St. George's Park Estates Apprentice - 2 Year Fixed Term Contract

Organisation: The Football Association
Salary: Competitive
Location: National Football Centre, St. George's Park
Contract type: Apprentice (Full time)
Closing date: 21 September 2025
Job Description: The FA believes football has the power to unite communities, promote wellbeing, and inspire positive change.

The apprenticeship programme offers an entry into a rewarding career at The FA and an excellent opportunity to develop skills and gain experience within a supportive, inclusive and diverse organisation.

As an Apprentice Estates Person, you will work proactively with the Head of Grounds & Estates, Assistant Head of Estates, and the wider Estates/Grounds team to maintain and prepare all landscaped areas to the highest possible standard. Your work will help create a safe, attractive, and welcoming environment for all events, teams, and visitors to the SGP grounds.

You will support the delivery of the site's management plans and annual work schedules, ensuring the estate is presentable, safe, and well-maintained throughout the year — including in adverse weather conditions.

This will be a 2 year fixed term contract, based full time at St. George's Park, Burton on Trent and you will work towards a Level 2 Horticulture Operative Apprenticeship with Derby College. Please note that you will need to spend Wednesdays at their Broomfield Hall Campus, so please ensure that you will be able to travel there each week before you apply.

Please note that team members will be expected to be working on site or at college each day. Due to the nature of the work this role will not offer hybrid working.

What will you be doing?

Maintain and prepare gardens, landscaped areas, and grounds to standards set by senior management.
Carry out estate works in line with management plans and annual schedules.
Ensure all work is compliant with relevant legislation, company policy, and best practice for security, health & safety, and environmental care.
Keep the site clean, tidy, and free from litter.
Maintain safe pedestrian and vehicle access, including frost/ice treatments and snow clearance during winter.
Operate and maintain grounds machinery and equipment in accordance with manufacturer guidelines.
Undertake all required training, including mandatory FA Group courses.
Ensure all equipment and tools are returned in good condition after use.
Horticultural & Landscape Duties

Lawn care and maintenance: mowing, edging, scarifying, fertilising, spraying, weeding, strimming, top dressing, re-seeding, and repair work.
Woodland and habitat care: maintain and develop woodlands, grasslands, wetland habitats, ancient and veteran trees.
Planting and bed care: planting, weeding, pruning, forking, digging, mulching, watering, edging.
Hedge maintenance: cutting, weeding, gap filling, edging.
Path and kerb maintenance: cleaning, spraying, weeding, brushing, blowing, gritting, snow clearance.
Standard tree care: pruning, watering, feeding, weeding, and relocation where required.
Work in compliance with environmental and species protection requirements across the site.
General

Wear correct PPE in accordance with Health & Safety guidelines.
Report any maintenance issues, damage, or equipment faults promptly to supervisors.
Support other Estates Team duties as required
Executes additional tasks as required to meet the FA's changing priorities.
Comply with all company policies and procedures to ensure that the highest standards of health, safety, and well-being can be maintained.
As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.

What are we looking for?

To be eligible you must meet the following criteria:

Live within England and have lived within the UK for the last 3 consecutive years
Must not be in full time education at the start of your apprenticeship
Must be at least 16 years of age
If aged 16-18 you will need to have maths and English at grade 4/C and have the certification for this. If not, you will need to sit Functional Skills Level 2 as part of the programme
Must not hold a similar or higher qualification in the same area of study

This is a developmental role so you do not need lots of experience, however it would be beneficial for you to have the following:

An interest and awareness in plant, tree, shrub and environmental and wildlife management.
General and basic knowledge of common Health & Safety and safe working practices.
Proactive and enthusiastic attitude towards landscaping, grounds work and/or horticulture.
Attention to detail and pride in work.
Flexible approach to hours and duties.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Be smart, polite, approachable, with good communication skills.
Physical fitness and able to work in all weather conditions.

What's in it for you?

We are committed to ensuring everyone can flourish in their roles, to achieve this we have unique office spaces under the arch of the iconic Wembley National Stadium, which is the home of English Football. We are also delighted to offer a world-class, Elite Performance Centre, St. George's Park in Staffordshire which is an exceptional setting to develop and inspire high-performing England teams and leaders.

We pride ourselves in offering a competitive salary as well as great opportunities to develop and grow in your role. But that is not all; we also have a range of exciting benefits, some of which can be found below:

Access to event day tickets at Wembley Stadium, alongside a host of regular internal events throughout the season, encouraging you to connect and learn with your colleagues and look after your mental health and well-being.
Free, nutritious lunches at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
Free private medical cover.
A contributory pension scheme.
An additional 'Thank You' days leave, volunteering days as well as 25 days annual leave (based on a full-time, permanent contract.)
A hybrid working model which offers greater flexibility.

For more information on what it is like to work at The FA, please visit our FA Careers page, https://www.thefa.com/about-football-association/careers

We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The Football Association actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.

As part of the FA's commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
How to apply: For further information and to apply, please follow the below link: https://careers.thefa.com/jobs/vacancy/st-georges-park-estates-apprentice---2-year-fixed-term-contract-nfcsgp0491-national-football-centre-st-georges-park/2726/description/