Job Description September 2026

Role: Gardener Region: Edinburgh & East

Reports to: Head Gardener Pay Grade: Grade 2 - £28,562 pro-rata, per annum

Location: Newhailes House & Gardens,

Musselburgh, EH21 6RY

Type of Contract: Fixed-Term, 5 Years Contract.

Full-Time, 40 Hours Per Week.

COST CENTRE: 3NEH ACTIVITY CODE: GAZ

JOB PURPOSE

This job exists to ensure that the garden, grounds and policies across the Property are managed and

maintained as an internationally recognised garden of outstanding horticultural importance,

contributing to the property’s overall conservation and development, and its enjoyment by visitors and

supporters.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

▪ Undertake skilled practical maintenance of the garden and estate e.g., managing trees and shrubs,

herbaceous plants, and bulbs; turf care; pest/disease/weed control; staking, plant nutrition,

composting and soil improvement to the required standards expected by the Trust an d for the

maximum safety of, and enjoyment by visitors

▪ Contribute to the management, conservation, and development of the garden and estate through

plant propagation, cultivation, production of seed, sustainable growing practices and the inputting

of appropriate plant records on IRIS database and labelling to ensure

▪ Design and implement planting enhancements, including borders and seasonal displays,

contributing to structural planting and year-round interest

▪ Manage specialist Plant collections, including roses and fruit trees, through appropriate pruning,

training, feeding and monitoring of plant health

▪ Monitor tree health and conduct tree inspection and arboricultural tasks in line with certification

and safety procedures

▪ Operate and maintain horticultural machinery including tractors, ride-on mowers, strimmers and

chainsaws in accordance with Trust Health & Safety procedures, completing relevant records where

required

▪ Support growing systems and environmentally responsible pest, disease and weed management

practices

▪ Contribute to operational work planning by identifying priorities , proposing improvements and

working independently when required

▪ Supervise and support volunteers, providing instruction and ensuring safe and effective task

delivery

▪ Demonstrate ability to work individually or as part of a team across a wide range of activities across

the garden & estate

▪ Assist with interpretation and visitor engagement activities, including guided tours and workshops ,

promoting understanding of the garden and the work of the Trust

▪ Ensure compliance with Trust Health, Safety and Environmental policies and procedures, including

timely completion of HAVS, spraying records and attendance of annual health monitoring

▪ Foster positive relationships with visitors, local communities and other organisations and promote

the work of the Trust when & where appropriate

▪ Undertake such other reasonable duties as may from time to time be required to ensure the

smooth running of the property as required by the Operation Manager / Property Management

team

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Qualifications

Essential

▪ HNC in Horticulture supported by knowledge and or 5 years practical work experience OR RHS

Level 2 in the Principles of Horticulture

▪ Tractor driving licence

▪ Chainsaw maintenance and felling (up to 380mm) certificate

▪ PA1 and PA6 spraying certificates

▪ Basic tree inspection certificate

▪ PASMA Tower Platforms certificate

▪ Emergency First Aid at Work + F certificate

▪ Driving licence valid for driving in the UK

Experience

Essential

▪ Demonstrable experience in amenity and heritage gardening in a garden open to the public

▪ Strong practical plantsmanship including pruning, propagation, cultivation and plant identification

▪ Demonstrable skills in food production and growing

▪ Experience using and maintaining horticultural machinery safely

▪ Sound working knowledge of Health and Safety procedures

▪ Ability to work independently and prioritise tasks

▪ Good interpersonal and communication skills

▪ Experience supervising volunteers

▪ Experience contributing to garden development plans or planting schemes

▪ Experience in delivering informal interpretation and workshops

▪ Experience of tree inspection or arboricultural practices

▪ A high eye for detail and finish, quality standard and best practice

▪ Competent IT skills sufficient for maintaining plant records, use of the internet/intranet, assisting

volunteers, on-line learning, management of online forms

▪ An understanding and commitment to the aims and objectives of the National Trust for Scotland

DIMENSIONS AND SCOPE OF JOB

People Management

▪ Not a line manager

▪ On occasion supervises volunteers

▪ Works collaboratively with the Head Gardener and garden team

▪ Regular daily interaction with visitors and property colleagues

Finance Management

▪ Not a budget-holder

▪ Expected to use resource efficiently and contribute to cost-effective garden management

Tools / equipment / systems

▪ Regular use of tractors, strimmers, hedge-cutters, chainsaws

▪ Regular user of horticultural hand tools

▪ Occasional user of IT systems for records, training and administrative tasks

This role is one for which the duties, responsibilities or accountabilities of the role require you to undertake a criminal records

check, specifically a Basic Disclosure.

The Purpose, Context, Key Responsibilities, and Person Specification reflect the requirements of the job at the time of issue.

The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any

activities that it believes to be reasonable within the broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should forward their Curriculum Vitae (CV) or an Application Form to the People

Services Department (Applications) by email via workforus@nts.org.uk by Friday 18th September 2026.

Please ensure your CV includes your full name and contact details, the CV file sent to us should be titled

your first initial and surname. When submitting your CV please state the position and job location of the

vacancy you are applying for in the subject title or body of your email: For example, "Gardener –

Newhailes."