Tree Nursery Manager; Container Grown

Location: Newey Ltd, Butterlees Tree Park, Newlands, Pagham Road, Lagness, Chichester, PO20 1LL

Salary: £ 35-40k (depending on experience)

About Newey Ltd

Newey Ltd is a leading supplier of ornamental plants and trees to high-street retailers, DIY chains and garden centres. We invest in the future of UK horticulture with a focus on innovation, sustainability and long-term growth. Newey is part of the greosn group, investors in leading brands globally across fresh produce and horticulture delivering innovation, sustainability and security.

Butterlees New Tree Park is a purpose-built 20-acre development located behind Newey’s existing 22-acre glasshouse site - a combined 42 acres of production. The facility is designed for scale and sustainability and will accommodate up to 100,000 container-grown trees across a wide A–Z of ornamental varieties plus a “Grow Your Own” fruit tree range (apples, pears, cherries, plums) for retail and wholesale markets.

Role Description

As Tree Nursery Manager (Container Grown), you will lead the day-to-day nursery operations at Butterlees Tree Park, with responsibility for container-grown tree and production. This is a hands-on managerial role combining practical horticulture, operational planning, and team leadership. You will ensure plant health, quality control, stock planning, and compliance standards meet both retail and wholesale delivery schedules.

You will work closely with Despatch, Procurement, Sales and Technical teams, and support customer and partner engagement, including audits, open days, workshops, and site visits.

Key Responsibilities

Nursery Operations & Production

• Take overall responsibility for day-to-day production and cultural activities across the Tree Unit, including container-grown ornamental and fruit trees.
• Plan, manage, and oversee potting, irrigation, feeding, cultural pruning and crop scheduling to meet production targets and delivery commitments.
• Formulate and implement medium- and long-term tree production plans, including sourcing maidens, root stocks, and intermediate products to meet business volumes and develop the product range.
• Develop and maintain individual product worksheets for each product line, detailing husbandry requirements, formative pruning, nutrition programmes, irrigation, and specific pest and disease considerations.
• Maintain accurate stock records, inventory control, forecasting, and crop planning to meet retail, wholesale, and project delivery schedules.
• Manage and implement Integrated Crop Management (ICM) programs, including pest and disease monitoring, crop protection, and biosecurity practices.
• Operate, monitor, and optimise automated irrigation systems, drip-line feeding, and rainwater-harvesting infrastructure, ensuring efficient reservoir use and water management.
• Work closely with external organisations (e.g. Defra, Consultants and agrochemical distributors) to ensure full compliance with crop protection legislation, plant health standards, and best practice.
• PA1 and PA3 qualifications desirable but not essential.
• Plan and oversee daily work schedules, allocating tasks to permanent and seasonal staff to meet production peaks and operational priorities.
• Supervise, train, and develop nursery staff, fostering a positive, productive team culture and supporting additional hours and weekend working during peak periods.
• Liaise closely with the Despatch Manager to plan labour requirements, maximise efficiency, maintain plant quality, and ensure despatch schedules are achieved.
• Work collaboratively with the Despatch Manager to identify and implement productivity improvements and smart working practices.
• Manage tree supplier relationships and source high-quality plant material for maiden and intermediate tree production.
• Work closely with growing media manufacturers, establishing supply chains, trialling new products and formulations, and managing input costs and budgets.
• Liaise with internal procurement, sales, and project teams to align production with customer and project requirements.

Compliance, Health & Safety

• Ensure full compliance with OHAS, LEAF, and Plant Healthy schemes, supporting customer audits alongside the Retail…