing with general public
• High level of IT competency 
• Attention to detail
• Excellent communication skills, time managament
• An interest in creativity and art
• Commitment to our work and our core values
• Ability to be able to work on your own in a community garden or building as well as working as a team
• Ability to remain calm, use tact and diplomacy, and instigate solutions resulting in positive action/change