Job description

Principal Responsibilities

• Ensure grounds and horticultural areas are maintained in accordance with the required standards and carrying out the instructions of the Team Leader/Parks and Cemeteries Supervisor.
• Operate and maintain tools and equipment required to carry out any of the duties pertaining to the post, ensuring daily safety checks are completed.
• Carry out routine maintenance activities including litter and leaf collection, hedge cutting, planting, sweeping, weed control operations, grass cutting, shrub/tree pruning, floral planting, watering hanging baskets, maintaining pitches/sports area, administering fertilisers/spraying pesticides and any other grounds or cemetery maintenance activities required in the delivery of the service.
• Undertake duties in the Nursery, for example, making up hanging baskets; prepare cut flower and other displays; sow seeds; take cuttings etc.
• Routine constructional labouring, including backfilling graves and topping up sunken graves.
• Carry out routine maintenance of plant and equipment including daily checks on oil, water, fuel, tyres to ensure that plant and equipment are kept clean and operational condition.
• Routine cleaning of buildings, toilets, showers, changing rooms, community areas and pavilions.
• Removal of litter and hazardous waste (e.g. Animal carcasses) from shorelines, beaches and waterways, ensuring correct disposal.
• Completion of written and computerised records (e.g in-house systems, accidents, defects and safety checks.
• Inspect and maintain playground area e.g replace damaged swings; repair fencing.
• Taking booking for activities/facilities in the area (e.g caravan park, special events), taking and receipting of monies where appropriate.
• Hold keys to allocated building, ensuring security of same and public access where appropriate.
• Implement adverse weather programmes i.e. salt/flooding when required.
• In the event of inclement weather preventing normal working undertake such alternative tasks as may be allocated by management.
• Delivery and collection of requested items, including erecting stands/displays when necessary.
• Ensuring Health and Safety requirements are adhered to as per Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council's Strategy

Qualiifications

• A full current driving licence, to included Class C1+E to enable postholder to drive a vehicle and trailer combination up to 8.25 tonnes.
• Hold a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence and Qualification card.
• A recognised qualification of competence for professional grass cutting equipment
• Hold PA1 qualification for the safe use of pesticides
• Hold PA6A qualification for spraying pesticides using a hand held applicator
• Hold an NVQ Level 1 in Amenity Horticulture
• Hold a qualification in Road Management/Traffic Control
• NPTC in use of Chainsaws

Experience

• A minimum of 1 years' experience of horticultural work including planting, bedding and flowerbed maintenance.

Behavior Competencies

• Displays a positive attitude and flexible approach

Special Knowledge

• Working knowledge of grass cutting, and grounds maintenance techniques
• Knowledge of horticultural materials including shrub, bedding, plants, etc.
• Knowledge of Health and Safety Regulations

Other

• As the post involves significant physical and manual handling elements,the post holder must be of a satisfactory level of general fitness.

Competencies

Customer Focus

• Establishes the needs of customers and strives to ensure these are met
• Builds partnerships for mutual benefit
• Instils high customer service in others and drives team to think of customer impact
• Challenges poor customer service or lack of awareness in others
• Handles complaints positively - listens to the customer's concerns without defensiveness or self-justification, shows concern, takes steps to remedy and follow up

Essential Service Excellence

• Seeks to continually improve services and processes that impact on customers
• Focuses on the achievement of objectives and plans ahead to ensure goals are achieved in terms of excellence in service delivery
• Seeks out and uses customer feedback to ensure customer needs are met and exceeded
• Instils service excellence in others and drives team to improve service Essential

Teamwork

• Establishes effective working relationships with people at all levels through communication, consultation and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrates ability to quickly resolve conflict
• Works collaboratively with other teams and agencies both internal and external to the Council
• Adapts style and approach to achieve effective outcomes Essential

Communicating with Impact

• Demonstrates persuasive communication skills and confidence in conveying information internally and externally
• Responds and behaves positively and demonstrates resilience in communication
• Demonstrates effective communication skills, both orally and in writing
• Actively listens and uses a variety of methods to convey messages clearly and succinctly