Grounds Keeper | Burwood Campus

• Christchurch – Burwood Hospital
• 1 FTE - 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday
• Permanent full time

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is dedicated to serving all New Zealanders. Through integration and collaboration, we’re building a health system underpinned by partnership, equity, sustainability, whānau-centred care, and excellence.

About the Role

Burwood Hospital have a well-established Maintenance & Engineering team that maintain the extensive grounds and facilities at our Burwood campus.

We are responsible for the day-to-day operation and upkeep of all the hospital building and grounds, as well as responding and resolving problems as they arise. We also engage specialist contractors to undertake some tasks alongside our own planned maintenance schedule.

About you

In this role, you will be responsible for:

• Ensuring that the lawns, grounds, plants, trees, paths and roadways are maintained in a tidy, safe and healthy state providing a therapeutic environment for patients and staff.
• Providing advice on low-maintenance planting options on areas earmarked for redevelopment and to further enhance our hospital environment.
• Nominating and liaising with contractors covering activities not undertaken in-house, such as tree felling, contract mowing of selected areas, and carpark maintenance.
• Supporting the volunteer gardeners and Volunteer Co-ordinator that maintain selected internal garden areas across the campus
• Developing, with Management, long-term strategies for the upkeep of our grounds and gardens in accordance with our primary objective of delivering affordable and sustainable ground-keeping.

Your skills will include:

• Experience working in a similar sole-position environment requiring self-initiative and an ability to work independently. You’ll ideally have managed commercial lawns and grounds previously.
• A recognised horticultural trade qualification, such as a New Zealand National Certificate in Horticulture, Level 4, and an agri-chemical qualification, such as a GrowSafe certificate or equivalent.
• Excellent communication and time management skills and an ability to identify maintenance requirements through casual observation.
• Experience and confidence using power tools such as lawnmowers, chainsaws, weed eaters and hedge trimmers in a commercial and safety-conscious environment.
• The ability to positively collaborate with staff within and outside the Site Maintenance team on tasks requiring multiple-trade input to deliver the required outcome.
• Confidence in generating recommendations and investigating solutions that will be of real value to the Burwood Hospital environment.

Working for Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is ‘the weaving of wellnesses. We're dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of Aotearoa/New Zealand. The Equity Work Programme at Health NZ focuses on helping everyone in the health system think about equity when they do their work. It also promotes the cultural change needed for the whole system to reach equity in health outcomes.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Health New Zealand are committed to being good employers and honouring our equal employment opportunity obligations.

Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion

We want to see the real you in your application and welcome the real you on board if you come and work with us. Skills are gained across many areas of our life, not just in formal employment. If you can demonstrate the skills listed in the ad, but the experience was gained through whānau life, community or mahi aroha (volunteering) we encourage you to apply and share your story with us in your cover letter.

We particularly welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

How to Apply

To view the position description and/or apply for the role please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Kerri McCarthy at Kerri.McCarthy@TeWhatuOra.govt.nz.

Please note, we will be reviewing applications when received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.