Head Greenkeeper

Head Greenkeeper Position

St Augustine’s Golf Club, Cliffsend. Ramsgate CT12 5JN

**Salary**: Negotiable

Reports to Honorary Treasurer and Greens Sub Committee
- St Augustine’s Golf Club St Augustine’s is a compact, testing but very popular golf course with fairways lined by mature, attractive trees and has a number of waterways and ponds that are home to a variety of wildlife. Skilled management of the waterways and dedicated work on the greens mean that we have a course to be proud of._
- Par for the course is 69 and the scratch score is 66 from the white tees and 65 from the yellow tees. At 5,254 yards, the course is suitable for all levels of golfer. High handicappers will find that they are able to reach most fairways from the tees without too much difficulty and shots to the greens are achievable with some care._
- The more experienced players will find they need to maintain a high degree of accuracy and consistency to score well._
- The Course hosts many major events including an Annual Pro-Am Tournament, attracting in excess of 200 players on the day._

The role of Head Greenkeeper is a key role within the Golf Club and through leading a small team of Greenkeepers you will ensure that the standards of the Golf Course are maintained at all times. The postholder will also take responsibility for the full course and site including car parks, paths, and workshop. As part of an ‘excellent customer focussed team’ you will be required to deliver all cultural practices along with setting of pins and marking of hazards for regular club play in additional to tournament play and course grooming, and be responsive to climate changes and the course needs.

You will be required to have a detailed knowledge of agronomy, plant pathology, entomology and chemistry. Knowledge of soil science is also desirable. Leading a small but enthusiastic team of Greens Staff you will co-ordinate, organise and control all works on the Golf Course on a daily basis including but not limited to daily staffing tasks, use of and ordering of appropriate machinery and materials. In addition, you will support and work closely with the Greens Sub Committee/Director of Golf in identifying and developing any plans for future development of the Golf Course and associated areas.

As you will be leading a small team, you will be responsible for identifying any training and development needs of your team and provide regular coaching and mentoring to ensure the continuous development of your team and the Golf Course. You will be expected to understand the needs of our diverse customer base and provide an exceptional level of customer service at all times to each of our customers whether internal or external by being welcoming, approachable, responsive and considerate.
- Lead and manage the Greens Staff and small team of Volunteers.
- Lead the delivery of and take ownership for developing, implementing and monitoring high standards of grounds maintenance and occasional landscape development on the Golf Course
- Operate machinery, tools, equipment and materials to achieve and maintain the desired standards on the golf course
- Ensure that all members of the team who are operating machinery, tools and equipment do so, following all safe systems of work and associated procedures
- Ensure that all Health & Safety Assessments are up to date and are regularly reviewed.
- Support the Greens Sub Committee in identifying and developing plans for the Golf Course
- Work in partnership with third party operators on the Golf Course to ensure that a positive customer experience is had by each member and visitor.

**Essential**

Criteria Definition These are the skills, qualifications, experience and attitude you will need in order to be shortlisted for the post. These are essential to perform your role on day one.

These skills, qualifications and experience are ideal to have on day one of the job, however, if you don’t have them yet, we consider most of these can be obtained during the first few months in the role. You must be aware that you will need to be demonstrating these skills longer term. You will be expected to develop your skills and knowledge within an agreed timescale (usually within 3-6 months of your start date) to meet the desirable criteria in full.
- The ability to demonstrate - ONE TEAM, PASSION, EXCELLENCE
- Five years’ experience in horticulture, grounds maintenance or similar environment
- FEOA qualifications PA1, PA2 and PA6
- NVQ Level 3 in Horticulture or other recognised qualification in this field
- Extensive knowledge and experience of the following areas:
Turf maintenance machinery. Methods of pest and disease control. Irrigation systems. Use of Fertiliser programmes.
- Experience of people management
- Strong organisation skills with the ability to prioritise workload to meet strict deadlines
- Current full and clean driving licence
- Exceptional attention to detail
- Flexibility with working hours to get the job do