Senior Building Conservation Advisor

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.

We are seeking a Senior Building Conservation Advisor to join our Technical Conservation Team to support the team’s role as a centre of specialist knowledge and research in the conservation of historic buildings. We need a good team player with wide experience in applied Building Conservation, combined with intellectual curiosity and a creative approach to problem solving, to help deliver our evidence-based advice and guidance on caring for the built heritage.

This is a unique opportunity to join a small, highly motivated and high-achieving team working alongside colleagues and industry experts with a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips.

This is a two-year fixed-term full-time post. The location for this role is National, we offer hybrid working where you will be based in one of the following offices and from home – London, Newcastle, York, Manchester, Birmingham, Swindon, Bristol, Portsmouth or Cambridge. 

What you will be doing

As a member of the Building Conservation & Designed Landscape Team in Technical Conservation, you will provide specialist technical advice on conserving, repairing, maintaining and adapting a vast range of heritage assets, from the humblest vernacular structures to some of the most significant historic buildings and sites in the country, including those managed by English Heritage. You will also help to develop guidance on appropriate methods of conserving the historic built environment by commissioning and managing applied research projects, carrying out and organising specialist training and producing and disseminating technical advice and guidance for a range of audiences, including conservation professionals and non-professionals.

The work is highly varied, and no two days are the same; one day, you might be on site, accompanied by one of our experienced consultants, to advise on dealing with a complex traditional roofing problem, and the next day you might be in a meeting with scientists, helping to design a research methodology for evaluating traditional solutions to driving rain penetration, or be attending a conference to present our research or guidance.

Research

Take an active part in the Team’s research programme, including leading or participating in individual projects as appropriate, to ensure that the advice we give on the conservation of the historic built environment is underpinned by sound evidence. This will include liaison with key stakeholders in the development of research priorities and projects, commissioning laboratory research and site trials, monitoring progress, interpreting results, and managing the dissemination of results.

Capacity-building

Work in partnership with professional institutions, craft skills bodies and other relevant organisations to improve standards and best practice in the conservation of the historic built environment to satisfy the demands and changing needs of the sector.  

Income generation

Contribute to the generation of income through delivery of cost-recovery training courses, paid-for advice or additional income-generating work streams. 

Profile

Represent Historic England on external committees, steering groups and working parties concerned with the conservation of the historic built environment to increase Historic England’s strategic influence, develop relationships with sector partners and promote best practice for the benefit of the historic built environment.

Financial and compliance management

Comply with Historic England’s legal obligations and policies in terms of finance, procurement, health & safety, information security, and equality & diversity.

Who we are looking for:

• Degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject or equivalent work experience.
• Extensive, appropriate & wide-ranging post-qualification experience in the conservation of historic buildings and structures, including diagnosing defects and implementing appropriate interventions.
• Experience of writing reports, guidance and articles and editing the work of others
• Practical experience of a range of historic building repair methods
• Detailed knowledge of traditional building materials & systems, deterioration and remedial options
• Team player with proven ability to collaborate with wide range of internal & external partners

Please note

The role will involve travel to local offices and locations throughout England, often to sites that are inaccessible by public transport, so it is essential that you have a current driving licence that is valid in the UK.

Due to the national remit of the role, attendance at meetings and site visits will often involve overnight stays, sometimes of more than one consecutive night.

The role will also involve visiting sites in exposed locations and where climbing scaffolding and negotiating uneven terrain and confined spaces (such as attics) will be essential.

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. 

To ensure a fair and inclusive recruitment process for everyone the use of AI or automated tools is not permitted.

For further information or to request an informal discussion please contact Alison Henry, Head of Building Conservation and Designed Landscape - Alison.Henry@HistoricEngland.org.uk .

Provisional interview dates: 17th or 18th April 2024 in our London office.

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

https://historicengland.org.uk/media/a52bej01/senior-building-conservation-advisor.odt