Heritage At Risk Architect/Surveyor - Midlands 0.8 Fte

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 Heritage and Risk Architect/Surveyor, joining our regional Partnerships team.

This is a 0.8 FTE permanent post.

What you will be doing

As part of the regional Partnerships team, the Architect/Surveyor will use their expert technical skills to advise on and develop proposals for repair and alteration to heritage assets. This is an opportunity to impact directly on the conservation of our national heritage.

Main duties and responsibilities:

1. To undertake the assessment of applications for grant-aided and Heritage at Risk projects, including examining and assessing specifications and drawings, and recommending appropriate action.
2. To take responsibility for the Historic England input into programmes of work at Heritage at Risk sites, supporting area-based grants, and within Heritage Action Zones and other priority places; working creatively with partners to advise and recommend actions on repair and alteration.
3. To work proactively with owners, local authorities, other funding bodies and building preservation trusts to promote a sustainable and viable future for historic assets on the Heritage at Risk Register and help to encourage and facilitate applications for grant-aid, liaising with professional advisers as required.
4. To act as intelligent client in relation to the provision of feasibility studies, options appraisals, specialist advice, cost estimates and contractual arrangements.
5. To monitor grant-aided or commissioned work to confirm that it meets the necessary standard, recommend grant payments, and to undertake post-grant monitoring.
6. To support Historic England’s placemaking agenda, by providing technical and project advice on schemes in the rural and urban environment, such as urban streetscape and public realm works.
7. To advise on statutory action in relation to listed buildings, drawing on national Technical Conservation Team colleagues as necessary.
8. To be an effective advocate of the benefits for local places of constructive conservation and to champion the work of Historic England.
9. To 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 may require visiting/inspecting sites where climbing scaffolding and negotiating confined spaces will be necessary.

The role will require occasional attendance at community meetings, which are usually held at evenings or weekends.

Historic England staff work on a hybrid basis. This means once weekly (pro rata) attendance at the Birmingham office, otherwise working at home.

This is an outline description of the duties and responsibilities involved in the job. It is not exhaustive and may be revised from time to time.

What we are looking for:

1. Professional qualification in architecture or building surveying, with current ARB registration or chartered RICS membership
2. Accreditation in building conservation (AABC, RIBA (SCA level) or RICS) - or be demonstrably working towards accreditation
3. Extensive wide-ranging experience of the repair of historic buildings
4. Good skills in negotiating and influencing; team working; and report writing
5. Good working knowledge of English secular and ecclesiastical architecture of all periods
6. Good working knowledge of the implications of current construction industry regulations in relation to historic buildings and monuments

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 RecruitmentTeam@Historicengland.org.uk if you have any recruitment queries. 

Provisional virtual interview dates: 30th July and 01st August 2024

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;

https://cms.historicengland.org.uk/media/2pznfrqc/har-architect-surveyor-jd.odt