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 have an exciting opportunity for an Inspector of Ancient Monuments to join our Development Advice team in the Midlands.

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 Development Advice Team, the 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, specifically scheduled monuments, archaeology and historic environment planning.   Applying the ethos of ‘constructive conservation’ and making effective use of our 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.

What you will be doing

You will take responsibility for providing Historic England’s statutory advice on planning, scheduled monument consent and management advice in relation to Ancient Monuments and other designated heritage assets and archaeological landscapes. This will include undertaking an assessment of proposals, providing and delivering advice to an agreed timescale and with excellent customer service standards. A key part of this involves understanding the legislation and polices involved and then working collaboratively with colleagues across teams, where necessary drawing on advice from regional and national specialists.

 You will represent Historic England (or if directed the Secretary of State) in the operation of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, the National Heritage Act 1983 or other relevant legislation including with regard to the investigation and prosecution of offences in coordination with other public agencies.

 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.

Be a proactive and collaborative member of the Midlands 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 Ancient Monuments, 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 to local places of conserving heritage assets.

You will 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 and assisting stakeholders such as monument owners or the local planning authorities with the interpretation of the law and national planning policy for Ancient Monuments and archaeological landscapes, and heritage planning including influencing elected council members and senior officers to make use of the powers available to them to safeguard heritage assets.

You will also be working with our Business Manager and other colleagues, to advise HMRC on new claims for Inheritance Taxation (IHT) exemption and on the implementation of IHT management plans.

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

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.

• The role may require occasional attendance at community or planning meetings which can be held at evenings or weekends.

• This is a description of the job as it is presently constituted and may be subject to change, and job descriptions are updated in consultation with the post-holder on a regular basis to ensure they continue to reflect the needs of the role.

• We are committed to providing equality of opportunity for all. We will consider making reasonable adjustments for disabled people where necessary, to ensure this.

 What we are looking for

• Educated to undergraduate or postgraduate degree level in archaeology or a relevant subject

• A thorough knowledge of ancient monuments and archaeological landscapes in England, and the techniques of their assessment and study

• A good understanding of relevant Government policy, guidance and statutory procedures for the historic environment in the planning system, including Scheduled Monument Consent

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

• 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.

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

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.

Provisional interview dates: week commencing 13th November 2023

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

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