We have an exciting opportunity for a dynamic, organised and hands-on person to join our client as an Assistant Operations Manager at their beautiful, rural site near Woodbridge in Suffolk. This full-time, permanent position is working in a small, busy and dedicated team of nature enthusiasts!

The job would suit an experienced person with impeccable organisation and administrative skills, who is capable of planning and multi-tasking, as well as delivering exceptional customer service. You’ll need to enjoy rolling your sleeves up and mucking in as part of a small team to benefit the business as a whole.

This role is offering a salary between £26k-£30k per annum depending on relevant skills and experience. It will involve working from 8am-4pm or 9am–5pm Monday to Friday depending on the time of year and is a permanent position. There is regrettably no opportunity for hybrid or remote working, and this role is offered on a full-time basis only.

The Company

Our client is a well-established business, boasting one of the largest ranges of hardy nursery stock in the country as well as having an extensive botanic collection. They are specialist growers of a large range of rare and unusual plants and are located on a 30 acre plus site with a workforce of around 15. Our client is committed to growing genuine English grown and English provenance native trees and hedging and have a fantastic reputation within their industry.

The Job

This role has a dual focus; to both effectively manage office operations for the business as well as supporting the Operations Manager in their workload. The Assistant Operations Manager will be the main point of contact for all customers and will be responsible for processing their orders and organising deliveries and overseeing planting schedules, where required. This may be in a face-to-face capacity, over the phone or via email. Some orders may be dealt with there and then, whereas others may take months from point of sale to delivery and planting. You’ll become adept at managing and driving service standards and efficiency in the end-to-end process.

Working closely with the business Owner, Operations Manager and HR and Accounts Manager, the duties will involve:

• Ensure an efficient service to customers from the point of initial enquiry, through to plant selection (which may involve sending photographs to customers)
• Raising of invoices & checking payments
• Organisation of collection, whether by in-house delivery person, or by dispatching to courier or haulier
• Managing planting schedules for customers as appropriate
• Providing regular updates to customers, ensuring they are kept informed throughout
• Using Microsoft Access database to record plant stock movements and pricing
• Processing the results of the annual stock take
• Be welcoming and polite to customers, whether in person, over the phone or via email and help direct their enquiries as appropriate
• Attending Friday meetings with Operations Manager to discuss and de-brief about the week and plan the week ahead
• Miscellaneous tasks to assist the business and its customers, i.e. – making tea now and then, helping customers load their vehicles with plants (nothing too strenuous!), taking photos of plants for customer reference amongst other duties as part of a small team

Requirements

This position would suit somebody who has considerable experience in a commercial office administration setting and is used to multi-tasking administrative duties with customer liaison and support to management. The ideal candidate will be a diligent and organised person, IT confident and able to prioritise, self-manage and use their own initiative. 

This role is working in a horticultural business, in the Suffolk countryside and would suit somebody who is fairly at home in nature and is happy to wear chunky boots and comfy casual clothing on a daily basis! The office space is old but beautiful and idyllic, as is the rest of the site.

In terms of additional required skills and experiences, the ideal candidate will need to have:

• An enthusiasm for plants and trees and be willing to increase their knowledge, including being comfortable learning and working with Latin plant names.
• IT literacy, good document control and digital filing practices and familiar with emailing photographs and creating invoices.
• Excellent organisational skills
• Good sense of initiative, with the ability to think on their feet and be able to prioritise effectively
• A good standard of spelling and grammar for professional communications
• Ideally, an interest in environmental issues
• An understanding of commercial operations; efficiency, and organisation to ensure customer satisfaction without compromising on quality standards
• Willingness to contribute to, and be part of a happy working environment by being a good team player
• Friendly and professional nature with good interpersonal skills
• The ability to offer exceptional levels of customer service

In Return

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a well-regarded nursery in the beautiful Suffolk countryside. It’s a function which will be key to the continued success of the business. We are looking for somebody who isn’t just seeking a job, but instead is looking for a long-term career opportunity in which you can put your stamp on your position and make a valuable contribution to a small business.

The position comes with an annual salary between £26k-£30k per annum depending on relevant skills and experience.

How to Apply

Please apply to Kate Howes through our website or alternatively via CV Library.

We aim to respond with specific feedback to every applicant via email within 14 days. However, as we are a small two-person independent agency, if we are extremely busy this may take longer. If you would like feedback sooner, then feel free to contact us via email and we will come back to you ASAP.

About Horizon

Horizon Search and Selection Ltd is owned and run by Gemma and Kate from our private offices in Bury St Edmunds. We’ve been in business for 12 years but have a combined 30(ish!) years’ recruitment experience between us. We’re friendly recruitment folks and love what we do. Here, we are acting as an employment agency on behalf of our client, the employer. We act as the ‘introducers’, so if you are successful, you will be directly employed by our client. We never share your details with anyone (including our client) without your consent. Any questions? Get in touch!

GDPR

Please note that all applications and enquiries are treated in the strictest of confidence. As part of our GDPR compliance, your CV and contact details will not be held by us for longer than 30 days unless written consent to do so is requested and obtained. Your CV and contact details will never be shared by us with a 3rd party unless specific consent has been obtained to do so. For more information on our privacy policies and how we comply to the GDPR then please visit our website and click on our privacy policy at the bottom of the page.

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