Summary

Expression of Interest - Internal Applicants only

We are the public body that looks after England’s historic environment. We champion historic places, helping people understand, value and care for them.

Historic England have a fantastic opportunity for you to become our Head of Local Government and Communities. In this role you will lead a team of specialists to support government with the development of areas of public policy where the historic environment can make a significant contribution. You will drive, inspire, coordinate, lead and prioritise our engagement with Levelling Up and Places, Wellbeing and Inclusion, Places of Worship and Industrial Heritage, ensuring the social and economic value of heritage and its role in making successful places is fully realised.

Reporting to the Policy Director, you will be a regular point of contact for DCMS, DLUCH and other government departments on local government and communities policy work. You will also support heritage sector partners to help maximise their engagement in the process.

You will work alongside the Heads of Environmental Management and Heritage Protection, as well other colleagues across the Policy and Evidence Group and Regions Group. You will be outcome-focused and will help ensure our policy engagement is targeted towards achieving our corporate priorities in the most effective and efficient manner.

The location of this role is National where we offer hybrid working, you will be based in one of our following offices and from home - Newcastle, York, Manchester, Birmingham, Swindon, Bristol, london, Portsmouth and Cambridge. 

What you will be doing

The role calls for a flexible, outcome-focused and proactive approach. The Policy Development team invests in building relationships with key players in government departments, the heritage sector and other stakeholders, including government agencies, think tanks and civil society organisations.

Your competencies will help you deliver the following outcomes:

• A high performing Local Government and Communities team who are engaged, motivated, aligned, agile and effective, and who derive immense satisfaction from their work.

• Levelling Up and Places, Wellbeing and Inclusion, Places of Worship and Industrial Heritage public policy that reflects the positive contribution heritage can make to society, the economy and the environment, informed by evidence and stakeholder intelligence (internal and external).

• Strong relationships and networks with key stakeholders, in particular DCMS and DLUCH, with clear and transparent lines of communication, mutual respect and aligned objectives and outcomes.

  You will deliver these outcomes by:

• Leading, motivating and directing the Local Government and Communities team by setting clear objectives, priorities and timelines for work delivery, whilst ensuring successful collaboration with other teams/stakeholders in the design of policies and programmes. This includes engaging effectively across the organisation to ensure a fully ‘joined up’ approach.

• Being flexible and adapting to change that may occur as a result of changes in government and the public policy landscape. You will be a Change Leader and make sure that all stakeholders – internal and external – are proactively engaged, informed and kept up-to-date.

• Bringing expertise to bear on complex matters, making them easier to understand by translating the complex into the simple and giving advice on how to successfully negotiate the complicated in a straightforward way.

  In addition, you will ensure:

• Delivery of your own personal portfolio of specialist policy work within the team, in addition to your leadership role, as agreed with the Policy Director.

• Resources are in place to sustain and develop Historic England’s Local Government and Communities policy development function, considering vital issues such as succession planning, career development, training and mentoring.

• Historic England develops new relationships with a broader and more diverse range of national organisations, as required, that have an impact on or interest in the historic environment and promote partnerships wherever appropriate.

• Where necessary, the team works flexibly to cover wider strategic issues in response to changing national organisational and team priorities.

Who we are looking for

• Degree or equivalent professional qualification in a relevant discipline

• Significant experience of strategic work relating to including at least one of the following areas: Levelling Up and Places; Wellbeing and Inclusion; Places of Worship; and Industrial Heritage.

• Experience of leading, motivating and developing a multi-disciplinary team.

• Astute stakeholder management, including credibility and confidence to engage at a national level.

• Ability to communicate and engage persuasively, succinctly and credibly – verbally and in writing.

• Resilience, responding positively and proactively to competing priorities, deadlines and change.

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 recruitmentTeam@Historicengland.org.uk if you have any recruitment queries. 

How to Apply:

To apply for this opportunity, please email charles.smith@historicengland.orguk and anna.flynn@historicengland.org.uk explaining why you’re interested in and suited to this position (max 300 words) by close of play on 19th March at 11.59pm. Informal interviews will be carried out virtually using MS Teams.

Please note you are not required to complete the Historic England Applied application form.

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

Interview dates: 22/03/2024

Please follow the link for a full copy of the Job Description –

https://historicengland.org.uk/media/yg3cramx/head-of-local-government-and-communities.odt

Please follow the link below for any questions & answers you may have about this role -

https://historicengland.org.uk/media/dx3f0qcq/head-of-local-government-and-communities-qa.odt