Head Gardener

Job details Pay

• £36,000 a year

• Permanent
• Full-time

• Night shift

Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA

• Sick pay
• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Enhanced maternity leave

Our new opportunity – some details here (more can be found on the website)

We’re the only Museum of the Home in the world – revealing home as an emotional, psychological, socio‑political and economic space – as well as the bricks, mortar and outdoor garden spaces.

Our Gardens Through Time show how city gardens were kept from the 1600s through to the present. The Kingsland Road Gardens are a place to relax, picnic, and enjoy green space in the heart of the crowded city. Our research into historic gardening practices and the people who have tended gardens is ongoing. These are presented through tours, talks, and temporary installations in the Gardens.

We’re looking for someone who brings both strategic thinking and practical delivery skills to our garden and outdoor spaces. The role involves leading and managing on:

• The horticultural and day to day operations and activities across all gardens and grounds
• Development and maintenance of garden areas
• Talking and taking tours with our visitors

It’s an opportunity to support a small, committed team and to continue telling our story through the gardens and outdoor spaces.

If know an experienced professional gardener, we’d love to hear from them.

To apply complete the application form on our website

Closing date for applications is Tuesday 2 December. We aim to shortlist and let candidates know by 3 December.

Interviews will be held in person at the Museum in week commencing 8 December. Start date for this role is 2 February 2026.

This role is for a hands‑on, self‑motivated and passionate Head Gardener to lead and manage the horticultural and day‑to‑day operations/activities across all gardens (Kingsland Road Gardens, Ironmongers Graveyard, Discovery Garden, Herb Garden, Gardens Through Time, Green Roof, and service road area) and grounds.

You’ll be responsible for the overall management development and maintenance of the garden areas. This includes leading a small team, consisting of one employed gardener, volunteers, freelance gardeners and contractors , you will work towards maintaining the overall appearances of the gardens and grounds throughout the Museum site to a very high standard throughout the year.

We see our gardens as an important oasis for local people, visitors and staff alike. We are interested in the role they play and the wider impact of urban nature on our lives. Permaculture is also increasingly impacting our thinking about we view the Museum and Home. This role will be key to this area of the Museum’s strategy and practice.

This role is an important public‑facing role and the post‑holder will have to be comfortable talking and taking tours with our visitors and working with other departments throughout the organisation.

Bold brave in trying new things, taking action and fighting for change on issues affecting the ways we live.

Kind friendly, generous and considerate in all your actions

Eco‑active embed climate action in all decision‑making and encourage visitors to make eco‑minded choices at home.

Equitable act transparently, ethically and inclusively – and allocate resources, time and care equitably

• Lead motivate and manage the gardens team including working with the Volunteer Manager on recruitment and induction of volunteers and ensuring that all people working in the gardens are trained
• Ensure that health and safety is at the heart of all decision making and activity in the gardens, always ensuring that risk assessments and safe systems of work are in place and that all who work in the gardens maintain an exemplary safety culture. Have particular regard for relevant areas of safety regulation such as COSHH, Control of Vibration at Work, Working at Height, and Non‑Ionising Radiation Regulations.
• Ensure that sustainability and sustainable practice is at the heart of all decision‑making and activity in the gardens, composting all green/brown waste, limiting water use, reviewing planting in…