Location: Barley Mow Centre, Waterloo, SE1
Contract: Sessional (Freelance) | £20.06 per hour, 6 hours per session

Join an award-winning environmental and volunteering charity at the heart of London

Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST) is an award-winning environmental and volunteering charity managing and enhancing 16 parks and gardens across Southwark and Lambeth, alongside 20 Green Hubs – resident-led gardening projects, and our Community Engagement programme. Our aim is to create access to green spaces and opportunities for all, especially those who may face barriers to participation.

Thanks to support from the National Lottery Community Fund and the City Bridge Foundation, we are deepening our engagement with under-represented communities, helping to diversify the horticultural sector and making volunteering more accessible and inclusive.

In 2023, we began working in partnership with Waterloo Community Counselling and their Multi-Ethnic Counselling Service (MECS) to co-create a weekly gardening club that supports participants in transforming the grounds of their Barley Mow Centre into a wellbeing and welcoming space. With raised beds already installed and further projects underway including a gravel garden, seating, and nature-inspired features, we are looking for a Trauma-Informed Sessional Facilitator to support this work.

You will work alongside our Community Engagement Facilitator and Volunteer Coordinator to help guide and deliver a creative and supportive gardening programme with participants who have experienced displacement and trauma.

About the Role

This is a freelance role supporting six short-term blocks of sessions over an 18-month period. Each block will run for 8 weeks, with 3 blocks scheduled in each calendar year. Sessions will run on Wednesdays from 11am to 5pm. Your tasks will include helping setting up a vegetarian lunch at Living Space ahead of the gardening session, gardening session set up, supporting with delivery, reflective debriefing, and light administrative tasks. 

Sessions are participant-led, shaped through co-creation, and grounded in trauma-informed and inclusive principles. In colder weather, there will be opportunities to engage in nature-inspired art and craft activities indoors. A vegetarian lunch will be provided to enjoy with participants each week.

You’ll be supported by a small, hands-on team who value reflective practice and collaborative working. All staff and volunteers involved in this project contribute to monitoring, evaluation, and storytelling – sharing weekly insights from the sessions via our blog and social media with participants’ consent.

Key responsibilities

1. Deliver weekly gardening sessions for the MECS Gardening Club at Waterloo Community Counselling, incorporating wellbeing, horticulture and creative activities.

2. Support the vegetarian lunch and gardening session set-up and wrap-up tasks including preparation, registers, participant sign-in, consent for photography, and blog writing.

3. Maintain a reflective diary with participants, contributing to weekly updates for our website and social media channels.

4. Work closely with the Community Engagement Facilitator and Volunteer Coordinator to monitor impact and complete evaluation reports for funders.

5. Help create a safe and welcoming environment, guided by trauma-informed principles and our commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

6. Liaise with BOST staff, volunteers, and partner organisations as needed.

7. Contribute to co-creation of session content while aligning with the project’s overarching aims.

Person Specification

Essential

1. Experience in community gardening, wellbeing, horticulture, or outdoor facilitation.

2. Understanding of trauma-informed practice and a respectful approach to working with people with lived experience of displacement, violence or marginalisation.

3. Experience working with refugees, asylum seekers, or other communities needing additional support.

4. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build trust and rapport.

5. Organisational skills and confidence working in a dynamic, outdoor environment with small groups.

6. Confidence in using basic digital tools to manage attendance, consent forms, and photos.

7. Willingness to reflect on practice and work as part of a supportive and values-driven team.

Desirable

1. Training in manual handling, health and safety, mental health awareness or mental health first aid.

2. Experience working within co-creative or participatory approaches.

3. Familiarity with horticultural techniques suitable for urban and communal gardens.

4. Additional language skills relevant to refugee communities in London.

Terms and Benefits

Pay: £20.06 per hour (self-employed basis, invoice monthly)

Duration: 6 x 8-week blocks of sessions across 18 months

Hours: Wednesdays, 11am–5pm (6 hours per week)

Location: Barley Mow Clinic, Tanswell Estate, Frazier Street, SE1

Support: 1-2-1s and reflective practice from BOST’s Volunteer Coordinator and Community Engagement Facilitator

Resources: Access to our horticultural lending library of over 600 titles at The Ecohouse.

Additional Requirements

An Enhanced DBS check is required.
You must be registered as self-employed and responsible for your own tax and national insurance contributions.
You’ll be required to provide two references and proof of identity.

How to Apply

To apply, please email your CV and a brief written summary (no more than one page) outlining your relevant experience and why you’re interested in the role to marta@bost.org.uk.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a short interview. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis until the right person is appointed.

This role is generously funded by City Bridge Foundation as part of our community engagement programme which is jointly funded by City Bridge Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund.