Community Garden & Learning Coordinator

Registered Charity No. 1151911

Community Garden & Learning Coordinator

Salary: £25,000per annum

Hours: 40 hours/week including regular evenings and weekends

Annual Leave:4 weeks + statutory holidays

Responsible to:Director

Responsible for:Gardener & Volunteers

Location: Stonebridge, London Borough of Brent

Sufra NW London is a local charity that aims to confront the causes and symptoms of poverty in the local community. Our service revolves around the food bank, which collects and distributes over 40 tonnes of food annually, supporting nearly 4,000 people each year.

Alongside the food bank, welfare surgeries and food academy programmes, Sufra NW London has developed a community garden (500m2) that comprises fruit trees, raised beds, a training tipi, polytunnel, wildlife pond and chicken coop.

Using the community garden as a focal point, the charity is developing an interrelated range of food growing and educationprojects that seek to engage people of all ages and backgrounds, including:

• A growing club that encourages community participation and provides a therapeutic space for those who are mentally unwell or socially excluded;

• Accredited horticultural courses for children and adults that provide a detailed insight into gardening, ecology and nutrition;

• Artisanal workshops that engage families in creative activities such as making herbal tea bags, natural soaps and wicker baskets from the plants and materials grown in the garden;

• Environmental education for teams of visiting school children who learn about sustainability and the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems; and

• Vocational programs that provide practical training in gardening skills for the long-term unemployed, empowering them to find work or start their own small business.

This is an exciting time in the development of the community garden and learning project, and we are looking to recruit an experienced horticulturist to oversee the ongoing development of the site, deliver a range of learning outcomes and fully implement, manage and further develop all aspects of the project.

Alongside practical horticultural experience, the successful candidate will understand how to make educationalprogrammes accessible and engaging for a range of audiences, including primary school children and those with additional needs. Project management and organisational skills are also essential, as well as excellent oral and written communication skills and a flexible, positive and can-do attitude.

To apply for this role, please submit a CV, Covering Letter (no more than 2 sides) and Equal Opportunities Form (available on our website) by email to .

The deadline for applications is Friday 29 September 2017 at 5pm, with interviews on Thursday 5 October 2017 and Friday 6 October 2017.

Please note that this role is subject to an initial fixed term contract of 1 years. The post is likely to be extended for 3 years, subject to final funding agreements.

Job DescriptionPage 3

Person SpecificationPage 5

Job Description

Main Duties & Responsibilities

To fully implement, manage and develop all aspects of the Community Garden & Learning programme, deliver a range of learning outcomes including horticultural courses, and engage a wide range of audiences.

General Responsibilities

• Oversee the implementation and development of the community garden and learning programmeto ensure that it delivers on its various objectives;

• Manage the remaining capital development of the community garden, in accordance with the overall vision of the site;

• Maintain the garden’s existing growing infrastructure and develop new growing facilities as needed;

• Promote and champion the community garden and learning programmethrough marketing and community outreach activities;

• Compile monitoring and evaluation data relating to the projects and project users, as required by funders.

Growing Club

• Oversee the delivery of two weekly growing clubs (Wednesday and Sundays, 10am-2pm);

• Increase engagement in the growing club among a wide range of regular and one-off volunteers, including school children, vulnerable adults, older people, faith groups and corporate/public-sector teams;

Horticultural Course

• Deliver courses in horticulture to both adults and children with a range of skill and ability levels;

• Improve and develop the course content and teaching materials on an ongoing basis.

Artisanal Workshops

• Implement and further develop the workshop schedule to include a wider range of creative learning activities for the whole family;

• Increase the number of families enrolled in workshops;

• Seek out viable opportunities for selling the artisanal products created by participants during the workshop.

Environmental Visits

• Implement and further develop the charity’s environmental ‘field-trip’ programme for primary school children, which is based in the training tipi and extends across the garden;

• Conduct outreach work to target local schools to ensure a regular schedule of visits during term-time.

Vocational Training

• Design and deliver vocational training for the long-term unemployed to ensure participants are equipped with the skills, knowledge and accreditation needed to gain employment as a gardener or establish their own gardening business.

Additional Duties

• Undertake any other reasonable duties to support the development of the project as well as Sufra NW London’s broader activities; and

• Work in collaboration with the charity’s wider projects and in accordance with its ethos and values.

Person Specification

Please ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how you meet all the essential criteria specified below.

Competency / Specification / Essential / Desirable
Education / Degree in any discipline / 
Horticulture qualification / 
GCSEs in English & Mathematics at A*-B / 
Experience / Gardening and horticulture / 
Teaching, training or running workshops / 
Community engagement and outreach / 
Managing and supervising volunteers / 
Developing teaching objectives / 
Monitoring and evaluating outcomes / 
Skills & Abilities / Excellent written and oral communication skills / 
Ability to engage professionally with people of different ages, abilities and backgrounds / 
Advanced IT skills (Microsoft Office) / 
Project manage multiple programmes / 
Attitude / Honest and trustworthy / 
Positive, friendly and hard-working / 
Willingness to engage in further training / 
Commitment to the values of Sufra NW London / 

The post is subject to a probationary period of 3 months.

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