Selwyn College Cambridge

HEAD GARDENER

We are currently looking to appoint a Head Gardener, following

the retirement of Mr Paul Gallant after 15 years’ service. This

exciting role will include leading an enthusiastic team of gardeners

and working alongside other departments to maintain and develop

the College’s gardens and deliver high standards of horticulture.

SELWYN COLLEGE Selwyn College is a constituent part of the University of Cambridge, and is home to 390 undergraduates and more than 200 graduate students from the UK and around the world. It is one of the top-performing colleges, with a reputation for combining academic excellence with a friendly atmosphere, and has a Fellowship of around 60 – with many academics who are leaders in their field. The college has distinguished alumni including the actors Hugh Laurie and Tom Hollander, the novelists Robert Harris and Justine Picardie, the archbishop of York John Sentamu and the leading Indian businesswoman Zia Mody The college owes its name to George Augustus Selwyn, who was the first Bishop of New Zealand (1841-68) and later Bishop of Lichfield (1868-78), and in whose memory the College was founded. The distinctive red-brick Victorian Old Court is Tudor Gothic in style, much of it designed by architect Sir Arthur Blomfield. Building began in 1880 on six acres of farmland purchased from Corpus Christi College, at the time a short walk away from the older University buildings in the centre of Cambridge. The College opened in time for the beginning of the academic year in 1882, when 28 undergraduates were admitted. In our Operations team we have maintenance, catering, conferencing, house-keeping, Porters’ Lodge and of course gardens; who are all here to support our academics and students through College life The key components of the garden are: a beautiful upper and lower College Garden, Master’s Garden, Fellows’ Garden, Old Court, Cripps Court, Ann’s Court and gardens in the hostels.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING Our new Head Gardener will be involved in delivering some great new developments. This will include support in the design of the courts around the new Library and Auditorium due to be built in the next couple of years. There are also fantastic opportunities to continue developing the existing gardens for all round year beauty. You will also be looking to expand opportunities for in-house propagation and also an opportunity to look at how we can grow garden produce for the College’s successful catering and conferencing operation. You will lead your team to deliver the maintenance and continued horticultural development of the garden, providing a sense of beauty and tranquillity for our Fellows, students, staff, guests and visitors. We pride ourselves in our great teamwork, our passion for Selwyn and our forward thinking attitude, which has allowed us to grow as a College. You will play a vital role within this team and we would expect our new Head Gardener to demonstrate this positive attitude to their work, the garden team and the wider operations team.

LOOKING AFTER YOU AND YOUR CAREER Pension plan: Cambridge Colleges’ Federated Pension Scheme (final salary) Free use of College gym Free lunches Develop your skills through mentorship and training On-site parking Contractual sick pay 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays Free Medical healthcare cash plan Reward for high achievers through performance based pay