Head Beekeeper - Hampshire, United Kingdom - THE PIG Hotels (Home Grown Hotels)

Description

Head Beekeeper - Lyndhurst, Hampshire

Hours: 25 hour per week contract. Regular overtime available during peak/summer months.

Travel Requirements: This role involves regular travel and work between our Head Office in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, and our hotels.

About us:

THE PIG Hotels are committed to doing the little things brilliantly. Boutique hoteliers with decades of experience behind us and an obsessive commitment to what we believe in. Multi-Award-winning hotels with locations in Hampshire. Somerset. Dorset. Devon. Kent. Cornwall. Sussex. Gloucester & Warwickshire. We class ourselves as restaurants with rooms, our Kitchen Gardens are at the heart of what we do. We have an obsessive commitment to home-grown and local produce, and we celebrate the seasons. This means we use only the freshest and most authentic ingredients. Our kitchen gardeners work hand-in-hand with our chefs to create menus bursting with simple British garden food. What we can't grow or rear ourselves, we source from the local area. This is the foundation of our 25-mile menu.

For our honey production, we have a small team on beekeepers who collectively manage between 80 and 120 honey production colonies, working from our Head Office in Lyndhurst, Hampshire.

The role:

We are looking to grow our team with the position of a Head Beekeeper. Reporting to our Group Apiary Manager, As Head Beekeeper you will be responsible for managing several honey production colonies. You will raise and care for our honeybee colonies focusing on our main objective - honey production and maintain healthy, pest free bees.

Responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Colony maintenance - At our Head Office and occasionally at our hotels.
  
• Nuc production.
  
• Manoeuvre of colonies on crops.
  
• Honey extraction & bottling - every 3-4 weeks in bee season.
  
• Frame building.
  
• Transport of hives between our sites across the Southwest.
  
• Conduct routine hive inspection & maintain hive records.
  
• Apiary maintenance.
  
• Occasional collection and deliveries.
  
• Candle making - winter months.
  
  What we are looking for:
  
  

  This role is perfect for someone who enjoys variety in their day. A genuine passion for food and honey is a must, plus excellent attention to detail and a real willingness to learn and develop new skills. This role requires a can-do attitude and sociable approach, plus the ability to work independently as/when required. Experience in beekeeping, bee health and honey production is a essential. You must have excellent knowledge of plant and animal biology and the physicality to manoeuvre heavy equipment. Carpentry skills and previous experience building frames is advantageous.
  
  

  Applicants must hold a full clean driving licence.
  
  

  What we can do for you:
  
  

  THE PIGs are an inspiring, exciting, and fun place to work and in return for your hard work you can expect something a little different:
  
  

  • Numerous retail discounts via our Perkbox Scheme.
    
  • Discounted room rates and complimentary staff stays across our group.
    
  • Discounted food, beverage, and spa days across our group.
    
  • Craft and accredited training to all staff.
    
  • Meals on duty - including Head Office staff.
    
    Robin Hutson (CEO): 'As with all good hospitality, THE PIG is fundamentally about people; it's the personalities, passion, knowledge, and skills of the people we work with that somehow converge to creating THE PIG experience