Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Gardener

Summer Isles Enterprises Ltd
Achiltibuie, Ullapool

Posted: 21 Feb 2025

Deadline: 9 Mar 2025

Compensation: £27k-£39k per annum DOE

Paid Full-time Permanent

Job description

FULL-TIME GARDENER SOUGHT TO JOIN GROWING TEAM IN THE SUMMER ISLES

We are a large-scale, dynamic, and forward-thinking restoration and hospitality project in the Northwest Highlands with strong philanthropic and community commitments. The heart of our operation is on a remote and beautiful 800-acre island. Our Head of Gardens and Growing is expanding the gardens team and food production on the island, with new garden areas, glasshouses, and the recovery of historical agricultural ground being added to our existing orchards, kitchen gardens and greenhouses.

We are looking for a gardener to join the team and help in produce food for our staff and guests in our tough but bountiful environment at 58˚N, while maintaining an impeccable aesthetic centred round heritage, sympathetic materials and craft.

Our land management approach balances production, nature, and heritage, with an emphasis on using the land to build communities. We aim to deliver a year-round supply of fresh and preserved produce, while also fostering soil health and a mosaic of ecosystems blurring the boundaries of productive gardens and wild spaces. This is a core role in the garden team and will involve working closely with the kitchen, land and guest teams, charitable beneficiaries and community volunteers, and of course many hours wrestling with our challenging climate and peaty soil.

GROWTH

We are looking for a horticulturist with experience in a professional environment: a confident organic gardener, ideally with an interest in agroecological, no-till and regenerative growing principles and potentially in horticultural therapy. We are also open to prospective candidates with the right temperament, attitude and aptitude looking for professional mentorship and will offer training and development to the right person. The salary for this role will be £29-37kpa, depending on experience.

COMMUNITIES

Our team is diverse, driven, and hails from across the country and further afield. We have our own growing island community of staff, guests and volunteers, while also being embedded in mainland life in nearby crofting townships and villages. There are opportunities to work with different teams, help look after our animals, sail heritage boats, host guests, school groups and volunteers, and get involved with island life. We will be happy to discuss flexible shift patterns and shared accommodation with the right candidate.

ENVIRONMENT

The project is delivering stunning, sympathetic builds in an area of outstanding natural and cultural heritage. You will be working amid a range of unique Northwest Highland marine and terrestrial ecosystems, which we are striving to conserve and extend. We foster a culture of care, attention to detail, and creativity in everything we deliver for the Charitable Trust for which we work, from looking after our guests, staff and local communities to growing and sourcing our food to restoring buildings and landscapes.

We are looking for a capable, self-motivated individual with excellent communication and organisation skills, and a good sense of humour, who will thrive on a challenging project.

Application information

If you think this role might be for you then please send your CV and cover letter to recruitment@summer-isles.com.

The closing date for applications will by 09/03/24 and we are looking for someone to start work as early as possible this spring. Face to face island interviews will take place w/c 31st March 2025.

Please mention Roots to Work when applying for these jobs