Horatio's Garden
Sheffield, Yorkshire
Oct 13, 2026
Full time
Purpose Horatio's Garden is a nationwide charity improving the lives of people with spinal injuries by creating and expertly staffing beautiful gardens. The Patient Experience Manager will play a key role in helping patients and their families use and enjoy the garden. You will represent Horatio's Garden in Sheffield, ensuring our ethos and values are reflected in everything you do. Developing and nurturing relationships with numerous stakeholders is key to the success of this role. Working alongside the Head Gardener, you will help ensure the garden runs smoothly as a thriving, welcoming space. You will also ensure patients and their families receive appropriate support throughout their time in the spinal unit. You will manage a team of volunteers and will work closely with the Head Gardener who maintains the garden's horticultural standards, the Garden Coordinator who supports the running of the garden, and the National Patient Experience Manager who ensures the high standard of our activities nationally. You will be managed by the Patient Experience Director. You will develop and maintain relationships with clinical and non-clinical NHS staff, corporate sponsors, funders, and colleagues in the Fundraising and Communications teams, and the other garden teams nationally. The gardens have been beautifully designed and maintained, and the role of the garden needs to reflect an appropriate environment for patients and their families at all stages of their stay. From the initial welcome, right throughout their time in the unit and after they have left. Your role will ensure all internal spaces within the garden also reflect a beautifully curated, nurtured and comfortable environment. You will be responsible for developing and delivering activities, supported by the National Patient Experience Manager and in collaboration with the wider Spinal Injuries team in Sheffield. The activities need to be patient led, varied and suitable for all needs. They will mainly be held at the weekend or in the afternoons as these are critical times in the garden when most patients are available and often have friends and family to visit. The Patient Experience programme should include seasonal celebrations, social and art and craft activities. External facilitators also deliver workshops and live music performances. This is a fantastic opportunity for a confident, proactive individual who has outstanding communication and relationship building skills and is efficient and well organised. You will need to be adaptable, friendly and confident working with a wide range of people including people with spinal injuries and their families, NHS staff, volunteers and many different teams within the charity. Main Duties and Responsibilities People with spinal injuries Develop relationships with patients and families to ensure the best experience for them in the garden at every stage of their stay. Organise and maintain a consistent seasonal, patient experience programme reflecting the current patient group, their needs and their wishes. Liaising with all appropriate stakeholders and managing the volunteers to support accordingly. Monthly reporting of activities and patient engagement, recording garden usage and gathering data for our annual impact report. This should all inform best practice in the garden. Ensure the garden is managed to allow the correct balance is in place to benefit both patients and external parties (major donors, trusts, corporate groups and other visitors) as well as being managed to ensure it's a safe, inclusive place for all patients and visitors. NHS staff Develop and maintain productive and collaborative relationships with NHS clinical teams and voluntary services. Volunteers Recruit and train new volunteers to support this role. Manage the team of volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the garden with patient experience at its core. Working closely with the Garden Coordinator to ensure all processes are adhered to. Fundraising and Communications Work with fundraising managers, Head Gardener and volunteers to develop opportunities to generate income in the garden through friends, corporate friends and third-party fundraising. Support corporate sponsor events and fundraising opportunities. Represent the garden and charity at key events. Promote the local social media accounts and provide regular updates for content. Interviews with press/media as required. Administrative Ensure all administrative tasks associated with the role are monitored, completed and maintained. Manage the local Patient Experience budget. Assist with ensuring the garden room is kept clean and tidy at all times. Collate data showing usage in the garden. This data should also inform you of the movement and flow of patients and visitors to improve your practice. Gathering impact data on an annual basis and on discharge. Safeguarding Comply with all safeguarding policies and report any concerns to the Safeguarding Lead immediately. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. Assist the Patient Experience Director with any other tasks as required. It should be noted that the list above is intended to give an overall view of the position and should be taken as guidance only. As a Charity we are committed to creating and promoting a culture that protects and preserves the welfare of the vulnerable people in our care. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining and evaluating information from and about candidates including criminal record checks, to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work for our Charity. APPLICATION To apply, please write a one page covering letter and CV. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all sectors of society. NOTE: DBS, medical and reference checks will be conducted as part of the recruitment process. First round of interviews will take place online on Wednesday the 18th November.