Head of Operations

At the National Garden Scheme a central office with a team of 13 is the hub for a wide range of activity involving hundreds of volunteers, thousands of garden owners and a large audience of beneficiary charities, suppliers, supporters and partners, as well as members of the public who want to visit gardens and engage with the charity.

The Head of Operations leads and manages County Support, a team of four who deliver the resources, information and support needed by our volunteer county organising teams who support the garden owners. The Head of Operations is key in ensuring that the volunteers feel valued and supported. 

The right candidate will have experience of database management, ideally Microsoft Dynamics, so that they can update, interrogate and maintain our database and online portal through which garden owners register and manage their garden data. We are currently updating our IT system and there will be a need for change management to ensure that staff and volunteers are comfortable using the new system.

The successful applicant will thrive in a busy, hands-on and varied role and the key requirements are efficiency and excellent communication skills.  This is a role for a meticulous, problem-solving people person.

The ethos of the organisation is rooted in generosity and kindness and the office is a warm and welcoming place to work.  

Key responsibilities

Manage the county support team

• Lead and manage the county support team
• Manage smooth working relations between the county support team and other staff
• Lead the county support team in their day to day activities and relationships with county organising teams, garden owners, visitors and other stakeholders

To work closely with and manage liaison with county team volunteers

• To work with county organisers to maximise levels of service from head office
• To work with county organisers for smooth recruitment and succession for volunteer roles

To manage and deliver the annual data gathering and fulfilment operations

• To work with county support and county teams in annual gathering of garden data
• To ensure timely delivery of material to publisher
• To organise and deliver with county support the annual delivery of bulk orders to county teams

To manage key operational elements for the organisation

• To oversee the insurance of garden openings, including claims

To support the Chief Executive in the provision of HR to employees and volunteers

• To recruit, induct and train new members of staff as required
• To carry out performance reviews for some members of staff
• To manage welcome days at head office for new volunteers.

Other duties include:

• Attend national garden shows (e.g. Chelsea) and other events as required.
• Protect and enhance the organisation’s public reputation when speaking on its behalf.

Benefits:

• 28 days holiday (inclusive of public holidays), subsequent increases up to 33 days.
• Permanent, full time role, 35 hours a week – 9am to 5pm with one hour lunch break.

Person Specification

Skills

Essential/Desirable

Confident knowledge of Microsoft Office suite

E

Knowledge and experience of databases, preferably Microsoft Dynamics

D

Experience as an office administrator

D

Personal Skills

Efficiency and reliability

E

Excellent interpersonal skills

E

Excellent oral communication skills

E

Accuracy and attention to detail

E

Ability to prioritise and work to strict deadlines

E

Car owner and driver

E