Built Heritage Consultant

Essex County Counci; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 37,000 - 44,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement 27 days

Local Government Pension Scheme

Life assurance

Learning & Development

Employee wellbeing & counselling

Employee networks

Volunteering leave

Eye care vouchers

Travel discounts

Season ticket loans

Rewards scheme discounts

Private health & dental care

Job summary

Essex County Council's Place Services is seeking a Built Heritage Consultant to join the Historic Environment team in Chelmsford on a permanent, full‑time, hybrid basis. The role focuses on delivering technical advice on built heritage, conservation guidance to planning authorities across the region, and contributing to a diverse range of heritage projects.

You will report to a Principal Built Heritage Consultant, work from the Chelmsford office at least one day a week, and develop your career

Qualifications

• Postgraduate or degree in building conservation with relevant experience.
• Familiar with guidance and planning policy for historic environment.
• Strong report writing and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide conservation advice to local planning authorities.
• Contribute to conservation area appraisals and design guidance.
• Produce/assist with Heritage Impact Assessments and related reports.
• Collaborate with archaeologists and other Place Services teams.

Skills

Built heritage

IHBC member

Project management

Report writing

Communication

Site analysis

Evidence base

Development management

Listed building consent

Mobility

Education

Postgraduate degree in building conservation

Degree in building conservation (related discipline)

Job description

Built Heritage Consultant

Permanent, Full Time

£37,435 to £44,041 per annum

Location: Chelmsford*

Closing Date: 1st December 2026

*This is a hybrid-working role contractually based in Chelmsford. You will work from the Chelmsford office at least one day a week and across our operational area on other days, depending on business need.

Place Services is at the forefront of environmental consultancy in the public sector, and integral to our success are our people. Our purpose is to support public sector organisations to deliver their role in sustainable development. The growth of our service means we are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic and versatile historic buildings specialist to join our Historic Environment team.

The key responsibility of this role is to contribute to the effective technical delivery of our built heritage specialism. We offer a unique post which is one of the most diverse in the sector, providing a range of support across a broad geographic area. You will form part of a team operating out of Chelmsford as well as our office at Cressing Temple Barns. We are conservation advisers to local planning authorities in Essex, London, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent, West Sussex, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. As well as providing conservation advice to local planning authorities, you will undertake a wide variety of project work.

We are seeking a highly-motivated, enthusiastic and versatile built heritage specialist to join us. We are looking for a resourceful and creative person, who will relish the opportunity to develop and share their ideas and expertise, contributing to the collective intelligence of our team, and our clients.

The consultant will work across our operational area. We offer you the opportunity to develop your career as part of a performance-driven, multi-disciplinary team of dedicated professionals, in an area with a rich and varied heritage of historic buildings and places.

Reporting to a Principal Built Heritage Consultant you will assist in ensuring effective technical and commercial delivery of our built heritage specialism. You will help deliver a varied workload including the provision of conservation advice to local planning authorities, and a diverse range of built heritage project work.

We offer the opportunity for you to develop your expertise as part of a performance-driven team of dedicated professionals, in a region with a rich and varied historic environment. We invest in and are fully committed to the training and development of our staff.

Typical aspects of this role include:

• Provision of conservation advice (role of conservation officer) to at least one local authority through written responses and meetings (including on site and virtually). This also includes provision of support for appeals;
• Production of/contribution to conservation area appraisals and design guidance;
• Cross working with our archaeological specialists;
• Joint working with our Natural and Built Environment teams within Place Services;
• Production of/contribution to Built Heritage Statements, Heritage Impact Assessments and Conservation Management Plans; and
• Contribution to our diverse project work.

Essential Criteria:

• Educated to postgraduate level in building conservation (or related discipline) with demonstrable professional experience, or to degree level in building conservation (or related discipline) with significant built heritage experience;
• Has or working towards full membership of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC);
• A minimum of two years relevant work experience as a built heritage specialist in either the private or public sector;
• Good knowledge of guidance, legislation and planning policy pertaining to the historic environment;
• Good level of technical experience and knowledge of building conservation/historic buildings, including: site analysis, researching and preparing evidence base reports, and experience of development management and listed building consent proposals;
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including report writing and presentation, allied with confident and professional interpersonal skills; and
• Good project management skills, including ability to prioritise work whilst maintaining focus on key projects or activities, within tightly defined timescales.
• Ability to establish positive working relationships, with demonstrable awareness of good client service.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

Comprehensive CPD is available with the role, including access to our annual programme of Traditional Building Skills, Conservation courses and lectures: https://www.placeservices.co.uk/conservation-courses/conservation-courses/

Place Services is a unique business and a great place to work. To find out more about us please visit: www.placeservices.co.uk/who-we-are/about-us

For an informal discussion please contact the Historic Environment Manager, Tim Murphy via [e-mail] / 0333 032 0847.

Your benefits package

Benefits include:

• Holiday entitlement of 27 days per annum (plus bank holidays), with the opportunity to buy additional annual leave
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Life assurance of three times annual salary
• Learning and Development Opportunities
• Employee Wellbeing and Counselling provision
• Employee Networks
• Volunteering leave
• Eye care vouchers, travel discounts, season ticket loans and much more!

There is also an employee Rewards Scheme available for all permanent/FTC employees, which includes:

• Retail and restaurant discounts
• Cashback on purchases
• Private health and dental care plans

Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We're committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We're also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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Further details can be found on our careers page.

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