Team Leader Heritage and Urban Design

Careers at Council; Sydney; On-site; AUD 129,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gym membership from $18.65/week

Flexible work arrangement options

Job summary

Inner West Council is seeking a Team Leader - Heritage & Urban Design to guide a specialist team shaping Sydney's Inner West. You will provide expert advice on heritage conservation and urban design for complex development assessments and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to achieve sustainable, place-based outcomes.

Reporting to the City Architect, you will lead a culture of excellence, drive continuous improvement, and help preserve the area's rich heritage while balancing

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, Urban Design, Heritage Conservation or equivalent related discipline.
• Extensive experience in heritage and urban design within development assessment.
• Knowledge of Heritage Act 1977, Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, Burra Charter.

Responsibilities

• Oversee delivery of heritage and urban design advice for development assessments.
• Lead a team of professionals and drive excellence and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to achieve place-based, sustainable outcomes.
• Balance heritage conservation with future growth while maintaining character.

Skills

Heritage conservation

Urban design

Development assessment knowledge

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Negotiation

Interpersonal communication

Education

Tertiary qualifications in Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, Urban Design, Heritage Conservation or equivalent

Tools

Current NSW Class C Driver's licence

Job description

Inner West Council (IWC) is among Sydney’s larger local metropolitan local government councils looking after a community of 201,000 people living in some of the inner city’s most vibrant, creative, liveable, and diverse suburbs. As we continue to deliver quality, innovative, and inclusive programs and services, we invite you to join in on our journey towards becoming the best council for our community.

The community is at the heart of IWC, and our values of Integrity,Respect,Innovation,CompassionandCollaborationare at the centre of everything that we do.

We offer flexible career life balance with hours that allow you to relax and recharge.We offer a variety of flexible work arrangement options(e.g. flexible hours and working from home) where appropriate giving you even greater quality of work life balance.

Permanent employees benefit from our great valuegym membership from $18.65/weekgiving access to a vast network of gyms in Sydney.

About the role

Lead a specialist team at the forefront of shaping the future of Sydney's Inner West while protecting and enhancing its rich heritage character. Reporting to the City Architect, the Team Leader - Heritage & Urban Design provides expert leadership, guidance and strategic direction across a broad range of heritage conservation and urban design matters, ensuring high-quality development outcomes for the community.

In this influential leadership role, you will oversee the delivery of expert heritage and urban design advice, support complex development assessments, and work closely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve innovative, sustainable and place-based outcomes. You will lead a team of professionals, drive a culture of excellence and continuous improvement, and play a key role in maintaining the unique character, liveability and design quality of the Inner West.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced heritage, architecture, urban design or planning professional who is passionate about city-shaping, people leadership and creating high-quality urban environments while balancing heritage conservation with future growth.

Please read the Position Description to familiarise yourself with all the requirements and conditions of the role.

Remuneration

$129,387.96 - $155,168.00 + 12% Superannuation + Access to Motor Vehicle Leaseback

Some of the required skills, experience and qualifications

• Tertiary qualifications in Architecture, Urban & Regional Planning, Urban Design, Heritage Conservation or equivalent related discipline;
• Extensive experience and knowledge in heritage and urban design related matters in the development assessment field;
• A working knowledge of Heritage Act 1977, Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and related legislation, The Burra Charter and concepts as they relate to development assessment.
• Demonstrated ability to co-ordinate, supervise and lead a team and its functions to achieve outcomes that address current challenges for the IWC and its commitment to the community.
• Demonstrated ability and commitment to deliver and embed a culture of excellent customer service and improvement within a team.
• Strong interpersonal communication, collaboration, and stakeholder management skills including negotiation, mediation, facilitation skills
• Current Class C NSW Drivers licence

Enquiries

Rory Toomey, City Architect on 02 9392 5***

Closing Date

Sunday 15 November 2026, 11:30PM

Eligibility for employment/Pre employment Checks

Successful applicants must be eligible to work in Australia and agree to provide information for pre-employment checks as required for the position. This may include police records checks, certified copies of relevant qualifications, Driver’s Licence and proof of work rights in Australia (please refer to the Position Description for the specific qualifications/requirements for the role). Copies of any sighted documents will be kept by IWC for its records as proof of verification.

For more information about work rights in Australia please visit the Department of Home Affairs website.

Inner West Council is proud to be an inclusive and equitable employer

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to reflecting the diversity of our community. We strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, LGBTQ+ people, veterans, young people, and mature age workers.

This commitment to diversity and inclusion is one of the many reasons we were named the 2023 AR Bluett Award Winner as the most progressive council in NSW. We’re also proud recipients of the 2023 Australian Business Awards Employer of Choice and the 2025 NSW Local Government Excellence Award for Organisational Diversity and Inclusion.