Certified Gardener
Please view the below documents for this position:
Maintain stunning parks, gardens & open spaces within the City of Stonnington in a clean, green and safe condition. The City of Stonnington have a range of rare, extremely high quality and very well maintained open space gardens which boost a large variety of diverse horticulture – perfect for a lifting your career in this rewarding outdoor field of work.
The Certified Gardener plays a key operational role in maintaining Council’s parks, reserves, streetscapes and horticultural assets to a high standard of presentation, safety and environmental sustainability. The position ensures open space areas remain clean, functional and visually appealing for community use.
This role contributes to the Parks Operations team by applying horticultural expertise to planting, maintenance, and asset care while supporting safe work practices, responding to community needs, and proactively identifying risks in public open space environments.
Using your passion for horticulture you will pride yourself on becoming the custodian for a very high quality garden whilst working in this rewarding role within a positive team environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Maintain parks, gardens and streetscapes in a clean, safe and attractive condition.
- Undertake pruning, fertilising, pest and disease control and irrigation management
- Select and install appropriate plant species based on horticultural knowledge.
- Contribute to enhancement of garden beds and landscapes across Council assets.
- Carry out weed control, mulching, leaf blowing and removal of litter, debris and fallen branches to maintain amenity and safety.
- Safely operate horticultural machinery including hedge trimmers, brush cutters and blowers in accordance with Safe Work Procedures.
- Monitor and report hazards, undertake basic inspections (e.g. playgrounds), respond to public enquiries, and apply traffic management where required
Position Benefits
Diverse and High-Profile Open Spaces
- Work across a variety of parks, gardens, sports grounds and public spaces, including some of the municipality’s most recognised and heavily used locations.
Growth and Investment in the Service
- Join a growing Parks team as Council continues to acquire, develop and improve open spaces, creating opportunities to contribute to exciting projects and long-term improvements.
Strong Safety Culture
- Be part of a team that prioritises safety and promotes safe work practices.
Hands-On Professional Gardening
- Undertake a broad range of horticultural and park maintenance activities, including garden maintenance, open space improvement works, horticultural machinery operation, care of vegetation and weekly playground inspections
Join us in this full-time permanent role, offering a competitive salary of $74,364 plus 12% superannuation. This will increase to $76,288 plus 12% super from 1 July 2026. 38 hours per week with option of 9 day fortnight or 19 day month.
Desired Skills and Experience
- Trade Certificate in Horticulture or equivalent
- Demonstrated experience in municipal horticulture or similar environment
- Strong skills in maintenance gardening across diverse landscapes, including high-profile parks
- Knowledge of plant care, pest and disease control, and irrigation practices
- Knowledge of native species/biodiversity enhancement practices beneficial but not essential
- Experience operating horticultural machinery safely
- Knowledge of Occupational Health & Safety requirements and safe chemical use
- Current Victorian driver’s licence
- Ability to implement traffic management plans and safely handle sharps
- Ability to undertake or willingness to learn playground inspection
- Applies horticultural knowledge to determine appropriate treatments for plants and landscapes
- Communicates effectively with team members and the public
- Demonstrates cooperative and team-oriented behaviour
Enquiries
For enquiries relating to the role, please contact Dominic Mazza – Coordinator Parks and Open Space.
For enquiries relating to the system and the application process, please contact a member of the Talent Acquisition team.
Submitting your application
Please submit your application via the City of Stonnington careers portal.
In your cover letter, we invite you to demonstrate how your skills and experience align with the requirements outlined in the Position Description, and to share what draws you to the opportunity to work with the City of Stonnington.
The City of Stonnington is a child-safe, equal opportunity employer valuing diversity and inclusion. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
Here at the City of Stonnington we aspire to be a leading local government authority and to do this we need the very best people who share our belief in community and who want to make a difference.
