Summary

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 join us as our Heritage at Risk Project Officer.

This is a Part Time (18 hours a week), 9 months Fixed-Term Contract based in Bristol with hybrid working.

We offer a wide benefits package including a competitive pension scheme starting at 28.97% employer 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.

To view our full range of benefits please follow the link here.

What you will be doing

The purpose of Historic England is to improve people’s lives by protecting and championing the historic environment. A key activity relevant to this post is the investment in places where our expertise and resources make the most difference.

The Partnerships Team supports communities to look after their historic places and secure the repair of places, buildings and sites which are at risk, sustaining and enhancing their value to society. The Partnerships Team works closely with other teams throughout Historic England to advance our corporate objectives.

As our Heritage at Risk Projects Officer (HARPO), you will provide expert advice on the planning, funding and delivery of heritage at risk projects across the range of asset types in the South West Region. Applying the ethos of ‘constructive conservation’ you will work closely with owners, local authorities and with partner agencies to negotiate effective projects, identify funding and facilitate consents. You will report on project progress, update the Heritage at Risk (HAR) Register and contribute to associated administration and public promotion of heritage at risk cases and themes. HARPOs have a valuable role to play in supporting our Heritage at Risk Architects/Surveyors in overseeing complex HAR Repair Grant funded projects.

Please note that the role:

• requires regular travel to sites not serviced by public transport.

• may require visiting/inspecting sites which is likely to require climbing scaffolding and negotiating confined spaces (e.g. industrial heritage sites and historic building roofs, etc).

• will require occasional attendance at community meetings which are usually held at evenings or weekends.

Who we are looking for

• Project Management experience

• Good negotiating and influencing skills

• Ability to adapt communication styles to a variety of circumstances

• Substantial experience of working constructively with owners and other partners as a practitioner in the repair and management of heritage assets

• Excellent team-working skills

Please note your application will be scored and assessed against the above criteria.

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 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. 

At Historic England we use a hiring system called Applied. Applied is a behavioural science-backed recruitment platform that reduces bias, improves quality of hire and increases diversity. We do not use CV application for the majority of our hiring processes. You will answer a selection of questions that allow our hiring teams to test your skills and suitability for the role.

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

Provisional interview dates: 26th and 27th June 2025

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

https://cms.historicengland.org.uk/media/wn0f0ix2/heritage-at-risk-projects-officer-sw.odt