Architect/Surveyor - London and Southeast

Historic England; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Defined benefit pension 28.97% (employ

28 days holiday

Corporate discounts

Free entry to English Heritage sites

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Historic England is seeking an Architect/Surveyor to support heritage-led regeneration in London and the South East. You will provide master planning and design advice across buildings and sites, helping to derisk investments and deliver projects for communities.

You will collaborate with authorities, charities, and partners to maximise the impact of heritage-led interventions while maintaining high standards of conservation and practical problem-solving.

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in architecture or building surveying.
• Current ARB registration or chartered RICS membership.
• Accreditation in building conservation (AABC, RIBA(SCA level) or RICS) or working towards the above.
• Extensive experience in repair of historic buildings.
• Experience in project management.
• Knowledge of English secular and ecclesiastical architecture.
• Excellent knowledge of historic building construction and conservation practices.
• Ability to approach repair problems practically and creatively.
• Awareness of current construction industry regulation relating to historic buildings.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical advice to colleagues and external partners on grant-funded projects and master planning.
• Support heritage-led regeneration through design guidance for sites and buildings.
• Help derisk investment decisions and ensure projects deliver for people and places in need.
• Contribute to place-shaping work across London and the South East.

Skills

Architecture

Building surveying

Project management

ARb registration

RICS membership

Education

Professional qualification in architecture or building surveying

Accreditation in building conservation (AABC, RIBA(SCA level) or RICS)

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 you to join us as our Architect/Surveyor.

This is a full time, permanent post.

The location of this role is London 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

Through the work of the Historic Places Regeneration Team, we demonstrate the transformational power of heritage in creating and sustaining successful places. The team works collaboratively to deliver for people and places across London and the South East where we can make the biggest difference.

The team leads Historic England’s place-shaping activity and investment across the region. It is responsible for the initiation, development, delivery, evaluation and celebration of targeted interventions and engagement in priority places. To support its work, the Historic Places Regeneration Team draws on the breadth of expertise and tools we have available, including the heritage at risk programme, engagement, expert advice, grants and research, to effect positive and long-lasting change in places.

Meaningful partnerships with regional and local authorities, businesses, community groups, charities and other national agencies are central to the work of the team, helping to deliver creative projects that leverage the value of heritage to deliver wider societal benefits.

As part of this team, Architects and Surveyors provide technical advice to colleagues internally and partners externally to support our activities in priority places, including on grant-funded projects and through the provision of master planning and design advice. The technical expertise of Architects/Surveyors helps to derisk investment decisions and projects to ensure they deliver for people and places in greatest need. To support our work on heritage led regeneration and place shaping, Architects/Surveyors will also be required to draw on their design skills at all scales, from individual buildings to wider sites to support heritage-led regeneration.

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 want all candidates to shine in the recruitment process, so please tell us what we can do to help you show us your very best self. For more information, please visit our Everyone is Welcome page, or contact us at [e-mail] if you have any recruitment queries.

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.

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.

Provisional interview dates: 5 November 2026

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

https://historicengland.org.uk/media/wy1jraji/architect-surveyor-london-and-south-east.odt

Historic England only accepts applications through our authorised recruitment platform, Applied. We will never ask applicants to pay any fee or provide payment details during the recruitment process.