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 Senior Archaeological Conservator for Maritime.

This is a Full Time, Permanent post based in Portsmouth with hybrid working.

We offer a wide benefits package including a competitive defined benefit pension scheme to which we make 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

You will provide expert archaeological conservation advice to Historic England, the English Heritage Trust through a shared service agreement and to the wider sector.  You will provide expertise in the analysis, interpretation and reporting of artefactual assemblages and historic features on Historic England projects, on projects undertaken in collaboration with universities and other IROs and on commissioned projects.  You will develop and undertake innovative heritage science research in support of the Historic England Corporate Plan and Research Agenda, including leading on and commissioning projects.  You will actively engage in increasing the public value and impact of your research including developing and taking part in public engagement activities. You will champion archaeological conservation, seeking opportunities to present Historic England work at national and international fora.  

An important part of your role will be to manage and develop the Maritime Conservation Facility, including overseeing access, training and supervision of external users.  You will develop and contribute to the delivery of training as part of disseminating best practice and developing capacity in archaeological conservation. 

You will work closely with other marine specialist colleagues across Historic England to ensure the organisation delivers a seamless service on all relevant issues.  

What we are looking for

• A post-graduate qualification in a relevant conservation discipline or equivalent experience

• Proven and extensive experience in archaeological conservation practice

• Broad and proven experience in the use of X-ray, and /or vacuum-freeze drying equipment as applied to cultural materials

• Demonstrable understanding of current issues affecting conservation practice in the commercial, voluntary and academic sectors in the UK

• Proven and extensive experience in archaeological conservation practice

• Confident and adaptable communication style, able to work constructively with a wide range of internal and external partners

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 won the Gold Award from MIND for workplace wellbeing in seven consecutive years, 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: 12th and 13th November 2025

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

https://historicengland.org.uk/media/0zda4o3h/senior-archaeological-conservator-maritime.odt