Gardener

Birmingham City University; Birmingham; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 29,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational institution in Birmingham is seeking an experienced Gardener to maintain and enhance the landscaping across all university sites. This role requires strong practical skills, a vocational qualification in horticulture, and a flexible approach to work. The appointed candidate will ensure external areas are presentable, operate a range of horticultural equipment, and engage in self-directed learning. This position offers a salary range of £26,266 to £28,995 per annum.

Qualifications

• Good standard of literacy and numeracy.
• Clean, current driving licence; experience with large vehicles is desirable.
• Experience in grounds maintenance or gardening role.

Responsibilities

• Maintain gardens across university sites.
• Operate various gardening tools and equipment.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.

Skills

Practical skills in gardening

Manual handling

Basic IT skills

Education

Vocational qualifications such as NVQ Level 2 in Amenity Horticulture

Tools

Horticultural equipment

Driving university vehicles

Job description

Department Facilities Management Location Birmingham, West Midlands Salary £26,266 to £28,995per annum Permanent Post Type Full Time Release Date 28 November 2025 Closing Date 23.59 hours GMT on Friday 19 December 2025 Reference E725010

On-site | Customer and Student Facing

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Gardener to join the Estates and Facilities Team. You will be responsible for the ground’s maintenance and landscaping across all university sites.

The role involves a wide range of gardening and grounds tasks, requiring manual handling, practical skills, and the use of various tools and equipment and driving university vehicles. Flexibility is essential, as duties may vary across sites and working hours, and will involve working as part of a team.

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake a variety of grounds and gardening tasks across all university sites, including maintenance of gardens, borders, terraces, and outside spaces.
• Maintain planting and undertake pruning, border maintenance, and other horticultural tasks to ensure all areas remain clean, tidy, and free of debris.
• Carry out sweeping and litter-picking to ensure external areas are presentable.
• Assist with the removal of moss build-up in areas such as fire exits and bike sheds, including the use of herbicides and fungicides.
• Ensure all tasks are carried out in line with health and safety procedures, safe operating practices, and risk assessments.
• Safely store grounds and gardening equipment, ensuring storage areas are kept clean, tidy, and free from obstruction.
• Respond to situations caused by adverse weather conditions—such as storm damage and snow or ice—helping to ensure safe access to all buildings and evacuation points.
• Operate a variety of horticultural equipment, including mowers, hedge cutters/strimmers, leaf vacuums/blowers, and ride-on machinery.
• Use university vehicles as required to carry out tasks such as spraying weeds, moss, and algae across sites. This may include the use of a trailer.
• Undertake daily equipment and asset checks to ensure safe operating use.
• Engage in self-directed learning and development, particularly during periods when weather conditions prevent outdoor work.
• Perform time-restricted tasks using time-limit reactive watches to ensure efficiency.
• Support the opening of new buildings by maintaining external catering areas, terraces, and planters, including weed prevention and treatment.
• Assist the Head Gardener and work collaboratively with the Environmental Team on biodiversity projects.

Person Specification

• Good standard of literacy and numeracy.
• Vocational qualifications such as NVQ Level 2 in Amenity Horticulture (or equivalent).
• Clean, current driving licence. Experience of driving large vehicles/pulling trailers is desirable although training will be given
• Experience working in a grounds maintenance or similar gardening role.
• Basic IT skills for accessing emails and using university systems (e.g., health and safety reporting portals).
• Willingness to undertake a health surveillance check.

BCU is a diverse and inclusive learning community of over 30,000 students from more than 100 countries. We are committed to providing a transformational educational experience, supporting world-class research, and fostering a collaborative and supportive working environment. In this role, you will play a key part in delivering excellence in education, research, and sustainability.

The appointed candidate will normally be employed through our subsidiary company BCU Support Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Birmingham City University. Appointees with prior LGPS membership who wish to enter the LGPS scheme will be able to do so and will be employed by Birmingham City University directly.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and to an environment that supports lawful free speech and academic freedom. We will continuously review and improve our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential.

The University is proudly Disability Confident. This means amongst other things that we commit to offering a guaranteed interview to disabled applicants who fully meet the essential criteria for each role.