Work with us
People and plants have shaped Chelsea Physic Garden since 1673. The people who currently work or volunteer in the garden still believe in the power of plants.
Current vacancies
Gardener – Nursery Specialist
Position: Permanent
Salary: £25,982
About the role:
This role combines practical garden maintenance with specialist nursery and propagation work across our nurseries and glasshouses. We’re looking for someone with excellent attention to detail, a positive, can-do attitude, and desire to deliver excellent horticulture. You’ll work alongside a fantastic team of horticulturists and volunteers in London’s oldest botanic garden, helping to propagate, cultivate and safeguard our world-class living collection for future generations.
To apply: Please complete the job application form below, and equal opportunities form and email to:
Closing date: Tuesday 11 August, at 11.59pm
Interviews: W/C 17 August
Gardener – Maintenance Specialist
Position: Permanent
Salary: £25,982
About the role:
This role is key to the day-to-day horticultural maintenance within the Garden. You will work closely with the Herbaceous & Hardy Manager and others in the horticultural team to ensure excellent standards of display in the glasshouses, following the collections policies and processes and other strategic documents. This role will supervise assigned specialist volunteers and trainees.
To apply: Please complete the job application form below, and equal opportunities form and email to:
Submission Deadline: Tuesday 25 August, at 11.59pm
Interviews: w/c 31 August
Director
Position: Full-time, Permanent
About the role:
The Board is seeking an exceptional Director to lead the Garden through an ambitious new phase of development and transformation. The Director will provide strategic and organisational leadership across all aspects of the charity’s work and will be responsible for delivering the Garden’s long-term vision, masterplanning ambitions and financial sustainability. The successful candidate will bring a strong track record of senior leadership within a mission-led organisation, with experience in strategy development, stakeholder engagement, fundraising and income generation. They will be an inspiring and inclusive leader, as well as an outstanding ambassador and communicator. They will also bring the commercial acumen, energy and credibility to build partnerships, inspire supporters and champion the Garden’s work across the horticultural, heritage, cultural, environmental and educational sectors.
To apply: Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to the Chelsea Physic Garden on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit roles.saxbam.com using reference EBZDA.
Closing date: Thursday 13 August at 12pm
Archive & Library Officer
Position: Part-time, Permanent
Salary: £18,900 before deductions (pro rata of 35 hrs pw £31,500)
About the role:
Chelsea Physic Garden is seeking an enthusiastic and detail-oriented Archive & Library Officer to help make our remarkable collections more accessible for staff, volunteers and visitors.
Working closely with the Curator, you will catalogue, organise and enhance access to a unique archive and specialist library documenting the history of one of the world’s oldest botanic gardens. From botanical manuscripts and photographs to organisational records and rare publications, you will play a vital role in revealing the stories that connect people, plants and science across generations.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone with strong cataloguing skills and a passion for archives, libraries, heritage collections and knowledge sharing.
To apply: Please complete the job application form below, and equal opportunities form and email to: .
Closing date: Monday 31 August, 11.59pm
Interviews: 16 & 17th September
Head of Learning and Public Engagement
Position: Full- time, permanent
Salary: £44-45,000
About the role:
This is an exciting time to join Chelsea Physic Garden. We are at the forefront of delivering a new 10-year strategy and developing a refreshed approach to engagement. The Head of Learning & Public Engagement (HLPE) will play a pivotal role in developing and delivering our new Learning & Engagement Plan, embedding it within the department’s strategic direction and guiding its impact over the next decade.
The Head of Public Learning & Engagement (HPLE) provides strategic leadership for the Learning & Engagement department, overseeing the development, delivery and evaluation of programmes for schools, families, volunteers, community and youth engagement, and public audiences. Working collaboratively across the organisation and with external partners, the postholder shapes and delivers an ambitious learning and engagement strategy aligned with Chelsea Physic Garden’s mission and vision. They foster meaningful relationships, ensuring the Garden is recognised as an inclusive, inspiring and impactful place for learning.
