37 Garden jobs

Youth Volunteering Officer

35 hours per week, temporary contract until December 2028.

We are Chester Zoo

We're not just an award-winning visitor attraction that's home to 30,000 incredible animals within 128 acres of stunning gardens. We're a major conservation charity committed to preventing extinction and restoring nature, both locally and globally.

As the world faces an extinction crisis, we're making a significant contribution to conservation when it's needed most. We are Chester Zoo and we prevent extinction.

The Role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Youth Volunteering Officer to join our Volunteering Team within the Conservation Education and Engagement Directorate.

As a Youth Volunteering Officer, you will work closely with the Volunteer Manager and the Networks for Nature project staff to deliver an inclusive volunteering programme for young people aged 14-25. The role focuses on creating meaningful opportunities that connect young people with conservation and social action, whilst supporting their personal development and wellbeing.

The Youth Volunteering Officer will recruit, train and mentor young volunteers, ensuring high-quality experiences that are inclusive, safe and impactful. The Youth Volunteering Officer will also recruit, train and support adult Youth Champion Volunteers who will be empower and support the youth volunteers to participate and engage in the volunteer programme.

As Youth Volunteer Officer, you will co-ordinate a supported programme for young people that will include practical conservation, visitor engagement and the Conservation Changemakers programme, designing and delivering their own projects while recognising and evidencing the skills they gain.

The role will also support the delivery of our wider youth programmes including our Environmental Leadership courses, and Youth Network events supporting pathways for young people to access training, events, and volunteer experiences.

We're looking for someone who can:

Programme Delivery

With guidance from the Volunteer Manager, coordinate and deliver youth volunteering opportunities for young people aged 14-25, including practical conservation activities, visitor engagement opportunities and social action projects. Support young people to develop skills, confidence and experience through meaningful volunteering.

Volunteer Recruitment and Support

Recruit, induct, train and support youth volunteers, ensuring they receive a positive and rewarding volunteering experience. Support young people to access pathways into conservation, community action and the wider youth programme. Recruit, train and support Youth Champion Volunteers who play a key role in encouraging and facilitating youth participation within the programme.

Inclusive Participation

Work proactively to reduce barriers to participation and provide tailored support for young people from diverse backgrounds, including those with disabilities, neurodiversity, mental health challenges or socio-economic disadvantage.

Youth-led Projects and Co-production

Coordinate and facilitate youth-led conservation and community action projects through the Conservation Changemakers programme. Enable young people to generate ideas, plan activities, take ownership of projects and evidence their learning and achievements.

Events, Training and Activities Planning and Delivery

With support from the Volunteer Manager, deliver volunteer events, training sessions, workshops and networking opportunities for youth volunteers, working with colleagues and partners to provide engaging and high-quality experiences. Support the delivery of youth programme events, including Environmental Leadership courses.

Participant Engagement Monitoring

Monitor participation through surveys, feedback mechanisms and regular check-ins. Collate engagement and outcome data, contributing to project evaluation and reporting for internal stakeholders and funders.

Daily Volunteer Engagement

Manage day-to-day communication with youth volunteers and Youth Champion Volunteers, including responding to enquiries, processing applications, maintaining records, organising rotas and training bookings, and providing ongoing support.

Safeguarding, Safety and Risk Assessments

Work with the Volunteer Manager to ensure all youth volunteering activities operate within safeguarding policies and procedures. Assist with risk assessments and ensure that appropriate welfare, wellbeing and safety measures are embedded throughout all activities.

Partnership Working

Work with the Volunteer Manager to develop effective working relationships with schools, colleges, youth organisations, community groups and relevant internal departments to increase participation, reduce barriers to engagement and strengthen programme delivery.

What makes Chester Zoo a great place to work?

