Principal Heritage Specialist

AECOM Corporation; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible schedule

Extra annual leave

Holiday swap

Learning programs

Job summary

AECOM is expanding its Melbourne Heritage Practice and seeks a Principal Heritage Consultant to lead local and Victoria-wide projects. You will guide technical work, mentor teams and develop client relationships across Australia, contributing to a national heritage strategy.

Based in Melbourne, you will deliver heritage studies, manage field surveys, and ensure compliance with state and Commonwealth laws. The role blends leadership with hands-on assessment work and stakeholder engagement.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience delivering cultural heritage assessments in Aboriginal and/or historical heritage based on solid understanding of State and Commonwealth heritage legislation and approval pathways.
• High performance standards for desktop assessments and field surveys, showcasing data quality and digital innovation.
• Strong heritage report writing skills, high attention to detail and a clear commitment to producing quality, defensible outputs.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective working relationships with Traditional Owners, regulators, clients and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Business development and client management skills, with experience identifying opportunities and growing project pipelines.
• A minimum of an Honours degree in cultural heritage management, archaeology or anthropology; Registered Heritage Advisor (Victoria) is desirable.
• Current manual C-Class Australian driver licence, willingness to travel for field work, and Australian citizenship to meet Defence project requirements.

Responsibilities

• Manage and deliver Aboriginal and historical heritage projects throughout Victoria, including technical oversight, and client engagement.
• Collaborate with AECOM's national Heritage team, contributing specialist expertise and supporting the delivery of major projects across Australia.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, Traditional Owners, regulators, government agencies and industry stakeholders.
• Provide technical leadership for heritage assessments, management plans, due diligence studies and heritage approval processes.
• Drive business development activities including proposal preparation, client engagement, market positioning and strategic planning.
• Prepare desktop assessments including background research, data review and heritage value identification.
• Complete safe field surveys to locate, record and assess Aboriginal and historical heritage places and objects.
• Deliver accurate, fit for purpose technical reports aligned with client needs and approval pathways.
• Work closely with communities, regulators and project teams to support practical, respectful heritage outcomes.

Skills

Cultural heritage assessments

Heritage reports

Stakeholder engagement

Business development

Team leadership

Education

Honours degree in cultural heritage management / archaeology / anthropology

Registered Heritage Advisor (Victoria) desirable

Job description

• Primary Location: AU - Melbourne, VIC - 8 Siddeley Str

Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

Come grow with us.

AECOM's environmental practice is dedicated to helping industries, clients and governments meet their environmental responsibilities while protecting the natural environment. We provide advisory and technical services to ensure compliance, manage impacts, and reduce risks, including obtaining permits and approvals, decommissioning and restoring contaminated sites, and tackling climate change challenges and resilience. We focus on preserving habitats, water quality, stakeholder engagement and cultural resources, promoting a holistic approach to environmental impact management at every project stage.

Join us in shaping and growing our Heritage Practice in Melbourne

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Principal Heritage Consultant to lead the establishment and growth of our Heritage Practice in Melbourne. This is a unique opportunity for a heritage professional with strong technical expertise, leadership capability and a passion for building client relationships to help create and grow a heritage offering within a well-established multidisciplinary environment.

Based in Melbourne, you will lead the delivery of heritage projects across Victoria while also working as an integral member of our national Heritage team. You will collaborate closely with heritage specialists across Australia, drawing on the strength of a nationally connected practice while developing a strong local presence and project pipeline within Victoria.

This role offers the opportunity to support major infrastructure, energy, Defence, transport, property and environmental projects, providing technical leadership on both Victorian and national projects. You will help shape the future of our Melbourne heritage capability while contributing to the continued success and growth of our broader Australian Heritage business.

We offer our clients expertise in Aboriginal and historical heritage management, impact assessments, due diligence, heritage approvals, consultation, excavation and salvage programs, and strategic heritage advice.

How you’ll make a difference

• Manage and deliver Aboriginal and historical heritage projects throughout Victoria, including technical oversight, and client engagement.
• Collaborate with AECOM's national Heritage team, contributing specialist expertise and supporting the delivery of major projects across Australia
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, Traditional Owners, regulators, government agencies and industry stakeholders.
• Provide technical leadership for heritage assessments, management plans, due diligence studies and heritage approval processes.
• Drive business development activities including proposal preparation, client engagement, market positioning and strategic planning.
• Prepare desktop assessments including background research, data review and heritage value identification.
• Complete safe field surveys to locate, record and assess Aboriginal and historical heritage places and objects.
• Deliver accurate, fit for purpose technical reports aligned with client needs and approval pathways.
• Work closely with communities, regulators and project teams to support practical, respectful heritage outcomes.

Qualifications

The qualities that help you thrive

The following qualifications and experience are highly desired, but if you don’t tick all the boxes you could still be a perfect fit for this role.

• Demonstrated experience delivering cultural heritage assessments in Aboriginal and/or historical heritage based on solid understanding of State and Commonwealth heritage legislation and approval pathways.
• High performance standards for desktop assessments and field surveys, showcasing data quality and digital innovation.
• Strong heritage report writing skills, high attention to detail and a clear commitment to producing quality, defensible outputs.
• Demonstrated ability to build effective working relationships with Traditional Owners, regulators, clients and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Business development and client management skills, with experience identifying opportunities and growing project pipelines.
• A minimum of an Honours degree in cultural heritage management, archaeology, anthropology or a related discipline.Registered Heritage Advisor (Victoria) is desirable.
• Current manual C-Class Australian driver licence, willingness to travel for field work, and Australian citizenship to meet Defence project requirements.

Additional Information

Why you’ll love working with us

Flexible work arrangements, including alternative start/finish times, job-sharing and hybrid work options

Purchase up to 6 weeks additional annual leave per year

Swap public holidays – swap Easter or other holidays for ones that suit you better

Continuous learning and growth - lunch and learns, professional development courses, financial study assistance, 5 days paid study leave, global career opportunities

Ready to push the limits of what’s possible?

We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including those with disabilities, additional health or mental health needs, and/or neurodiverse conditions. If you require any adjustments during the hiring process, please let us know.

Applications are reviewed as they come in, and the role may close earlier than expected, so if this opportunity sounds like you, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

Learn more about life at AECOM: LinkedIn, Facebook , Instagram, X, YouTube - explore our AECOM voices, employee stories, latest projects, and much more!

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

AECOM acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we, our clients and our communities live and work around Australia. We pay our respects to their cultures and to their Elders — past, present, and emerging. We are committed to connecting to Country in our work through meaningful engagement with First Nations peoples and businesses. Find out more about our Australian Reconciliation Action Plan here: https://aecom.com/au/our-vision-for-reconciliation/.

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

AECOM acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we, our clients and our communities live and work around Australia.We pay our respects to their cultures and to their Elders — past, present, and emerging. We are committed to connecting to Country in our work through meaningful engagement with First Nations peoples and businesses.Find out more about our Australian Reconciliation Action Plan here:https://aecom.com/au/our-vision-for-reconciliation/.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options.Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion – a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation and benefits programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We also provide a robust global well-being program. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility.As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

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