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 become our Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas.

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 assist communities in looking after historic places and in the advancement of Historic England’s objectives.  We would welcome applications to carry out this role in any part of the London and South East Region, and would be happy to consider secondment opportunities for the temporary role.

As part of the Development Advice Teams, the Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas 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 to specific projects where their expertise would add value, for example as part of the Historic England Places strategy.

Salary

Greater London + salary range: £39,408 - £39,900 pro-rata

Inner London salary range: £40,748 pro-rata

What you will be doing

We need you to join us in taking responsibility for providing Historic England’s formal planning and management advice in relation to buildings (both secular and ecclesiastical), and historic areas  including assessing proposals, deciding upon that advice (unless the case is more appropriately escalated), and delivering it to agreed timescales and to excellent customer service standards.  A key part of this involves working collaboratively with colleagues across teams and where necessary drawing on advice from regional and national specialists.

You will 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.

We need you to be proactive and a collaborative member of the Development Team and to assist with the development and implementation of the team plans and wider corporate objectives.

You will be required to manage the performance of an Assistant Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas, if applicable, developing their capabilities, managing workload and ensuring knowledge of and compliance with agreed practices and standards.

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

To assist 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.

Please note that:

·       The role requires regular travel to sites not serviced by public transport.

·       The role requires visiting/inspecting sites which is likely to require climbing scaffolding and negotiating confined spaces (e.g. church roofs).

·       The role may require occasional attendance at community or planning meetings which are usually held at evenings or weekends.

What we are looking for

·       Educated to degree level or equivalent in a relevant subject

·       Broad and extensive experience of managing change to historic buildings and areas, including through the planning system

·       Experience of effective advocacy and working constructively with members of the public

·       A thorough knowledge of secular and ecclesiastical architectural history and the morphology of historic places in England, and the techniques of their study

·       A comprehension of architecture and urban design in relation to new development in historic places

·       A good comprehension of relevant Government policy, guidance and statutory procedures for the historic environment in the planning system, including LBC and Ecclesiastical Exemption

·       Good negotiating and influencing skills

·       Excellent team working skills

·       Ability to act as an authoritative and persuasive representative of Historic England at all levels including public speaking

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 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.

Please click the following link for the full Job Description;

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