Horticultural manager Job Information | National Careers Service

The work

As a horticultural manager you would oversee the development and growth of plants for one of the following purposes:

• Production / commercial horticulture - producing food crops and ornamental plants for sale to wholesalers, retailers, nurseries, garden centres and the public
• garden centres - producing plants for sale to the public along with products such as tools and garden furniture
• Parks and Gardens - designing, constructing, managing and maintaining areas such as parks, gardens (historic or botanic) and public green spaces.

Your day-to-day tasks would vary depending on your particular job, but could include:

• managing, and possibly helping with, all aspects of cultivation
• preparing and modifying operational and business plans
• keeping records and handling budgets and accounts
• analysing procurement costs
• developing new products and markets and negotiating with suppliers
• designing layouts and developing planting programmes
• scheduling the planting and harvesting of crops
• managing the implementation of health and safety regulations and procedures
• recruiting and managing staff
• maintaining a skilled and trained workforce

Hours

Your working hours may vary according to the season, and could include weekends and public holidays. Early starts and late finishes are common.

Depending on the job, you could be office-based or work outdoors. You may need to travel to visit sites, suppliers and customers.

Income

• Horticultural managers can earn from around £16,000 to over £30,000 a year.
• Senior managers can earn around £40,000.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

You may be able to work your way up to management by starting in a more basic position and gaining experience and qualifications. See the Horticultural Worker profile for details.

To start directly as a manager, you would usually need a higher education qualification and practical experience. Relevant qualifications include:

• degrees in subjects such as horticulture and commercial horticulture
• BTEC HNCs/HNDs and foundation degrees in subjects like horticulture, horticultural management and professional horticulture.

You should check with colleges and universities for their exact entry requirements as these can vary.

You can also complete Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) qualifications:

See the RHS website for details of qualifications and a list of course providers.

• Royal Horticultural Society – education page

Examples of the ways you can gain practical experience include:

• work placements
• RHS voluntary internships
• Management Development Services graduate training – a paid programme of job placements and formal training for the food and produce industry.

See the Management Development Service website for details of their graduate training.

• Management Development Service

If you have not gained experience before, during or after a course you may need to begin at a more basic level before being considered for a management position. You could move into horticultural management if you have appropriate experience in a related area, such as farming, forestry, retailing or marketing.

Training and development

Once you are in employment, the kind of training you receive will vary depending on your employer. In some large organisations you may be offered a graduate training scheme if you have a degree.

You can work towards the following qualifications:

• Level 3 Award/Certificate/Diploma in Work-based Horticulture
• NVQ Level 4 in Horticulture.

If you have the RHS Level 3 Diploma or an equivalent qualification and at least four years’ horticultural experience you could complete the RHS Master of Horticulture Qualification. See the RHS website for details.

• Royal Horticultural Society

Skills and knowledge

• a thorough knowledge of horticulture
• organisational and planning skills
• business skills and commercial awareness
• communication and management skills
• IT skills.

More information

Management Development Services Ltd
www.mds-ltd.co.uk

National Trust
www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
www.rhs.org.uk

Lantra
Lantra House
Stoneleigh Park
Nr Coventry
Warwickshire
CV8 2LG
Tel: 0845 707 8007
www.lantra.co.uk

Grow Careers
www.growcareers.info

Institute of Horticulture
www.horticulture.org.uk

Opportunities

You could find work in commercial horticulture in nurseries and garden centres all over the UK. You will find most jobs in amenity horticulture in larger towns and cities, working for local authorities maintaining public parks, gardens and sports grounds, or with private contractors employed to do this.

With experience you could progress to a more senior management position or set up your own nursery or garden centre, perhaps after gaining further qualifications.

You may find the following links useful for job vacancies and further reading (links open in new window):

• LGjobs
• Growcareers
• Horticulture Week

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