Chief Executive Officer at Trebah Garden

About Us

Trebah Garden is one of Cornwall’s most treasured visitor attractions and one of the finest subtropical gardens in the world. Welcoming more than 113,000 visitors each year, Trebah combines horticultural excellence with a thriving charitable and commercial operation encompassing retail, catering, events, education and membership.

We are seeking an outstanding Chief Executive Officer to lead Trebah into its next chapter.

About the Role

Trebah is financially strong, operationally mature and highly respected, so this is not a role requiring major transformation. Our next Chief Executive will build on these strong foundations, providing inspirational leadership to a talented team and ensuring that this remarkable charitable organisation continues to flourish for generations to come.

Reporting to the Chair and Council of Management, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across all aspects of the organisation. You will act as the public face of Trebah, fostering strong relationships with visitors, members, volunteers, partners and stakeholders, while maintaining an unwavering focus on delivering an exceptional visitor experience, organisational sustainability and charitable impact.

We are looking for an experienced, values-led leader with strong commercial judgement and excellent people leadership skills. You may come from tourism, hospitality, leisure, heritage, culture, retail or another customer-focused environment. Whilst an appreciation of horticulture and heritage is important, your ability to lead people, manage complex operations and balance commercial success with organisational purpose is what matters most.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a nationally recognised destination, successful charity and dedicated team in one of the most spectacular working environments in the country. Few leadership roles offer the chance to combine commercial success, environmental stewardship and community impact in such a unique setting.

How to Apply

For full details, please download the candidate brief and contact Anna Jay, Managing Director of Public Leaders Appointments for a confidential discussion: anna@publicleadersappointments.com 

For more details about this role, please download the recruitment brief in the right hand panel.

Deadline: Midday, 4 August 2026

Interviews: 8, 9 and 10 September 2026