Job Description
Role: Gardener / Groundsman – Pineapple and Royal
Burgh of Culross
Reports to: Head Gardner, Culross & The Pineapple
Location: Base- Airth, Falkirk
May 2013
Business Function: Property & Visitor Services
Pay Band/Starting Salary: Band B ; £15,600 (pro rata)
Type of Contract: Permanent / part-time
Terms and conditions
The post is subject to the standard terms and conditions provided with the application pack and the following special terms also
apply: hours of work = 20 per week on 5 days out of 7 and at times to suit the needs of the job (this will include weekend duties
on a rota basis);.
KEY PURPOSE
This job exists in order to ensure that the garden and policies of the Pineapple and Culross Palace are managed and
maintained to an agreed standard, contributing to both property’s overall conservation and development, and its
enjoyment by visitors and supporters.
CONTEXT
The Pineapple and its walled gardens was completed in 1761and was originally the kitchen garden belonging to the
Dunmore estate. The Pineapple structure itself was a garden folly and sits between the old gardener’s bothy, which is
now rentable accommodation. The walled gardens lost extensive glasshouses and pineapple forcing pits. It currently
contains a collection of crab-apple trees at its centre, a mixed border around the inner perimeter wall and a long
rectangular pool to the bottom of the main walled garden, where rare great crested newts are occasionally seen.
Perimeter woodland walks are popular with local people and visitors come from further afield to see “The Pineapple”
as a classic architectural curiosity from an earlier age. The Pineapple building and grounds marked on the layout
drawing are owned by the N.T.S. The Pineapple holiday flat is let on a 25 year lease to the Landmark Trust while the
N.T.S. is also responsible for the maintenance of the access road from the B9124 to the former Groundsman’s
cottage.
Culross. The first building to be acquired by NTS was Culross Palace, in 1932. It was immediately placed in the
care of the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, later Historic Scotland, until 1991. Many more buildings were
acquired in the 1930s including The Study and the remains of St Mungo’s Chapel to the east of the burgh. Further
acquisitions were made in the 1950s and 1960s and The Town House was gifted to NTS in 1975. The majority of
the buildings were restored and are now leased to members of the public while some were sold under the auspices of
the Little House Improvement Scheme. NTS currently owns 23 houses plus staff accommodation as well as Culross
Palace, The Town House and The Study. The Palace, Town House and Study are all open to the public during the
season (The Study also provides staff accommodation) and the Palace Garden, a re-imagining of what may have
existed in the seventeenth century, is open all year.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Key Purposes of the job will be met by:
1. Undertaking the conservation and practical maintenance of the policies and wider estate - in terms of:
a. Practical silviculture of amenity woodland and specimen trees (e.g. tree survey and safety works;
surgery; planting (including sapling protection);
b. Commercial forestry (with guidance and support from the countryside department): (limited) plantation
areas
c. General estate works including: car parks, signage, drives, paths, dykes/fences/boundaries, drainage
ditches, ponds and sluices, litter bins etc;
d. Practical horticulture of the garden areas (e.g. managing trees and mixed shrub and herbaceous bed,
and naturalized bulbs; turf care; pest/disease/weed control; composting and soil improvement; hardlandscaping; path and fence/dyke care;
2. Participating in/supporting the Estate and wider-Property management regime including:
a. Performance management, training and development in support of achieving required standards, and
personal and team objectives;
b. Making best use of Trust resources (such as tools, equipment, plant stocks, materials, finances) in the
context of the Trust’s charity status;
c. Upholding health & safety regimes in line with stated Trust policies and approaches to ensure the
health and welfare of self, other staff/volunteers, and visitors;
d. Recognition of the Trust’s Environmental Policy with respect to sustainable estate activities, including
energy, water, use of peat, use of pesticides/herbicides, diligence in storage and transfer of
fuels/chemicals etc;
e. Customer service and care to ensure that the property’s reputation for excellence is maintained and
enhanced – including (if required) liaising with the public at events;
f. Simple administration to enable gardening activities to be undertaken and recorded efficiently.
SCOPE OF JOB
People Management
 Is not a line manager or supervisor;
 Will work closely with other property colleagues (in particular any other estate/garden staff or volunteers);
 May have some interaction with members of the public;
 May have some interaction with suppliers and contractors.
Finance Management
 Is not a budget holder.
Tools/equipment
 Will be a frequent user of driven vehicles such as tractors and ride-on mowers;
 Will be a frequent user of powered tools such as winches, chainsaws, stump-grinder, mowers, strimmers, hedgecutters, etc.,
 Will be a frequent user of hand-tools such as spades, forks, trowels, rakes, hoes, shears, and secateur;
 May be an occasional user of IT equipment.
QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE
The above outlines the key skills the post-holder will need to possess and exercise. In addition, either knowledge of
or experience in the following is required:
Essential
 A college or botanic garden National Ceritificate in Horticulture or demonstrable equivalent knowledge or a
recognised qualification in Estate Management;
 Skills in arboricultural techniques, chain-saw certificates: CS30, CS31a+b;
 PA1 and PA6a spraying certificates;
 Driving Licence, valid for driving within the UK;
 Relevant practical experience in general amenity/heritage gardening or in estate management (to include
substantial wooded areas);
 Demonstrable plant and tree knowledge;
 Knowledge of tool and machinery use and maintenance;
 Practical maintenance experience (e.g. simple joinery, hard-landscape repairs etc);
 Practical knowledge of Health and Safety processes and procedures and the ability to work effectively within
these processes;


Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; confident in interacting and dealing with a wide range of
people; and able to represent the Trust;
Good organisational and time-management skills – including the ability to prioritise work where necessary.
Desirable
 Experience of working in an estate open to the public;
 An appreciation of Scottish garden/estate history in a general context.
The Key Responsibilities, Scope of Job, and Required Qualifications, Skills, Experience & Knowledge reflect the
requirements of the job at the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate
consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any activities that it believes to be reasonable within the
broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.
Applications
Interested applicants should forward a completed application form to Human Resources Department (Applications),
The National Trust for Scotland, Hermiston Quay, 5 Cultins Road, Edinburgh EH11 4DF, by mail or by email via
workforus@nts.org.uk, by first post (i.e. 10.00am) on Friday, 7 June 2013. Interviews are likely to be held at
Culross on 21 June 2013.