Well, where do we start? Here goes…

We’re a huge team of conservationists, scientists, educators, animal welfare experts, marketeers, visitor experience professionals, environmental policy influencers; the list goes on. Each and every one of us is on a mission to make Chester Zoo the best in the world, and our planet a better place.
As the UK’s biggest and best zoo, we have ambitious goals, exciting plans, and there’s always lots going on here. We’re an inclusive and diverse organisation, made up of over 600 permanent and 500 temporary team members, and we know how important it is to invest in our colleagues to help boost their career development. We have ambitious goals, and we want you to be with us for the long term on our exciting journey.

Our working environment could not be more different from a typical office – where else can you see critically endangered orangutans from your office window, or stroll among rare giraffes and tigers on your lunch break?

The Package

• Fixed term contract until December 2028

• 35 hours per week

• Salary £24,062.50 per annum (pro rata based on 35 hours per week)

• The postholder will work 5 days out of 7 including a regular weekend day

• 33 days annual leave plus the option to buy or sell up to 5 days (pro rota)

• Staff pass so you can visit the zoo during your time off, plus multiple complimentary tickets for your friends and family

• Cycle to work scheme

• Healthcare plan

• Discounted gym membership

• Discounts on cinema tickets, restaurants, high street shops and more via Perks

• Pension scheme with generous employer contributions

Our Requirements

• An understanding of and commitment to Chester Zoo's mission, vision and values.

• Experience of working with young people.

• Experience of coordinating, supporting or working with volunteers.

• Experience of delivering training, workshops or activities with a range of audiences.

• Knowledge of inclusive practice and supporting young people with diverse needs.

• Strong organisational, administrative and planning skills.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Excellent communication and literacy skills including by phone, face to face and via email/online discussion boards

• Ability to build positive relationships with young people, colleagues and partner organisations.

• Sound working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications and digital communication tools.

• Experience of working in a busy office environment as part of a team & on own initiative

• Full UK driving licence.

Although not essential, the following would be desirable:

• Knowledge of youth work/ youth engagement which could be demonstrated by a relevant qualification in youth work, education, community development, related field or relevant experience

• Experience of delivering conservation, environmental or outdoor learning activities.

• Experience of supporting young people facing barriers to participation.

• Working knowledge of volunteer management systems.

• Knowledge of safeguarding legislation and best practice.

• Experience of monitoring and evaluating volunteering activities

Additional Information

• Due to the nature of the role, this post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

• The closing date for applications is 27/09/2026.

Networks for Nature is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.

Job title: Team Lead

Location: Golspie, Invergordon or Fort William
Hours: 21 hours per week
Salary: £29,176.75 FTE / £17,506.05 pro-rata
Contract: Permanent

Change Mental Health is looking for a Team Lead to support the delivery of our community mental health services across Highland.

This is a hands-on leadership role combining day-to-day team management with direct mental health practice. You’ll lead and support staff across our Hub and Outreach services, helping ensure people receive consistent, high-quality and person-centred support. 

About the role
You’ll manage staff and service delivery, provide regular supervision and work reviews, oversee referrals and caseload allocation, and help your team develop their practice.

Alongside your leadership responsibilities, you’ll maintain a small caseload where appropriate and remain involved in 1:1 support, group activities and community-based mental health work. You’ll also work closely with local partners, identify opportunities for service improvement and use outcome information to help demonstrate the impact of our work. 

Essential

• Experience working in community-based, recovery-focused or non-clinical mental health services. 
• Experience supporting, supervising and providing guidance to staff. 
• Experience delivering structured 1:1 support and outcome-focused planning. 
• Experience facilitating groups or community-based activities. 
• Strong understanding of risk assessment and safe decision-making. 
• SVQ Level 4 Social Services and Healthcare (Adults) or willingness to work towards this if required. 
• SSSC registration, or willingness to register if required. 

Desirable

• Knowledge of local community services, referral pathways and support networks. 
•  Experience supporting people experiencing trauma, isolation or complex circumstances. 
•  Understanding of co-production, lived-experience approaches and relevant Scottish health and social care policy.

