Job Description
The Organisation
The Royal Parks (TRP) is a charity created in March 2017. We manage over 5,000 acres of diverse parkland, rare habitats and historic buildings and monuments in eight Royal Parks across London. These are: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Green Park, St James’s Park, The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park and Bushy Park.
We also manage other important public spaces including Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens. Our eight Royal Parks and other public spaces are among the most visited attractions in the UK with tens of millions of visits every year.
We are now looking for a Head of Park Operations to join our team on a full-time basis on a permanent contract, working 36 hours per week.
The Benefits
- Salary of £75,000-£80,000 per annum, depending on experience
- 26 days' annual leave plus public holidays, increasing to 29 days after 3 years’ service
- Pension scheme (3% employee contribution; up to 10% employer contribution)
- Hybrid/agile working options
- Private medical insurance and healthcare cash plan
- Employee assistance programme and access to mental health first aiders
- Learning and development opportunities
- Cycle to work scheme
- Offices in a beautiful location
If you have a strong background in environmental or landscape services, this is an incredible opportunity to drive the success of London’s iconic green spaces.
Our parks are currently enjoyed by millions of people, but their landscapes are increasingly at risk from a range of pressures, such as climate change, increasing footfall, external development and biodiversity loss. These factors all pose unique challenges and it is vital that we evolve to meet them head on.
You will have the chance to elevate our operations to the next level, which will enable us to continue protecting and promoting our parks, ensuring they can be enjoyed for generations to come.
The Role
As the Head of Park Operations, you will identify opportunities to enhance park and landscape management across the Royal Parks.
In this important role, you will:
- Work with colleagues and contractors to protect and enhance the landscape of the parks
- Drive the ongoing development and evolution of landscape maintenance services
- Take the lead on arboricultural management
- Take the lead on Health and Safety Management, Sustainability and Business Continuity Planning
- Act as the Senior Reporting Officer on the delivery of projects and programmes
- Support the park teams in the operational management of the landscape maintenance and management of the Royal Parks
About You
To join us as the Head of Park Operations, you will need:
- Significant experience of working at a senior level in an environmental and/or landscape service delivery organisation
- Demonstrable experience of thinking and working strategically, including strategy development and implementation
- Knowledge and experience of operational park management and arboriculture
- Experience of leading teams or functions through change to achieve overall goals
- Knowledge and experience of health and safety management, sustainability and business continuity planning
- Extensive knowledge in the areas of environmental or landscape management
- Strong financial management and control skills, including the ability to plan within budget
- Membership to an appropriate professional institute, such as LI, IoH or CMI
We want to put everyone in the best possible position to succeed and use Recite-me accessibility software. At the top of the application page, there is an “Accessibility Tools” button which you can use to complete the application form in a way that works for you. If you think that you may need more support to complete our application process, please do get in touch.
The Royal Parks is strongly committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an equal opportunities employer. We value diversity and encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds. We believe that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.
So if you are interested in the role, please get in touch with Viki Halkett viki@freshhortcareers.com at Fresh Horticultural Careers for further information and how to apply.