Head of Gardens

• Join an Australian business that genuinely exists for purpose, not profit
• Unique and rewarding career opportunity in a key leadership position
• Contribute to horticultural preservation and environmental sustainability

About Us:

The Diggers Club is Australia’s largest gardening club, with around 85,000 members and 100 staff. The Club is owned by The Diggers Foundation, an Australian garden charity dedicated to preserving historic gardens and promoting heirloom seeds and plants. 

Our complex and dynamic organisation includes gardens and historic properties, seed trials, a production nursery, cafés, glamping, and online and bricks-and-mortar retail located across several sites in Victoria and South Australia. 

Our mission is to inspire a love of gardening and the joy and fulfilment of connecting with the natural world, bringing together people, plants and our planet. We will do this by educating and inspiring gardeners, providing challenging, practical and credible ideas, and enabling their success with the knowledge to create beautiful and productive gardens.

With that in mind, we have created a new and exciting employment opportunity as we seek to appoint a Head of Gardens.

Role Overview:

As Head of Gardens, you will oversee the strategic planning, development and maintenance of our gardens at our Victorian sites in Dromana, Olinda, and Blackwood, and help drive the growth of garden visitation by creating exceptional visitor experiences, fostering relationships with external partners, providing marketing content, and contributing to our periodic magazine as the designated Horticultural Editor.

Key areas of responsibility for this broad and varied role will include:

Strategic planning: ensuring long term plans for each of our unique gardens are aligned with the overall vision and mission of The Diggers Foundation and incorporate initiatives for education, preservation and public engagement.

Gardens management: setting and maintaining the high level of presentation expected for members and visitors and managing the implementation of innovative and sustainable horticultural practices.

Products and trials: connecting our product departments and the gardens to trial, showcase and display our products to members.

Membership, Education and content: actively participating in the development of visitation for the gardens including developing high quality visitor experiences, cultivating relationships with external partners and other stakeholders to enhance Diggers’ reputation and impact, providing garden-based marketing content and acting as Horticultural Editor for The Diggers Club periodic magazine.

Team management: leading and inspiring the team to work collectively to achieve gardening and organisational goals.

Reporting to our CEO, and leading a team of horticulturalists, gardeners and support staff, this is a full-timepermanent position, expected to be 5 days (37.5 hours) per week across Monday to Friday. Our Head office is in Dromana in the Mornington Peninsula and some travel to all our sites in Victoria will be required. 

To be successful in this role, ideally you will demonstrate:

• Strong leadership and communication skills
• Success in managing elite level gardens
• A bachelor's degree in horticultural science, communications, or a related field
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in gardening, with at least 5 years in a leadership role
• Successful management of assets and properties including planning and project execution
• A high level of expertise in professional copy writing and communication
• Solid understanding of the central role gardens and plants play in a sustainable future
• A passion for gardening and a commitment to preserving and promoting heirloom seeds and plants and strong interest in making a difference through sustainable practices that show concern for people and our planet's future
• Business acumen and project management skills that maximise impact through effective resource allocation and management.

Why consider this opportunity?

On offer are competitive remuneration, generous staff benefits, opportunities for professional development, and a work environment that is genuinely conducive to personal well-being.

To apply:

If you are excited by the prospect of contributing to our mission via this unique role, we encourage you to apply with your resumé and a cover letter outlining your suitability. 

The closing date for applications will be the end of business on 5 April 2024. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and we reserve the right to close the process if the role is filled sooner.