What we offer

• 37 days’ annual leave (pro rata) 
• Two paid Mental Wellbeing Days
• Enhanced sick pay and leave entitlements
• Professional development, including funded opportunities 
• 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Blue Light Card eligibility
• Support for flexible working and work-life balance

The role is typically worked Tuesday to Thursday, 9am–5pm, although some evening or weekend working may occasionally be required. The role may also participate in an on-call rota. 

If you’re an experienced mental health practitioner ready to lead and develop others while staying connected to frontline practice, we’d love to hear from you.

About Perennial

Perennial is the UK's only charity supporting everyone working in or retired from the horticultural community.

Working in horticulture isn't always straightforward. Challenges such as seasonality of work, physical injury, isolation, ill-health and financial hardship can arise when least expected.

As the charity for the industry, Perennial has a unique understanding of these challenges. Our free and confidential support services help horticulturists and their families navigate difficult periods in their lives through practical, financial and emotional support. Delivered through a network of caseworkers, debt advisers and wellbeing services across the UK, our work helps individuals and families build resilience and find stability during times of crisis.

At the heart of our work is a commitment to helping people in horticulture thrive. By offering the right support at the right time, we strengthen wellbeing, improve financial security, support family relationships and help people remain connected to the industry they love.

Alongside our support services, Perennial operates a select number of gardens and learning environments that help develop horticultural skills and careers, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the sector.

For more than 185 years, we have been helping people build better lives within horticulture.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to shape and grow Perennial's trusts and foundations fundraising programme.

Our current trust income is modest but established, with a loyal group of family trust supporters generating circa £50,000–£60,000 annually against a growing pipeline of opportunities. We have recently strengthened our Services Directorate, creating a culture where colleagues are increasingly developing new projects and approaches that have strong potential for charitable funding.

We believe there is significant untapped opportunity within both our existing services and emerging projects. From advice and advocacy services to health, wellbeing, family support and employability programmes, Perennial delivers work that aligns strongly with the priorities of many charitable trusts and foundations.

This role is as much about developing fundable opportunities as it is about writing applications. We are looking for someone who enjoys building as well as managing; someone capable of identifying opportunities, developing persuasive cases for support and helping colleagues transform strong and growing service delivery into compelling funding propositions.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to build a trusts and foundations programme with genuine growth potential and play a key role in unlocking significant future income for Perennial.

Purpose of the Role

To develop and grow income from charitable trusts and foundations by identifying opportunities, building meaningful relationships and securing significant grants for both core services and project-based activity.

The postholder will play a key role in strengthening Perennial's readiness for trust fundraising by helping colleagues develop projects, articulate impact, evidence need and create compelling cases for support.

A central aspect of the role will be collaborating with teams across the organisation to bring our work to life for funders, helping colleagues translate their expertise, ideas and service delivery into attractive and fundable propositions.

The successful candidate will maximise support from Perennial's existing trust and foundation partners whilst developing a strong pipeline of new funders capable of supporting both current services and future strategic priorities. They will also work with senior colleagues to develop compelling narratives around organisational sustainability, long-term impact and the strategic use of charitable resources.

Key responsibilities

Trusts & Foundations fundraising

• Develop and deliver a trusts and foundations fundraising strategy.
• Build and manage a pipeline of charitable trusts, foundations and institutional funders.
• Prepare high-quality funding applications, proposals, expressions of interest and cases for support.
• Research and identify new funding opportunities aligned with Perennial's strategic priorities.
• Manage funder stewardship, reporting and grant compliance requirements.
• Maintain accurate records of applications, reporting deadlines and relationships within the CRM.
• Monitor income performance and provide regular pipeline and forecasting reports.

Project development

• Collaborate with teams across the organisation to bring our work to life for funders.
• Support colleagues to identify, shape and develop fundable projects and services.
• Work closely with service leads to gather impact data, outcomes, beneficiary stories and evidence of need.
• Help develop funding propositions ranging from small service enhancements to larger strategic initiatives.
• Ensure projects are clearly costed and supported by realistic budgets and outcomes frameworks.

