Summary

Historic England is the public body that looks after England's historic environment. We champion historic places, helping people to understand, value, and care for them.

We are seeking an Assistant inspector of Ancient Monuments to join the Development Advice team in the South West. This is a part time role that can be either 2.5 or 3 days per week.

The Development Advice Teams provide Historic England’s statutory and non-statutory advice to our customers, engaging where we add most value to decision-making through our distinctive contribution as national experts. The Development Advice Teams will also work closely with other teams to support communities in looking after historic places and in the advancement of Historic England’s objectives.  

As part of the South West Development Advice Teams, the Assistant Inspector of Ancient Monuments will take delegated responsibility for the delivery of Historic England’s advice on proposals for change in the historic environment that fall within their area of competence.  Applying the ethos of ‘constructive conservation’ and making effective use of Conservation Principles in all their advisory work, they will provide advice to owners, local authorities and others, to proactively work towards the sustainable management of the historic environment. They will also contribute as required to specific projects where their expertise would add value, for example as part of the Historic England Places strategy or in support of Heritage at Risk work.

Main duties and responsibilities:

• To support, and take delegated responsibility from, the Inspector of Ancient Monuments (Inspector) for providing Historic England’s formal planning, scheduled monument control and management advice in relation to ancient monuments, registered battlefields and archaeological landscapes.  This will include the assessment of proposals, obtaining further information where required, the proposing and, in consultation with the Inspector, delivering of Historic England’s advice to agreed timescales and to excellent customer service standards. This will involve working collaboratively with colleagues across teams and where necessary drawing on advice from regional and national specialists.

• To support the Inspector in the investigation of, and delivery of prosecutions for, heritage crimes in respect of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, the National Heritage Act 1983 or other relevant legislation.  This will include inspecting sites, meeting with relevant individuals, preparing reports, evaluating intervention options and securing consequential reparation actions in discussion with the Inspector.

• To undertake pre-application discussion with potential applicants, including Extended Pre-application advice where appropriate, applying the ethos of ‘constructive conservation’ to negotiate creative solutions to problems so that proposed changes are sustainable.

• To be a proactive and collaborative member of the South West Team and to assist with the development and implementation of team plans and wider corporate objectives.

• To be an effective advocate for the benefit for local places and communities of conserving heritage assets.

• To support the delivery of Corporate Plan, Historic England Places Strategy, Public Value Framework, and other national and local strategies as agreed with line management, including working on specific projects.

• To assist local planning authorities and others with the interpretation of the law and national planning policy framework with regard to ancient monuments, registered battlefields and archaeological landscapes.

• To undertake any other reasonable duties commensurate with the grade and competencies required of the post requested by line management.

 What we are looking for

1         An excellent working knowledge of ancient monuments, registered battlefields, and archaeological landscapes in England, and the techniques of their study.

2         Experience and understanding of relevant Government policy, guidance and statutory procedures for the protection of the historic environment and the planning system, including Scheduled Monument Consent.

3         Ability to work professionally under pressure to meet planning and SMC response deadlines on an ongoing basis.

4         Ability to work methodically in a team and independently: ensuring that team members are appraised of progress and ensuring the completion of tasks that have been committed to.

5         Good oral and written communication skills including those required to help overcome conflicting priorities between stakeholders.

Please note the role requires regular travel to sites not serviced by public transport and you will require a driving licence (unless a specific reasonable adjustment is required for inclusion) and may require visiting/inspecting sites where climbing scaffolding and negotiating confined spaces will be necessary. The role may also require occasional attendance at community meetings, which are usually held at evenings or weekends.

We are an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusion. If you have a disability or neurodiversity, we would be happy to discuss reasonable adjustments to the job with you. Having just won the Gold Award from MIND, we also recognise the importance of a healthy work-life balance.

We are an inclusive employer and believe that flexible working options are for everyone. We want to make sure our working arrangements don’t prevent anyone from joining us because of their personal circumstances. We also want to provide you with the best balance in your home and work life that we can.

We are open to considering options including job sharing, part-time working, compressed hours working and different working locations, including hybrid working. Please visit our jobs pages or contact us to find out more.

Why work for Historic England

We offer a wide benefits package including a competitive pension scheme starting at 26% contributions, a generous 28 days holiday, corporate discounts, free entry into English Heritage sites across the country and development opportunities to ensure you achieve your goals.

We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity for everyone. Diversity helps us to perform better and attract more people to support our work. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and candidates with disabilities as they are underrepresented within Historic England at this level.

Historic England want all of our candidates to shine in the recruitment process. Please tell us what we can do to make sure you can show us your very best self. You can contact us by email at ResourcingTeam@Historicengland.org.uk or telephone 07763387811 if you have any recruitment queries.

To ensure a fair and inclusive recruitment process for everyone the use of AI or automated tools is not permitted.

Provisional interview dates: end of August 2023

For a full copy of the job description, please click on the link below;

https://historicengland.org.uk/content/job-descriptions-hr/aiam-jd/