To apply: Please complete the job application form below, and equal opportunities form and email to: .
Closing date: 11:59pm Sunday 26 July 2026
First Interviews: W/C 3 August
Admissions & Retail Assistants
Position: Part-time annualised contact 728 per annum – typically 2 – 3 shifts per week, regular weekends and some evenings.
Salary: £10,760pa (0.4FTE or £14.78per hour)
About the role:
We are currently recruiting for multiple Admissions & Retail Assistants.
This is the perfect role if you enjoy connecting with people and love nature. As the first point of contact for our visitors, the Visitor Experience team plays a vital role in shaping every visitor experience and ensuring each visit is memorable, engaging and inspiring. The Admissions & Retail Assistant (ARA) is a customer-facing role at the heart of the Garden’s daily operations. You will provide a warm, professional welcome to all visitors while supporting the smooth running of the Visitor Welcome Area and Garden Shop. Delivering consistently high standards of customer care, you will create positive first impressions and meaningful interactions that reflect the Garden’s values. You will actively support the Visitor Experience Manager & Assistant in achieving annual targets, including visitor admissions, membership conversions, Direct Debit sign-ups, and Gift Aid contributions
To apply: Please complete the job application form below, and equal opportunities form and email to: .
Closing date: 11:59pm Sunday 12 July 2026
Interviews: 23 July 2026
Site Caretaker
Position: Part Time, Permanent
Salary: £14,292 pa (FTE £28,584)
About the role:
The Site Caretaker is an important part of the Physic Garden community. The role will be responsible for managing a planned programme of facilities and maintenance works, the nature of the buildings and the age of some of the facilities means that unplanned jobs will arise ranging from quick fixes to longer term projects. The candidate will be proactive, organised and communicative. A good knowledge of DIY is required alongside proficient use of manual and power tools and Health and Safety management.
To apply: Please complete the job application form below, and equal opportunities form and email to:
Closing date: Sunday 28 June at 11.59pm
Interviews: W/C Monday 6 July
Our Application form is available to download, please use it for the job you wish to apply for, clearly stating the role you are applying for. Also, please complete and send us this equal opportunities form with your application. Please note, that we cannot accept applications via a CV or resume, and we can only consider applications from UK residents or those with the right to work in the UK.
Chelsea Physic Garden is an inclusive employer. If completing the application form would present a barrier to you applying for any of our roles, please contact: , providing brief details of the issue for you and we will do our best to agree suitable alternative arrangements for your application.
Working at the Garden
Chelsea Physic Garden has existed on the banks of the Thames since 1673, delivering its founding mission to demonstrate the importance of medicinal and herbal plants to the well-being of humankind.
The Garden has a successful education programme, a thriving membership and annually welcomes over 50,000 visitors. As a financially self-supporting charity, the Garden’s challenge for the future is to reinforce its relevance and popularity whilst strengthening its diverse income streams.
Chelsea Physic Garden is an inclusive employer. We welcome applications from everyone, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, neurodiverse people, and people from all ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds.
Working at Chelsea Physic Garden is rewarding; not only do you get to work in an iconic and beautiful location, a number of benefits exist for employees. To view them click below.
Become a Horticultural Trainee
Chelsea Physic Garden has been offering horticultural traineeships for over two decades, providing people with the opportunity to gain practical horticultural experience across a biodiverse plant collection, whilst undertaking a professional qualification.
Typically, traineeships are aimed at entry level candidates with a basic level of professional or voluntary experience.
Our 2024/2025 Horticultural Trainees are generously supported by the Rick Mather and David Scrase Foundation.
Our traineeships are subject to external funding and are, therefore, not offered on a rolling cycle. If you are interested in traineeship opportunities please keep an eye on our vacancies or social media pages.
We also rely a large network of volunteers
Are you a people person dedicated to a high standard of customer service, who would like to spend time in London’s oldest botanic garden?