Relationship management

• Develop strong relationships with new and existing funders.
• Create tailored stewardship plans for key supporters.
• Arrange visits, presentations and meetings with prospective funders.
• Act as a trusted internal adviser on trusts and foundations fundraising.

Strategic development

• Work with senior colleagues to develop compelling narratives around Perennial's financial position, reserves and long-term sustainability.
• Identify opportunities for multi-year and transformational funding.
• Monitor trends in trusts and foundations funding and advise on emerging opportunities.

Person Specification

Essential

• Proven track record of securing significant grants from trusts and foundations.
• Experience managing a trusts and foundations pipeline.
• Excellent proposal and bid-writing skills.
• Experience developing compelling cases for support.
• Strong relationship management and stewardship skills.
• Ability to translate complex services into fundable propositions.
• Experience working with project budgets and impact reporting.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills.
• Experience using fundraising CRM systems.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams.

Highly desirable

• Experience helping organisations build or expand a trusts fundraising programme.
• Experience securing five-figure and six-figure grants.
• Experience fundraising for welfare, health, employment, community or advice services.
• Understanding of balance sheet and reserves issues and how these can be addressed in grant applications.
• Membership of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.

Success in the First 12 Months

The successful candidate will:

• Produce a comprehensive trusts and foundations fundraising strategy.
• Build a robust pipeline of prospective funders.
• Develop a portfolio of compelling funding propositions and cases for support
• Strengthen internal project development processes.
• Increase the value and number of trust applications submitted.
• Secure significant new grant income.
• Establish strong relationships with key funders and prospects.
• Improve understanding of trusts fundraising across the organisation.

Dean Farm Trust is seeking an experienced and compassionate Sanctuary Operations Manager to take responsibility for the day-to-day leadership and operational management of our 32-acre animal sanctuary near Chepstow.

Home to 200 rescued animals, including pigs, cows, sheep, goats, equines and birds, Dean Farm Trust provides a home for life to animals in need. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role with animal welfare at its heart.

The Sanctuary Operations Manager will lead our on-site team, working through our Team Leaders to ensure the Sanctuary operates safely, effectively and to the highest standards of animal welfare. The role will oversee staffing and rotas, volunteer development, recruitment and training, budgets and resources, facilities and maintenance, land and pasture management, health and safety, compliance, contractors, projects and the operational delivery of Sanctuary events and activities.

We are looking for someone with strong leadership and people-management experience who is confident managing a busy operational environment and developing both staff and volunteers. You will need to be organised, practical and able to balance the immediate demands of running a sanctuary with longer-term planning and improvement.

This is an important appointment for Dean Farm Trust as we strengthen our operational structure and build a sustainable future for the Sanctuary. The successful candidate will work closely with the Director and Trustees while taking real ownership of Sanctuary operations and providing strong, consistent on-site leadership.

A genuine commitment to animal welfare and to the values of Dean Farm Trust is essential.

Please read our full Candidate Pack before applying. It includes the complete Job Description, information about Dean Farm Trust and further background on why we are recruiting for this role now.

About the opportunity

We are now recruiting for a Programme Coordinator for our schools in London.

• The London Programme Coordinator oversees a caseload of up to seven partner schools. They manage the logistics and organisation of each school’s tutoring programme, working closely with the schools and pupils and managing the pool of volunteer tutors. They attend the weekly tutoring sessions at each school, as well as overseeing the quality of face to face and online tutoring, always working to deliver a great impact.
• The London Programme Coordinator supports the recruitment of volunteer tutors, manages the tutor sign up process, develops relationships with schools including their Senior Leadership Team and subject teachers, collects data for monitoring and evaluation purposes, and works with other internal teams on business development opportunities.

Deadline: Tuesday, 22nd September 2026
Interviews:Wednesday, 30th September 2026
Start date: Ideally, Monday 19th October 2026
Contract and hours: Full time, fixed-term contract until 31st July 2027. A full working week is 37.5 hours.

