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
Visitor Experience Director (Maternity Cover)
Position: Temporary – maternity cover, full-time, 35 hours per week (including some evenings and weekends as part of a roster).
Salary: £48,000 p/a.
About the role:
This role is responsible for delivering an enriching and welcoming experience for audiences, sparking curiosity and lifelong learning. It contributes to project visioning, development and implementation. It leads the organisations health and safety and risk management responsibilities and manages the small but important archive collections.
The successful candidate will relish the opportunity to maximise revenue from visitor admissions, including donations and gift aid. They will work closely with colleagues to ensure visitor safety and the quality of the welcome. Through their team they will ensure that there is an enriching learning, outreach and public engagement programme and engaged volunteers.
This role is a key member of the senior leadership team and takes an active part in strategic planning for the Garden, attending Board and its subcommittees meetings and is an active part of the Chelsea Heritage Quarter steering and programming groups.
To apply: Please complete the job application form below, and equal opportunities form and email to: .
If completing the application form would present a barrier to you applying for this role, please contact: , providing brief details of the issue for you and we will do our best to agree suitable alternative arrangements for your application.
Closing date for applications: Sunday 2 March 2025, 11.59pm.
Provisional first interview date: Wednesday 12 March 2025.
Schools and Families Officer
Position: Permanent, part-time (4 days a week).
Salary: £25,000 – £28,000 per annum (FTE) – Actual £20,000-£22,400
About the role:
Are you passionate about inspiring children and young people through nature and plant science? Join us as the Schools & Families Officer at Chelsea Physic Garden, London’s oldest outdoor classroom, home to over 4,000 plant species.
In this role, you’ll work closely with schools, home-educators, colleges, and community groups to deliver engaging, high-quality learning experiences for all ages. You’ll create digital resources to extend our impact, engage both in-person and online audiences, and foster connections with diverse learners.
Additionally, you’ll manage bookings, scheduling, and invoicing for our schools and family programmes, ensuring smooth operations and a lasting impact on our visitors.
Help us share the wonders of nature and plant science with the next generation!
To apply: Please use the Application Form below, and email to: , with role in the title of the email. Please also fill in an Equal Opportunities Form and send this too. If any aspect of the application process poses a barrier to you, please email us and we will do our best to help.
Closing date for applications: 11.59pm, Sunday 23 February 2025
Interview date: Monday 3rd March 2025
Gardener/Plant Records Manager
Position: Full-time (average 35 hrs per week).
Salary: £27,063.
About the role:
Are you looking for a next step in your career? Do you manage plant records/data as part of your work in an historic or botanic collection open to the public? Chelsea Physic Garden has this key role to fill.
You will be one part of a small team of horticultural specialists (6 full-time) as well as trainees, interns, and volunteers, who care for and present the Garden and its plant collections (4,500 taxa). You will work closely with colleagues to ensure high standards of presentation of the areas of the Garden for which you are responsible alongside maintaining the meticulous records on the plant database (IrisBG).
You will need to be able to work at pace and juggle several priorities to ensure that you can meet the needs of the role, the horticulture, and a pride in accurate data input and producing reports supporting the needs of the Head of Plant Collections and wider colleagues for information from the database.
Please review the role profile carefully and apply using our application form.
Closing date: 11.59pm, Monday 19 August, 2024.
1st Interview: first week of September.
To apply:
Please complete the job application form and equal opportunities form and email to .
Chair of Trustees – volunteer role
About the role:
The Board of Trustees are now embarking on the search for a dynamic new Chair to provide strategic guidance and inspire Chelsea Physic Garden as it embarks on this next phase. The role involves collaborating closely with the Director and the Board of Trustees to steer the Garden towards achieving its mission. The successful candidate will lead the Board in reviewing strategic aims and objectives, work alongside senior staff, and engage in public and community activity programmes. Your leadership will be instrumental in ensuring the Garden’s continued impact and growth.
The ideal candidate will have a passion for horticulture and a deep appreciation for the curatorial and heritage significance of the Garden. You will understand the importance of fundraising and be eager to act as an Ambassador, particularly in relation to current and future capital projects, for one of the world’s most historic botanical gardens.
Saxton Bampfylde is co-ordinating this appointment on the Garden’s behalf. For more information and to apply for the role, please follow the link below.
To apply:
Please visit Saxton Bampfylde’s website, linked below, and not via the standard application form.
Closing date: Tuesday 10 December 2024.
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 any aspect of our application process poses a barrier to you, please get in contact via and reasonable adjustments can be arranged.
Chelsea Physic Garden is a London Living Wage Employer
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
Horticultural traineeships give trainees a chance to experience the various aspects of working in a small botanic garden, gaining experience in practical horticulture and the management of a unique plant collection, with scientific research and educational applications, both outdoors and under glass.
Our 2023/2024 Horticultural Trainee is generously supported by the Rick Mather and David Scrase Foundation.
An additional two-year entry-level trainee post is funded as part of our National Lottery Heritage Fund project to restore our historic glasshouses, our thanks go to all the funders.
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?