Horticulture Manager

Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading garden retail company in the UK is seeking a Horticulture Manager to oversee departmental operations and provide expert plant advice. The role requires strong retail management experience and horticultural knowledge, with a focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences. Responsibilities include managing sales growth, coaching staff, and ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations. This position offers generous benefits, including substantial discounts in stores and ongoing professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Generous annual leave entitlement

Employee discounts of up to 50%

Access to financial wellbeing support

Employee wellbeing platform access

Development opportunities through Dobbies Academy

Qualifications

• Experience in retail management with horticultural expertise.
• Ability to identify and address training needs effectively.
• Strong commercial awareness related to budgets and sales.

Responsibilities

• Oversee horticulture department operations for profitable sales.
• Provide expert advice on plant care and gardening products.
• Lead team to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Skills

Horticultural expertise

Retail management

Commercial awareness

Coaching and training

Adaptability

Positive change management

Job description

Our Horticulture Managers play an essential role in delivering customer experience across our stores - driving sales, promoting customer loyalty, providing excellent plant advice and maintaining department standards, whilst working alongside the general manager to set a standard within our flagship department.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the horticulture department operations to maximise profitable sales and growth, whilst creating a unique customer focused environment
• Providing expert advice and guidance in relation to plant care, maintenance and core gardening products
• Sparking your team's passion for delivering the best in-store experience possible by creating a brilliant customer journey and experience
• Working closely with our central support teams, maintaining excellent communication to improve our business
• Ensuring all health & safety regulations are carried out across the store, whilst caring for employee and customer welfare
• As a member of the senior management team, you will also have duty manager responsibilities including key holder duties

Who we are looking for

• You’ll bring horticultural expertise with experience of retail management
• Commercial awareness and understanding of budgets, profitability from driving sales and improved ways of working
• Ability to identify training needs. You’ll be effectively coaching and training all levels ensuring our teams are delivering a first‑class customer experience and safe centre environment
• Adaptability. You’ll act quickly and enthusiastically to changing priorities, workload and new regulations or requirements
• Positively managing change, you’ll lead the team through each season with care and motivation to deliver the best
• Can demonstrate our values at all times - we’re one team, getting better everyday. We bring a smile. We live and breathe gardens. We make it work for our customers.

What we offer

• Generous annual leave entitlement. Use your holidays when you want with limited statutory days off required
• Treat yourself with generous uncapped discount across our stores with 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our food halls
• Access to Stream – support your financial wellbeing, with ability to access earnings ahead of pay day, save for the future and financial advice
• Access to Retail Trust – seek confidential support, access to a virtual GP, free counselling service and discounted retail rewards with our employee wellbeing platform
• Access to Dobbies Academy – continue your development with our eLearning platform and development programmes
• Thriving culture; the Dobbies team are passionate, diverse and committed to making it work for our customers

About us

At Dobbies, we’re proud to have a history dating back to 1865. We were founded by James Dobbie and are the only garden centre retailer to have stores in every nation across the UK.

Our passion and joy for gardens and plants is what makes us special. In our stores, we showcase this through own brand and branded products, concession partners and services. We champion garden living all-year-round.

Many of our stores feature a restaurant or coffee shop, where customers can enjoy refreshments or meals in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

We offer a calendar of events and experiences that bring people and communities together, and we have a national charity partner that both our colleagues and customers raise money for.

We’re committed to being a great place to work. We’re one team and we encourage our colleagues to be the best version of themselves, every day; to share their wins and celebrate success. Together, we make it work for our customers.