Job Profile

Job Title / Summer Gardener
Reporting to / GLADE Gardening Coordinator
Service Area / Social Enterprise
Location / Guildford
Contract Type and Employment Period / Sessional hours by mutual agreement
Volunteer placements and Trainee placements available

Job Purpose:

To provide a responsive gardening/maintenance service across supported housing projects and other buildings managed by YMCA DownsLink Group.

Responsibilities:

  • To assist in the day-to-day garden/maintenance at supported housing schemes managed by the YMCA DownsLink Group in accordance with the agreed policies of the Association.
  • To carry out other gardening works/maintenance under supervision as required and notified by the coordinator.
  • To highlight any health and safety concerns resulting from maintenance issues in the first instance to your line Manager or if unavailable Health and Safety Manager.
  • To be part of and contribute to the YMCA DownsLink Group staff team, attending meetings as appropriate
  • To attend development and training sessions as required.
  • To support promote and work in accordance with the YMCA DownsLink Group Aims and Purposes
  • To work within and actively promote equalities in accordance with YMCA DownsLink Group Policies and Procedures
  • To carry out from time to time any other appropriate duties as directed by the Line Manager to support and promote the work of YMCA DownsLink Group in accordance with the post holders capabilities.

Nature and Scope:

  • As part of a team the post holder will be expected to cover a number of housing projects at private and corporate sites, across Surrey and Sussex (transport is provided from Bridge Street, Guildford).
  • To seek advice and carry out instructions in accordance with Health and safety to produce work of the highest standard.
  • To refer to the Coordinator over the entry and access to, gardens and site relevant accesses to areas of work.
  • They must be sufficiently physically fit to be able to carry out the demands of the role
  • To uphold and carry out the duties with due regard to the Christian ethos and values of YMCA DownsLink Group including our commitment to equality and diversity, and the nature of its activities. Also a commitment to improving the lives of young people.

Person Specification

Knowledge, Job Related Skills, Qualifications & Experience:

Experience / Essential / Desirable
Experience and some skills in gardening or garden maintenance work / *
Experience of keeping records / *
Experience of working outside / *
Experience of dealing with the public / *
Skills & Abilities
Flexibility and ability to adapt work schedule to meet the needs of urgent work, whilst ensuring lower priority work is kept up to date / *
Maintenance skills (grass cutting, hedge cutting, weeding) / *
Good organisation skills in order to prioritise workload / *
Good communication skills both verbal and interpersonal / *
Ability to deal with sometimes challenging behavioural situations / *
Enthusiasm and genuine desire to help support the social enterprise and people that we work with / *
Computer Literate (Word, Excel, Outlook) / *
Ability to act on own initiative, dealing with unexpected problems that arise, reporting to the coordinator concerns and health and safety issues / *
To manage time effectively to ensure that tasks given are completed timely and to a high standard. / *
Qualifications & Training
City and Guilds or equivalent in one or more gardening, garden maintenance or landscaping skill area / *
Manual handling Training / *
CCS Training / *
Maths English and IT at Level One / *
First Aid Training / *
A valid driving license / *
Knowledge
An understanding of maintenance work and it supports the work of the YMCA. / *
General
A commitment to the Aims and Purposes of YMCA DownsLink Group. / *
A willingness to learn new skills / *
An interest in gardening / *
A non-judgmental attitude / *

Key Competencies for this role

  • Team working and Co-operation

The postholder will be expected to achieve and where possible exceed goals and objectives, demonstrating a co-operative and flexible attitude with the Garden maintenance delivery team and being enthusiastic and responsive to new challenges.

  • Communication Skills

Formal verbal and written skills. Develop and maintain effective working relationships both internally and externally. Understands the importance of effective communication

  • Customer Focus

Actively seek feedback from customers and service users, making suggestions to improve services to meet customer needs. Being responsive, friendly and approachable.

  • Planning and Organising Activities

Organisation and prioritisation of their own tasks and activities, and to contribute to team discussion and planning.

  • Creativity/Adaptability

To contribute fresh ideas and ways of working in the team and being responsive to the needs of whole team issues and ways of working.

  • Integrity and Ethical Behaviour

Understand the Christian aims and purposes of the YMCA, the values of the organisation including our commitment to equality and diversity, the nature of our activities and programmes and commitment to improving the lives of young people, children and families.

  • Self Management

The post holder will be expected to set a good example of excellence in their day to day conduct at work, understanding their own strengths and weaknesses and being committed to continually improving their own professional development.

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