Architect/Surveyor

Historic England; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 42,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

28 days holiday

Discounts

Free entry to English Heritage sites

Development opportunities

Job summary

Historic England is seeking an Architect/Surveyor on a part-time (0.8 FTE) maternity cover contract in Birmingham with hybrid working. Salary is £40,778 - £41,400 pro-rata.

The role involves assessing grant-aided and Heritage at Risk projects, providing architectural and urban design advice, and working with owners, authorities and funders to safeguard historic assets.

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in architecture or building surveying, with current ARB registration or chartered RICS membership and accreditation in building conservation (AABC, RIBA(SCA level) or RICS) or working towards the above accreditations.
• Extensive wide-ranging experience of the repair of historic buildings, and in project management.
• Good working knowledge of English secular and ecclesiastical architecture of all periods.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• To take responsibility for the Historic England input into programmes of work at Heritage at Risk sites, supporting area-based grants in conservation area, and other priority places, working creatively with partners to advise and recommend actions on repair and alteration.
• To work proactively with owners, local authorities, 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.
• To act as intelligent client in relation to the provision of feasibility studies, options appraisals, specialist advice, cost estimates and contractual arrangements.
• To monitor grant-aided or commissioned work to confirm that it meets the necessary standard, recommend grant payments, and to undertake post-grant monitoring.
• In support of Historic England’s placemaking agenda, to provide architectural and urban design advice to maximise the role of the historic environment in areas of change.

Skills

Project management

Heritage conservation knowledge

English architectural history

Education

Architectural qualification

Chartered RICS / ARB registration

Job description

Historic England is the public organisation that brings new life to heritage to build a better future for every place and everyone.

Historic England has a fantastic opportunity for a Architect/Surveyor.

This is a part time (0.8 FTE), maternity cover contract.

Salary is £40,778 - £41,400 pro-rata

The location of this role is Birmingham, inclusive with hybrid working.

We offer a wide benefits package including a competitive defined benefit pension scheme to which we make 28.97% employer 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.

To view our full range of benefits please follow the link here.

What you will be doing

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.

To take responsibility for the Historic England input into programmes of work at Heritage at Risk sites, supporting area-based grants in conservation area, and other priority places, working creatively with partners to advise and recommend actions on repair and alteration.

To work proactively with owners, local authorities, 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.

To act as intelligent client in relation to the provision of feasibility studies, options appraisals, specialist advice, cost estimates and contractual arrangements.

To monitor grant-aided or commissioned work to confirm that it meets the necessary standard, recommend grant payments, and to undertake post-grant monitoring.

In support of Historic England’s placemaking agenda, to provide architectural and urban design advice to maximise the role of the historic environment in areas of change.

To provide urban design and technical advice to members of other regional teams (Development Advice, Listing, Business Management), including advising on statutory action in relation to listed buildings, drawing on national Technical Conservation Team colleagues as necessary.

To be an effective advocate of the benefits for local places of constructive conservation and to champion the work of Historic England.

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.


• may require visiting/inspecting sites where climbing scaffolding and negotiating confined spaces will be necessary.


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

Who we are looking for

• Professional qualification in architecture or building surveying, with current ARB registration or chartered RICS membership and accreditation in building conservation (AABC, RIBA(SCA level) or RICS) or working towards the above accreditations.


• Extensive wide-ranging experience of the repair of historic buildings, and in project management.


• Good working knowledge of English secular and ecclesiastical architecture of all periods.


• Excellent knowledge of historic building construction, current conservation practice and a wide range of methods for the repair, alteration and adaption of historic buildings, monuments and design in an historic context.


• Ability to approach repair problems and possible solutions in a practical and creative way.


• Good working knowledge of the implications of current construction industry regulation in relation to historic buildings and monuments.

Please note your application will be scored and assessed against the above criteria.

Historic England is a Disability Confident Leader and normally offers guaranteed interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role, where it is practical and appropriate to do so.

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 won the Gold Award from MIND for workplace wellbeing in seven consecutive years, 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 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 wants 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.

At Historic England we use a hiring system called Applied. Applied is a behavioural science-backed recruitment platform that reduces bias, improves quality of hire and increases diversity. We do not use CV application for the majority of our hiring processes. You will answer a selection of questions that allow our hiring teams to test your skills and suitability for the role.

At Historic England, we value the expertise and individuality each candidate brings and want to hear about this in your own words. If you require the use or AI tools or other resources to support your application, we ask that all information is factually accurate, original, and reflects your own experience. To best represent yourself, we encourage you to write in your own words and use AI-generated content only as inspiration—not as direct input.