Horticultural Operations Manager

| Palais London

Location: 8–10 Rhoda Street, London, E2 7EF, with occasional UK travel

Salary: £45,000 per annum

Full-time: Permanent

Closing Date: Early applications advised

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Job Description

Lead Horticultural Operations Across Outstanding London Landscapes

Palais London is looking for an experienced Horticultural Operations Manager to take ownership of the day-to-day delivery of its horticultural work across multiple sites.

This is an exciting senior opportunity for an experienced horticultural professional ready to combine their plant knowledge with people management, operational planning, client relationships and commercial responsibility.

You’ll lead horticultural teams, maintain high standards across a diverse portfolio of landscapes and help ensure gardens continue to develop into healthy, resilient and visually striking spaces.

About Palais

Palais is a landscape and horticultural practice working across London and the UK.

The team designs, installs and cares for distinctive gardens and planting across:

• Private residences
• Hospitality settings
• Commercial spaces
• Private residential estates
• Public realm environments

Their approach combines creative landscape design with skilled practical horticulture, creating spaces that are visually striking while remaining healthy, resilient and responsive to the seasons.

About the Role

As Horticultural Operations Manager, you’ll oversee the successful delivery of horticultural work across multiple sites.

You’ll line-manage the Horticultural Lead and wider gardening team, coordinate maintenance and refurbishment schedules and ensure gardeners and freelancers have the resources, information and support they need to deliver exceptional work.

The role brings together:

Horticultural expertise
Team leadership
Workforce and project planning
Client management
Logistics and resource management
Budgets and commercial awareness
Quality control and plant health

Key Responsibilities

Operational Management

• Plan and manage weekly and forward horticultural work programmes
• Coordinate maintenance and small renovation projects
• Allocate gardeners, freelancers, vehicles, tools and materials
• Ensure teams receive clear instructions and site information
• Manage multiple sites and identify potential operational issues
• Respond to changing weather, access and project requirements
• Manage site budgets and monitor expenditure
• Provide operational reports to the Company Director

Team Leadership

• Lead and motivate horticultural teams across multiple locations
• Set clear expectations and maintain high standards
• Manage individual and team performance
• Identify training and professional development opportunities
• Support recruitment and onboarding of gardeners and freelancers
• Create a positive and professional working environment

Horticulture & Plant Care

You’ll use your horticultural expertise to ensure landscapes remain healthy and develop in line with their original design.

This includes:

• Plant health and seasonal maintenance
• Pruning and soil care
• Irrigation and plant establishment
• Pest and disease management
• Regular horticultural site audits
• Providing technical advice to gardening teams
• Plant propagation from sowing through to planting
• Maintaining landscape features and hard structures

Health, Safety & Sustainability

You’ll also help maintain a strong safety culture across all sites, including:

• Conducting and reviewing risk assessments
• Ensuring tools and machinery are used safely
• Managing the safe handling and application of pesticides and chemicals
• Supporting waste reduction and recycling
• Ensuring responsible disposal of materials

About You

Palais is looking for an experienced horticultural professional with:

• Substantial professional horticultural experience
• At least two years’ experience managing a team within horticulture or grounds maintenance
• Experience managing operations across multiple sites
• A recognised Level 3 horticultural qualification, or an equivalent combination of professional training and experience
• Strong horticultural and Health & Safety knowledge
• Excellent organisational and communication skills
• Strong financial awareness, including budgets and staff costs
• Good IT skills, including Google Workspace
• A full UK driving licence
• Willingness to travel between sites across London and occasionally the UK
• Emergency First Aid at Work Level 3 Award, or be working towards it

Desirable Experience

It would also be beneficial if you have experience with:

• Design-led landscapes
• Large-scale container planting and challenging urban growing conditions
• Installation projects and seasonal refurbishments
• Small landscape renovation projects
• Developing operational systems and procedures
• Project-management, scheduling and time-tracking software
• Working within a small and growing creative business

A Green Career Leadership Opportunity

This is a strong progression opportunity for experienced gardeners, horticultural supervisors and team leaders who are ready to move into senior horticultural management.

A potential career pathway could look like:

Gardener → Senior Gardener → Horticultural Team Leader → Horticultural Operations Manager → Head of Horticulture / Operations

The position offers the opportunity to use both your practical green skills and leadership experience to influence the quality and development of landscapes across London.

How to Apply

Please send:

• Your CV
• A cover letter explaining why your skills and experience align with the role

Email: lindsay@thepeoplepark.co.uk

Palais is committed to creating an inclusive workplace and welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and experiences. Reasonable adjustments can be made throughout the recruitment process where required.