Horticulture Instructor/Technician

Abingdon and Witney College; Witney; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Holiday entitlement

Professional development

Flexible working options

Gym membership

Cycle-to-work

Technology schemes

Job summary

Abingdon and Witney College is seeking a Horticulture Instructor/Technician at Common Leys Campus to maintain facilities and deliver practical learning for students aged 16+ and adults. The role focuses on horticultural environments, including gardens, glasshouses, and grounds projects.

You will support lessons, develop student skills, and work with staff to ensure high-quality, hands-on teaching while upholding safety standards and a positive learning atmosphere.

Qualifications

• Level 2 in Horticulture, Garden Design, Landscaping, or a related subject is desirable but not essential.
• Practical experience in horticulture, grounds maintenance, landscaping, or plant production.
• Experience working with or instructing young people in an educational or training setting.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• A proactive, organised, and flexible approach to work.
• Teaching or assessor qualifications are desirable but not essential. Training can be provided.

Responsibilities

• Support and deliver practical instruction to students during lessons, workshops, and horticultural projects.
• Maintain high standards of health & safety, environmental sustainability, and site presentation across the horticultural unit.
• Assist with the cultivation, propagation, maintenance, and care of plants, trees, shrubs, and landscaped areas.
• Work collaboratively with teaching staff to ensure engaging, safe, and effective practical sessions.
• Provide guidance and mentoring to students working within the horticultural areas.

Skills

Communication skills

Organised

Flexible approach

Teaching or assessor qualifications (a

Education

Level 2 in Horticulture

Job description

No candidate will meet every single desired qualification / criteria. If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you!

Salary: £27,166 - £27,820 per annum (pro-rata salary £5,507 - £5,639 per annum)

Hours per week: 7.5

Weeks per Annum: 52

Working pattern: Thursday 7.5 hours

Location: Common Leys Campus

Contract type: Permanent

Start Date: October / November

We are looking for a dedicated Horticulture Instructor/Technician to join our vibrant team at Common Leys Campus supporting our growing Horticulture department.

About the Role

As a Horticulture Instructor/Technician, you will play a key role in the maintenance and development of our horticultural facilities, while supporting and delivering practical learning experiences for our students. You'll work closely with learners aged 16+ and adults to help develop their practical horticultural skills in a supportive, educational environment.

Areas You May Work In

From ornamental gardens and landscaped areas to glasshouses, plant production areas, and grounds maintenance projects, you will help maintain high standards across a variety of horticultural environments that support high-quality, hands‑on teaching.

Key Responsibilities

• Support and deliver practical instruction to students during lessons, workshops, and horticultural projects.
• Maintain high standards of health & safety, environmental sustainability, and site presentation across the horticultural unit.
• Assist with the cultivation, propagation, maintenance, and care of plants, trees, shrubs, and landscaped areas.
• Work collaboratively with teaching staff to ensure engaging, safe, and effective practical sessions.
• Provide guidance and mentoring to students working within the horticultural areas.

Essential Criteria

• Level 2 in Horticulture, Garden Design, Landscaping, or a related subject is desired but not essential.
• Practical experience in horticulture, grounds maintenance, landscaping, or plant production.
• Experience working with or instructing young people in an educational or training setting.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• A proactive, organised, and flexible approach to work.
• Teaching or assessor qualifications are desirable but not essential. Training can be provided.

We're looking for someone who is committed to learner success, passionate about horticulture, and ready to make a positive contribution to our teaching team. If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.

Why Work with Us

Excellent benefits for our employees include generous pension and holiday schemes (with potential Christmas closure days), continued professional development, flexible working options, corporate gym membership, cycle-to-work and technology schemes, and much more.

*Abingdon and Witney College reserve the right to close all applications before posted closing date

AWC values diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community. We are committed to safeguarding and expect all our employees and volunteers to share this commitment. We are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and all appointments are subject to satisfactory clearances including enhanced DBS checks.

Abingdon and Witney College are committed to safer recruitment practices. In addition to our pre-employment checks, we will conduct an online search. This includes checking Google main results feed as well as the 'News' and 'Images' tab. We will be checking for any publicly available information that suggests the applicant may not be suitable to work with children or young/vulnerable people or content that could potentially damage Abingdon and Witney College's reputation. This may include inappropriate posts, comments or images displaying evidence of offensive or inappropriate behaviour, jokes or language, discriminatory comments, inappropriate photos, drug or alcohol misuse.