Assistant Gardener - Morpeth Summary INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY If you want a career in Gardening, we can offer you some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the UK to work in. You’ll love working outdoors and understand that our gardens, grounds and parklands are as significant as our mansion houses and our historical places. Our visitors tell us how much they enjoy the peace, tranquillity and often vibrancy of our well-kept outdoor spaces, which makes your role vital in making sure they have an amazing experience. Set in the heart of the stunning Northumberland landscape, Cragside is a unique place to work. Here William Armstrong, the brilliant engineer and manufacturer, and his wife Margaret Armstrong, built a wonder of the Victorian age. They created artificial lakes, generated their own hydro- electric power, pioneered electric lighting, installed telephone systems and built a world of experimentation and innovation that inspired the way we live today. They created a Victorian formal garden showcasing vibrant colourful bedding schemes and new plants from around the world. Housed within the formal gardens was a fantastic glasshouse range including a heated palm house, ferneries and, still remaining now, an orchard house growing fruit trees of their period. As well as this they created one of the largest rock gardens in Britain, a gorge and pinetum; all of which are showcased to a high standard by our garden team. We carry the ethos of creativity and invention into the 21st Century – developing and implementing experimental and innovative ways to bring Cragside to life for today’s visitor. Just as their vision was brought to fruition through creative collaboration, today a multi-disciplinary team works to look after the place in a way that makes it enjoyable and relevant to our visitors, allowing them to connect with it on an emotional level too. Click here for more information about this location For this role, you’ll need to complete our online assessment instead of using a C.V. or online application form. This will help us understand more about your strengths and give you more information on the role. What it's like to work here In this role, you’ll report to the Head Gardener. You will join a gardens team of five working closely with our dynamic volunteers on a day to day basis. Your role will be to assist in making sure that our formal garden, rock garden and wider garden areas are presented and developed to a high standard and you’ll be passionate and enthused by plants. This role will include a range of practical horticultural tasks to develop, enhance and conserve the garden and contribute to the delivery of projects. You'll be helping with hard and soft landscaping and general maintenance of the garden such as planting, pruning, leaf clearing, mulching and weeding. You’ll support with the planting and maintenance of formal bedding, bulbs, trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. You’ll be helping to cut the hedges and mow our fine lawns. What you'll be doing Daily responsibilities may include assisting with the planting and maintaining of shrub and borders, mulching, hedge cutting and lawn mowing. You’ll work alongside gardeners and a team of volunteers. You’ll talk to the public every day, answering a variety of garden-related questions and talking about what you are doing with pride. We’re looking for someone with a practical approach to work, getting the day-to-day work done and an interest in plants. The role can sometimes be physically challenging, and we use a wide range of machinery and equipment to help us get our work done. The use of machinery such as tractors, hedge trimmers and pedestrian mowers is essential, but training will be provided. You can view the full role profile for this role in the document attached. You don't need to have all of the knowledge, skills and experience listed in the role profile; this is just to provide a full picture of what’s possible in this role. There will be the necessity to assist with operational support and site access; sometimes this means parking cars. The role will involve working closely with house, rangers and forestry departments for events such as Christmas or tidying up after storm damage. You’ll also assist garden volunteers and support and help them to make the most of their time here. You’ll be expected to interact with the public on a daily basis, answering the many questions. As part of this role you’ll be required to work a Sunday to Thursday shift providing operational support working 37.5 hours a week as part of a garden-team rota. Who we're looking for We'd love to hear from you if you're comfortable working in a flexible and adaptable way a team player, but also happy to work on your own initiative focused on giving great service to everyone you meet willing to learn new skills focused on detail well organised approach The package The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too. Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18) Tax free childcare scheme Rental deposit loan scheme Season ticket loan Perks at work discounts i.e. gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria Flexible working whenever possible Employee assistance programme Free parking at most locations Independent financial advice Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.