Senior Head of Horticulture & Commercial Contracts
From Private Advertiser 4
Working For: Sunnyside Rural Trust
Senior Head of Horticulture & Commercial Contracts – Vacancy
About Us:
Sunnyside Rural Trust is an award winning charity and social
enterprise providing training, employment and wellbeing
opportunities for more than 180 adults with learning disabilities
and those who are neurodiverse.
Through horticulture, land based activities, retail, cafés, animal
care and community projects, we support people to develop
confidence, independence and skills for life and work. We combine
social impact with commercial enterprise, creating meaningful
opportunities while generating income to support our charitable
mission.
We work with prestigious garden designers, local authorities,
businesses and community partners to deliver high quality
horticultural services across Hertfordshire and beyond. As we
continue to grow, we are looking for an ambitious leader to shape
the future of our horticultural and commercial operations.
About The Role
The Senior Head of Horticulture & Commercial Contracts is responsible for
the strategic leadership, commercial performance and operational oversight
of Sunnyside Rural Trust’s horticultural and land based social enterprise.
The postholder will lead the development and growth of horticultural
production, commercial gardening and grounds maintenance contracts,
environmental projects and land management activities, ensuring these
services deliver excellent customer outcomes while creating meaningful
opportunities for Trainees and supported employees.
Working as part of the Senior Management Team, the role is responsible for
developing sustainable income streams, building strategic partnerships,
leading high performing teams and ensuring the Trust’s horticultural
services continue to grow in line with our charitable mission.
This is a leadership role that balances commercial success with social
impact, ensuring every aspect of the service contributes to the
development, wellbeing and employment opportunities of the people we
support.
Main Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Enterprise Development
- Lead the strategic development of Sunnyside Rural Trust’s horticultural and commercial
enterprise. - Develop sustainable income streams that support the Trust’s charitable objectives.
- Produce annual business plans, service objectives and performance measures.
- Identify opportunities for growth through new services, partnerships and commercial contracts.
- Ensure enterprise activities remain aligned with the Trust’s values, social mission and longterm
strategy. - Contribute to organisational planning as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
- Lead continuous improvement across horticultural operations, commercial services and
business systems.
Commercial Development & Customer Relationships
- Lead the development and growth of Sunnyside’s commercial contracts portfolio.
- Build relationships with local authorities, schools, housing providers, businesses, charities and
community organisations. - Develop quotations, pricing models, tender submissions and contract proposals.
- Monitor profitability, customer satisfaction and contract performance.
- Ensure effective scheduling, workforce planning and efficient deployment of resources.
- Lead implementation and continuous improvement of CRM and contract management systems.
- Develop new commercial opportunities that create meaningful trainee progression pathways.
- Lead the effective management of retail stock, ensuring appropriate stock levels, purchasing,
inventory control and stock rotation across all retail and horticultural operations. - Oversee the implementation, optimisation and effective use of EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale)
systems, using sales and stock data to improve commercial performance, forecasting and
decision making.
Strategic Oversight of Horticultural Production
- Provide strategic oversight of perennial, annual and edible crop production across the Trust.
- Develop long term propagation strategies, production planning and nursery development.
- Ensure consistent horticultural standards, quality assurance and commercial viability across
all sites. - Support the development of Orchard Nursery and wider growing operations.
- Promote sustainable horticultural practices, including peat free growing, biodiversity
enhancement and environmental stewardship. - Develop retail, wholesale and commercial sales opportunities for plants and produce.
- Support the growth of produce sales, veg box schemes and other income-generating
horticultural activities.
Land Management & Environmental Projects
- Provide strategic leadership for land management across all Trust sites.
- Lead environmental improvement, biodiversity and conservation projects.
- Develop long term management plans for land, buildings, growing infrastructure and site
assets. - Ensure effective maintenance and development of horticultural infrastructure.
- Manage relationships with contractors, landowners and external specialists.
- Ensure compliance with environmental, horticultural and land management legislation.
Leadership & People Development
- Provide professional leadership, coaching and support to Site Managers, Horticultural
Coordinators and operational teams. - Build a positive, inclusive and high performing culture across horticultural services.
- Develop staff capability through coaching, mentoring and professional development.
- Work alongside Site Managers, Job Coaches and Project Workers to maximise trainee
opportunities. - Ensure horticultural and commercial activities support learning, wellbeing and progression
into employment. - Promote consistent horticultural knowledge and best practice across all sites.
Performance, Finance & Governance
- Lead service planning, budgeting and financial forecasting across horticultural services.
- Monitor income, expenditure, profitability and operational performance.
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators across commercial contracts and
horticultural operations. - Report performance, risks and opportunities to the Chief Executive, Senior Leadership Team
and Trustees as required. - Ensure effective risk management and compliance with Health & Safety, safeguarding and
relevant legislation. - Promote continuous improvement through effective use of operational data and customer
feedback.
Personal Specification
You’ll need:
Essential
- Significant experience in a senior management role with responsibility for people,
budgets and operational performance. - Extensive horticultural knowledge covering plant production, edible growing, grounds
maintenance and environmental management. - Experience of leading complex multi site operations.
- Proven experience of developing and growing commercial services or social enterprise
activities. - Strong commercial awareness with experience of pricing, tendering, contract
management and business development. - Experience of developing strategic plans and delivering organisational change.
- Strong financial management, budgeting and forecasting skills.
- Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
- Excellent stakeholder management and partnership-building skills.
- Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills.
- Strong project management and organisational skills.
- Excellent analytical and problem solving skills.
- Commitment to equality, inclusion, safeguarding and high-quality service delivery.
- Good IT skills including Microsoft Office and CRM/business management systems.
- Full UK driving licence.
Desirable
- Degree or professional qualification in horticulture, land management, environmental
management, business management or related discipline. - Experience working within a charity or social enterprise.
- Knowledge of supported employment, learning disability services or vocational training.
- Experience developing environmental or biodiversity initiatives.
Pay and Benefits
We offer a generous employment package:
- Salary: £45,000 to £50,000 (depending on experience)
- Generous matched pension scheme
- 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays
- Staff discounts in our shops and cafés
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Ongoing professional development opportunities
To apply
Send your CV and a covering letter outlining the skills, knowledge and experience you will
bring to this post (No more than two A4 sides)
Closing date: 12pm 24th July 2026
This private advert is being managed directly by the employer. Horticruitment are not involved in the hiring process and are therefore unable to share any additional information on this role. If you have any questions regarding this position, the best course of action is to apply for the job which will open a line of communication with the employer.
If you would like to view more information on the Professional Gardeners Guild, please click here and the Royal Horticultural Society, please click here
For more gardener roles please click here