About this role
Job summary
As a Lead Gardener at Southern Hospice Group, you will play a vital role in shaping and maintaining welcoming, peaceful outdoor environments that offer comfort, reflection, and calm for patients, families, and staff. Our hospice grounds provide a highly varied and rewarding setting, from propagation in the polytunnel to kitchen gardens, wildflower meadows, woodland walks, wildlife ponds, private contemporary patient gardens, and expansive green spaces.
Main duties of the job
In this role, you will take both a hands-on and supervisory position, leading garden staff and volunteers while maintaining the highest horticultural standards across all areas. Your work will directly contribute to wellbeing, offering a strong sense of purpose, pride, and job satisfaction.
You will be responsible for planning and coordinating workloads, ensuring compliance with health, safety, and environmental standards, and working collaboratively with the Grounds Manager to deliver high-quality outcomes. Alongside practical gardening duties, you will guide and support volunteers and corporate groups, creating a positive and well-organised experience for everyone involved.
If you are an experienced gardener with strong leadership skills, a passion for horticulture, and a desire to make a meaningful difference, this is a rewarding opportunity to combine responsibility, creativity, and purpose.
About us
Southern Hospice Group is the largest group of hospices in Sussex and one of the largest in the UK. We are committed to providing exceptional and compassionate care to adults, children and their families across Sussex. Bringing our teams and resources together as one organisation means we can focus on new and exciting visions and plans for our people and patients and provide even greater opportunities for our workforce.
St Barnabas House provides specialist palliative care to adults in the Worthing, Adur, Arun and Henfield areas through a range of services, including in-patient care and community living well services.
Chestnut Tree House is the childrens hospice for East and West Sussex and South East Hampshire, providing specialist palliative care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.
Martlets provides essential care to people affected by terminal illness in Brighton and Hove and surrounding areas. Our expert teams provide the very best care and support, helping patients and their loved ones to live life to the full during the precious time they have together.
Job description Job responsibilities
Supervise garden staff and volunteers, providing clear direction, guidance, and support to maintain high standards across all sites.Ability to carry out a full range of horticultural and grounds maintenance tasks independently, without the need for supervision or ongoing guidance.Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.Carry out maintenance of lawns, flower and vegetable gardens, including watering, fertilizing, and caring for trees, shrubs, turf, and associated hard landscaping features such as irrigation systems and water features.Manage teams of volunteers and corporate groups on a weekly basis, ensuring guidance and support are effectively provided, while also supporting gardening staff to deliver the same high standards of supervision and assistance.Work with external suppliers.Take responsibility for the upkeep of garden sheds, workshops, tools, and machinery, overseeing garden staff to ensure high standards of cleanliness, organisation, and safety are consistently maintained.Lead on grounds compliance checks, including daily and monthly playground inspections and routine water feature treatments, ensuring accurate documentation while overseeing and supporting garden staff to carry out these responsibilities effectively.Identify and treat pests, diseases, and plant health issues.Reporting and updating to the Grounds Manager of any progression or issues.Responsible for seasonal growing of vegetables and plants.Develop and coordinate work schedules for the gardening team, working closely with the Grounds Manager to incorporate wider operational input, set priorities, and ensure tasks are allocated efficiently and effectively.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture (or equivalent qualification). PA1 (Safe Use of Pesticides) and PA6 (Hand held Applicators) Certificates. CS30 Chainsaw Maintenance and Cross Cutting.
Experience Essential
Proven experience in a horticultural or garden maintenance role. Experience in kitchen gardens, including crop planning and food production (desirable). Experience in a supervisory or team leader position. Experience in planning and delivering seasonal planting schemes. Experience in maintaining lawns, trees, shrubs, and herbaceous borders. Experience of growing and managing crops within a polytunnel, including planting, watering, feeding, and harvesting. Experience/knowledge of health and safety at work, manual handling and adhering to safe systems of work e.g. risk assessments.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details Employer name Southern Hospice Group
Address Titnore Lane
Worthing
West Sussex
BN12 6NZ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.stbarnabas-hospice.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)