Horticultural Operative

Westfield Secondary School; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

LG Pension

Generous annual leave

Training opportunities

Make a difference in Sheffield

Job summary

Sheffield City Council is seeking a Garden Maintenance Operative to join our Repairs & Maintenance Service. You will carry out garden clearance, vegetation management and external maintenance on council properties, especially voids and temporary accommodation.

You'll work outdoors in all weather, cut grass and hedges, remove waste and operate gardening machinery safely while following health and safety procedures to meet lettable and neighbourhood standards across Sheffield.

Qualifications

• Experience in gardening, grounds maintenance or horticulture.
• Able to work outdoors in all weather.
• Capable of manual handling.
• Knowledge of health and safety requirements.
• Full UK Driving Licence.

Responsibilities

• Cut grass, hedges, shrubs and overgrown vegetation.
• Clear gardens and external areas of waste.
• Remove hazardous items and make external areas safe.
• Carry out soft landscaping and garden improvements.
• Assist with removal and disposal of green waste.
• Support site clearance and other operational activities.
• Operate and maintain gardening machinery safely.
• Follow health and safety procedures.
• Ensure properties meet lettable and neighbourhood standards.

Skills

Grounds maintenance

Horticulture

Teamwork

Outdoor work

Manual handling

Health and safety

Tools

Gardening tools & machinery

Job description

Are you passionate about improving neighbourhoods and making a visible difference to local communities?

We are looking for enthusiastic and hardworking Garden Maintenance Operatives to join our Repairs & Maintenance Service. As part of our dedicated Voids Team, you will help bring empty council homes back into a safe, clean and lettable condition by carrying out a range of gardening, clearance and external maintenance activities. The role plays an important part in reducing void turnaround times, improving neighbourhood appearance and ensuring properties meet the Council's lettable standards.

About The Role

As a Garden Maintenance Operative, you will work across the city carrying out garden clearance, vegetation management and external make-safe works to council-owned properties, particularly void (empty) homes and temporary accommodation. Typical duties will include:

• Cutting grass, hedges, shrubs and overgrown vegetation.
• Clearing gardens and external areas of waste, debris and unwanted materials.
• Removing hazardous items and making external areas safe.
• Carrying out basic soft landscaping and garden improvement works.
• Assisting with the removal, chipping and disposal of green waste.
• Supporting colleagues with site clearance and operational activities where required.
• Using and maintaining gardening machinery and equipment safely.
• Working to health and safety procedures, risk assessments and safe systems of work.
• Ensuring properties meet agreed lettable and neighbourhood standards.

What We Are Looking For

You will be:

• Reliable, motivated and able to work effectively as part of a team.
• Experienced in grounds maintenance, horticulture, landscaping or a similar environment.
• Comfortable working outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Capable of undertaking manual handling activities.
• Able to work safely and follow health and safety procedures.
• Organised, self-motivated and able to manage workloads effectively.
• Committed to delivering high standards of workmanship and customer service.

Essential Requirements

• Experience of gardening, grounds maintenance or horticultural work.
• Ability to safely use gardening tools and machinery.
• Experience of working in a manual outdoor environment.
• Understanding of health and safety requirements.
• Full UK Driving Licence.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience working within social housing, local government or property maintenance services.
• Experience operating woodchippers, strimmer’s, hedge cutters and similar equipment.
• Basic knowledge of grounds maintenance best practice.

What We Offer

• Competitive Local Government pension scheme.
• Generous annual leave entitlement.
• Training and development opportunities.
• The opportunity to make a real difference to communities across Sheffield.

Closing Statement

If you take pride in your work, enjoy working outdoors and want to help improve council housing and neighbourhoods across Sheffield, we would love to hear from you.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.