Head Grower – Palmerston North
Permanent, Full-Time Position
Palmerston North | Growing Spectrum
Ready to lead the growing? Grow with us.
We’re looking for an experienced Head Grower to take the lead on plant health, quality and growing performance at our Palmerston North nursery.
This is a senior, hands-on horticultural role for someone who knows plants, understands growing systems and enjoys finding better ways to get great results.
At Growing Spectrum, quality plants are at the heart of what we do. As Head Grower in Palmerston North, you’ll take ownership of the technical growing programme across the nursery – from irrigation, nutrition and pest management through to crop monitoring, environmental control, plant hygiene and growing trials.
You’ll also play an important leadership role within the nursery, sharing your knowledge, developing the team and working closely with planning and operations to make sure our plants are growing to the right quality, at the right time.
If you’re an experienced grower who loves the technical side of horticulture but still likes being out amongst the plants, this could be a great next step.
What You’ll Be Doing
You’ll take the lead on growing performance across the Palmerston North nursery, including:
Managing plant health and quality across a diverse range of crops.
Leading irrigation, nutrition and fertilisation programmes.
Managing pest, disease and weed control, including Spray and Integrated Pest Management programmes.
Monitoring crops and identifying pest, pathogen and physiological issues early.
Optimising environmental conditions to achieve strong, consistent plant growth.
Overseeing plant hygiene, sanitation and biosecurity standards.
Managing mother stock and plant material to support reliable propagation.
Maintaining and improving the systems and equipment that support growing operations.
Working closely with Planning and Operations to ensure crop timing and production requirements are understood and achieved.
Providing technical advice, training and support to the wider Palmerston North nursery team.
Leading, supporting and developing the growing team.
Helping drive continuous improvement across the nursery.
What We’re Looking For
We’re looking for someone with strong practical horticultural knowledge and the confidence to take ownership of growing outcomes.
Ideally, you’ll bring:
Significant commercial nursery or horticultural growing experience.
Strong technical knowledge of plant health, irrigation, nutrition, pest and disease management and growing systems.
Experience leading or supporting a team.
A practical, hands-on approach and strong problem-solving skills.
The ability to identify issues early and put practical solutions in place.
Good planning, organisation and communication skills.
An interest in innovation and continually improving the way plants are grown.
Confidence working with growing systems, equipment and technology.
A relevant horticultural qualification would be an advantage.
Most importantly, you’ll take pride in producing exceptional plants and enjoy sharing your knowledge with the people around you.
Why Join Growing Spectrum?
Growing Spectrum is one of New Zealand’s leading wholesale nurseries, supplying a diverse range of quality plants to customers throughout the country.
We’re a practical, down-to-earth team that values quality, teamwork and continuous improvement. This is an opportunity to take real ownership of the growing function at our Palmerston North nursery and have a
direct influence on the quality of the plants we produce.
You’ll have the opportunity to bring your experience and ideas to the role, develop growing systems and practices, and be part of a business that genuinely loves growing great plants.
Ready to grow with us? We’d love to hear from you.