Duties and responsibilities
 

• Responsible for the delivery of Action Tutoring’s tutoring programmes in partner schools, whether online or face to face. This includes working closely to manage all key stakeholders: schools, pupils and volunteer tutors; regularly attending weekly tutoring sessions; leading on reviewing and improving programme delivery, using data to reliably assess programme performance.
• Responsible for overseeing the quality of tutoring, engaging in quality assurance processes, and providing feedback to volunteer tutors to ensure effective and impactful delivery. Provide regular check-ins with tutors to ensure ample support and guidance is given to provide targeted tuition to pupils.
• Develop and strengthen relationships with key stakeholders in partner schools, including members of the Senior Leadership Team and subject teachers. Maintain clear and timely communication with relevant school staff, offering regular check-ins with key school stakeholders, and contribute to impact reporting to schools. Supporting the Programme Manager with strategies to retain and sustain school partnerships.
• Update and accurately maintain Action Tutoring’s database, including collecting timely data for monitoring and evaluation purposes, such as attendance records, baseline and interim assessments and pupil surveys. Reporting regularly on key performance indicators to key stakeholders and using them to enhance programme delivery. Work with the Programme Manager on business development, approaching new schools that might be interested in working with Action Tutoring.
• Proactively report to the Programme Manager on the details of Action Tutoring’s operations in their partner schools.

Person specification 

Qualification criteria:
 

• The right to work in the UK.

We are looking for some of the following attributes, though you might be more experienced in some areas than others:
 
Being the sole representative for a partner school, you will need to use your ability to work independently and with initiative, often organising your own time to meet deadlines. You’ll also need to have a strong aptitude for developing relationships with a range of stakeholders ensuring you uphold high standards of communication and adapt your style for different audiences. The nature of this role will also require you to demonstrate adaptability, resilience and the ability to cope with some uncertainty. 
 

This position would suit you if you’re looking to develop your experience in the education or charity sectors. Existing experience of working with young people and/or project management in a charity or education setting would be an asset. As a charity that values and celebrates people's diversity and champions opportunities for all young people, we are keen to receive applications from people who have experienced disadvantage and from those who are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who are currently underrepresented in the organisation. The role would be best suited if you are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as, committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children.

You will likely be more successful in this role if you have: 
 

• Experience of working with young people and/or project management. 
• Evidence of an interest in education and/or the third sector

The Vacancy

This exciting role combines supporting the management of Methodist historic places of worship and other spaces across Britain with interpretation and audience development. The Methodist Heritage Officer will advocate for Methodist Heritage, contribute to delivering the Methodist Heritage Strategy 2026-2032 and work towards our historic spaces being sustainable, welcoming and engaging. For example, you will aim to develop and promote a compelling and integrated missional visitor offer with our museums, and resource the pilgrimage opportunities offered by our historic chapels.

About You

We are seeking an experienced Christian heritage professional, who is passionate about the development of Methodist Heritage and its use as a tool to deliver contemporary Christian mission. You will work with our four nationally accredited museums, but also with our many other heritage sites and historic chapels. Working with the expert volunteers in the Methodist Heritage Committee and teams at our heritage sites, as well as Connexional (national) staff team colleagues in archives, property and communications, for example, you will be someone who can ensure coordinated best practice for the Church in heritage management in relation to historic properties, advise on collection care and develop engaging interpretation and outreach.

This role has an occupational requirement to be a practicing Christian in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

We are also open to considering remote/homeworking arrangements (salary may vary accordingly).

If you meet most of the requirements, we encourage you to apply; transferable skills and experience will also be taken into consideration.

Disclosure and Barring Service

An enhanced DBS disclosure is required for this position.  The Methodist Church will cover the associated costs.

Informal Enquiries

For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Jo Hibbard, Director of Heritage & Art .

For questions or reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please email HR Team.

Key Dates

Closing Date for Applications: 1 October 2026

Interviews (on-site in London): 12 October 2026

Please note: We reserve the right to close this advert early if sufficient applications are received.