Built Heritage Consultant, Place Services

Built Heritage Consultant, Place Services

Permanent, Full Time

£35,114 - £41,311 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 8th July 2024

Place Services is at the forefront of environmental consultancy in the public sector, and integral to our success are our people. Our purpose is to support public sector organisations to deliver their role in sustainable development. The growth of our service means we are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic and versatile historic buildings specialist to join our Historic Environment team.

The key responsibility of this role is to contribute to the effective technical delivery of our Built Heritage specialism. We offer a unique post which is one of the most diverse in the sector, providing a range of experience across a broad geographic area. You will form part of a team operating out of Chelmsford, which act as conservation advisers to local planning authorities in Essex, London, Hertfordshire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. As well as providing conservation advice to local planning authorities, you will undertake a diverse range of project work.

We are seeking a highly-motivated, enthusiastic and versatile historic buildings specialist to join us. We are looking for resourceful and creative people, who will relish the opportunity to develop and share their ideas and expertise, contributing to the collective intelligence of our team, and our clients.

The consultant will work across Essex, London and the South East. We offer you the opportunity to develop your career as part of a performance-driven, multi-disciplinary team of dedicated professionals, in an area with a rich and varied heritage of historic buildings and places.

Reporting to the Principal Built Heritage Consultant you will assist in ensuring effective technical and commercial delivery of our Built Heritage specialism. You will help deliver a varied workload including the provision of conservation advice to local planning authorities, and a diverse range of Built Heritage project work.

We offer the opportunity for you to develop your expertise as part of a performance-driven team of dedicated professionals, in a region with a rich and varied historic environment. We invest in and are committed to the development of our staff, fully funding membership of both the IHBC and CIfA, as well as providing funded training to individuals throughout the year. 

Typical aspects of this role include:

• Provision of conservation advice (role of conservation officer) to at least one local authority through written responses and meetings (including on site and virtually). This also includes provision of support for appeals;
• Production of/contribution to conservation area appraisals and design guidance;
• Cross working with our archaeological specialists;
• Joint working with our Natural and Built Environment teams within Place Services;
• Production of/contribution to Built Heritage Statements and Conservation Management Plans; and
• and contribution to our diverse project work.

Essential Criteria:

• Full UK Driving Licence and access to a car for regular use, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role by another means.
• Educated to postgraduate level in building conservation (or related discipline) with demonstrable professional experience, or to degree level in building conservation (or related discipline) with significant Built Heritage experience;
• Has or working towards full membership of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC);
• A minimum of two years relevant work experience as a Built Heritage specialist in either the private or public sector;
• Good knowledge of guidance, legislation and planning policy pertaining to the historic environment;
• Good level of technical experience and knowledge of building conservation/historic buildings, including: site analysis, researching and preparing evidence base reports, and experience of development management and listed building consent proposals;
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including report writing and presentation, allied with confident and professional interpersonal skills; and
• Good project management skills, including ability to prioritise work whilst maintaining focus on key projects or activities, within tightly defined timescales.

Comprehensive CPD is available with the role, including access to our annual programme of Traditional Building Skills, Conservation courses and lectures: https://www.placeservices.co.uk/courses/

Place Services is a unique business and a great place to work. To find out more about us please visit: www.placeservices.co.uk/who-we-are/about-us

For an informal discussion please contact the Historic Environment Manager, Tim Murphy via tim.murphy@essex.gov.uk / 0333 032 0847.

Your benefits package

Benefits include:

• Holiday entitlement of 27 days per annum (plus bank holidays), with the opportunity to buy additional annual leave
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Life assurance of three times annual salary
• Learning and Development Opportunities
• Employee Wellbeing and Counselling provision
• Employee Networks
• Volunteering leave
• Eye care vouchers, travel discounts, season ticket loans and much more!

There is also an employee Rewards Scheme available for all permanent/FTC employees, which includes:

• Retail and restaurant discounts
• Cashback on purchases
• Private health and dental care plans
• Cycle to Work scheme (via Salary Sacrifice)
• Tax free savings on Childcare (via Salary Sacrifice)

Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career. Read more about us here.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

What you should do next

If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website.