Plant Health and Propagation Officer

Posting date:	15 January 2026
Salary:	£30,105 per year
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	26 January 2026
Location:	Malmesbury
Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Job type:	Temporary
Job reference:	443677/3

Summary

Plant Health Compliance:

• Oversee and maintain Westonbirt’s Plant Healthy Certification Scheme accreditation and Plant Passport authorisation
• Work with Propagator to ensure incoming and outgoing nursery material complies with national and international regulations and the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme requirements
• Work with Curator to ensure the Integrated Pest Management strategy is kept up to date in compliance with the UK Woodland Assurance Standard
• Maintain mandatory records and delivery/dispatch information as necessary on plant records database
• Record use of biological controls
• Work with Propagator to monitor for pest and disease within the nursery and record findings
• Support Bedgebury National Pinetum in attaining Plant Healthy Certification Scheme accreditation for their nursery

Plant Health and Biosecurity:

• Ensure biosecurity compliance among staff and visitors to nursery
• Uphold and comply with nursery biosecurity measures and environmental obligations
• Act as Westonbirt’s Tree Health Champion and point person for Westonbirt’s role within the International Plant Sentinel Network
• Support Westonbirt’s Tree Conservation Manager in organising national and international fieldwork, particularly in relation to permits and phytosanitary certification
• Represent the arboretum at plant health related meetings and conferences both internally and externally
• Liaise with Forest Research on plant health matters
• Facilitate plant health related research within the collection

Propagation Support:

• Assist with watering (including some weekends as required)
• Work with Propagator to process incoming seed as required
• Assist with fieldwork activities as appropriate

Training and Development:

• Maintain up-to-date information on plant pests and pathogens, and disseminate this within the wider team
• Provide biosecurity support to wider team
• Keep a register of Tree Team plant health responsibilities and maintain Tree Team training record
• Actively develop your skills and knowledge through personal development and training

Supervisory:

• Supervise and facilitate the work of the volunteer Phenology Group

And any other tasks, reasonably requested by your line manager.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.