ESTATE HORTICULTURE & OPERATIONS MANAGER

Mauritius | Large Private Residential Golf Estate

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Estate Horticulture & Operations Manager to take responsibility for the horticultural and operational management of the common areas and private villa gardens within a large, prestigious private residential golf estate in Mauritius.

This is a senior, field-based position. It is not an office-based management role.

Applicants who do not substantially meet the criteria below are respectfully requested not to apply.

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Candidates should have approximately 5 years or more of relevant experience in estate landscaping, horticulture, large-scale garden maintenance or a closely related operational environment.

Your CV must clearly show:

• Companies previously worked for
• Positions held
• Start and finish dates for each position
• Length of service with each employer
• Relevant responsibilities
• Size of teams previously managed
• Contactable references from recent employers

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

The successful candidate must be able to communicate effectively in:

• English
• French
• Mauritian Creole

The role requires regular communication with staff, foremen, suppliers, subcontractors, management and client representatives. The ability to communicate clearly and professionally in all three languages is therefore essential.

TECHNICAL HORTICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

The successful candidate must have strong practical horticultural knowledge and be capable of identifying and resolving problems involving:

• Trees, plants and general horticulture
• Invasive trees and plant species
• Pruning and tree management
• Fertilisation programmes
• Weed control
• Replanting and rehabilitation of flower beds
• Pest and disease management
• Beetle and termite-related problems
• General landscape maintenance
• Large-area mowing and zero-turn mower operations
• Irrigation systems within private villas

STAFF MANAGEMENT

The position involves the management and supervision of approximately 33 employees, including foremen.

The Manager will be expected to:

• Allocate and monitor work
• Manage foremen and their teams
• Monitor productivity and performance
• Maintain discipline and accountability
• Ensure teams have the necessary tools and materials
• Personally inspect the quality of work completed

The presence of foremen does not remove the Manager’s responsibility to check the work personally.

BOOTS-ON-THE-GROUND LEADERSHIP

This is a strongly field-based role.

A substantial part of every working day must be spent physically inspecting the estate, checking common areas and villa gardens, monitoring work in progress and verifying completed interventions.

We require someone who can walk or drive through an estate and see what needs attention before the client has to point it out.

The Manager must inspect the foremen as well as the teams beneath them.

Work is not considered completed simply because it has been signed off on a system. The required standard must be physically checked and verified.

PROBLEM-SOLVING

Problem-solving ability is non-negotiable.

We require someone who brings solutions, not simply problems.

When an issue arises, the Manager will be expected to:

1. Identify the problem
2. Establish the likely cause
3. Recommend a practical solution
4. Take ownership of the corrective action
5. Follow the matter through to completion

Problems should not simply be passed upwards where they reasonably fall within the Manager’s responsibility.

The successful candidate must demonstrate initiative, practical judgement, accountability and strong decision-making ability.

CRM & COMPUTER LITERACY

Strong computer literacy is essential.

The Manager will work daily with our CRM and operational management systems to:

• Review scheduled interventions
• Allocate work
• Monitor progress
• Record actions taken
• Follow up outstanding work
• Ensure completed interventions are properly recorded
• Verify that work shown as completed has actually been completed to the required standard

SUPPLIERS & SUBCONTRACTORS

The Manager will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing relevant suppliers and subcontractors, including:

• Nurseries
• Plant suppliers
• Topsoil suppliers
• Compost suppliers
• Tree contractors
• Pest-control and termite specialists
• Other horticultural service providers

The Manager must be capable of assessing the quality, suitability and quantity of materials supplied and ensuring that subcontracted work meets the required standard.

CLIENT & ESTATE MANAGEMENT RELATIONSHIP

The successful candidate will work closely with the estate’s management team and its landscaping representative.

A strong professional relationship must be developed based on:

• Trust
• Technical competence
• Responsiveness
• Communication
• Consistent delivery
• Practical problem-solving

The Manager will be expected to work in harmony with the estate’s representatives and help ensure that our company is viewed as a trusted and preferred provider of additional horticultural and landscaping services.

COMMERCIAL AWARENESS & VALUE-ADDED SERVICES

The successful candidate must have the ability to identify legitimate opportunities for additional work outside the normal scope of the contract.

These may include:

• Specialist tree cutting or removal
• Coconut palm work
• Termite treatment
• Specialist pest control
• Additional planting
• Landscaping improvements
• Rehabilitation work
• Private villa irrigation repairs or improvements
• Other specialist horticultural projects

The Manager must be commercially aware enough to recognise these opportunities, document them properly and refer them through the correct process for quotation and approval.

The objective is to provide additional value to the client while generating legitimate value-added income for the company.

PERFORMANCE & QUALITY CONTROL

The horticultural condition of the estate will be independently assessed approximately every three months by an external horticultural or landscaping specialist.

The results of these assessments will form part of the Manager’s performance evaluation.

We therefore require someone capable of maintaining a consistently high standard throughout the year.

WORKING HOURS

This is a senior operational position and is results-driven.

The successful candidate will be expected to work the reasonable hours necessary to fulfil the responsibilities of the role.

Operational requirements may occasionally involve early starts, extended hours, weekend attendance or urgent intervention.

These responsibilities will form part of the agreed remuneration package.

THE PERSON WE ARE LOOKING FOR

You should apply only if you can demonstrate:

• Approximately 5+ years of relevant experience
• Strong practical horticultural knowledge
• Experience managing a sizeable workforce
• Confidence managing and holding foremen accountable
• Strong computer and CRM literacy
• Fluency in English, French and Mauritian Creole
• A genuine boots-on-the-ground management style
• Excellent problem-solving ability
• Strong supplier and subcontractor management
• Professional client-facing communication
• Commercial awareness
• Initiative and personal accountability
• The ability to maintain a large estate in pristine condition

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must submit a detailed CV clearly showing:

• Full recent employment history
• Company names
• Positions held
• Start and finish dates for each position
• Length of service with each employer
• Relevant horticultural and operational responsibilities
• Approximate number of staff previously managed
• Contactable references from recent employers

Applicants should also provide a short example of one significant horticultural or operational problem they personally identified and successfully resolved.

If you do not have the required practical horticultural knowledge, relevant experience, leadership capability, language skills, problem-solving ability and willingness to spend a substantial amount of your working day in the field, please do not apply.