Policy Adviser (Devolution, Housing and Investment)

Historic England; Swindon; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme 28.97% employer contrib

28 days holiday

Discounts

Free entry to English Heritage sites

Development opportunities

Job summary

Historic England has a fantastic opportunity to join us as Policy Adviser (Devolution, Housing and Investment). This is a full time, permanent role with hybrid working and locations across the country including Swindon.

You will help shape public policy that recognises heritage’s social and economic value, working with DCMS and other government departments to drive growth and better outcomes for communities.

Qualifications

• Experience of policy work in a relevant field.
• Experience of undertaking research and analysing information.
• Enthusiasm for heritage and recognition of its economic, social and environmental value.
• Ability to engage professionally with a wide range of stakeholders, internally and externally.

Responsibilities

• Provide Historic England’s advice to government and organisational strategy on public policy that maximises the positive contribution of heritage to delivering growth and improving people’s lives.
• Support engagement with DCMS, MHCLG and other government departments on these issues, influencing relationships.
• Coordinate and undertake activity that supports our strategic direction, evidence-based insight and sector leadership.
• Work collegiately with the Growth Policy Directorate and Regions Group to deliver high-quality advice and design impactful programmes.

Skills

Policy experience

Research & analysis

Heritage enthusiasm

Stakeholder engagement

Job description

Job Description

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

Summary

Historic England has a fantastic opportunity for you to join us as our Policy Adviser (Devolution, Housing and Investment).

This is a full time, permanent contract.

The location of this role is either York, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Cambridge, Swindon, Bristol or Portsmouth, 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.

What you will be doing

As our Policy Adviser (Devolution, Housing and Investment), you will be an integral part of a team providing Historic England’s advice to government and organisational strategy on public policy that maximises the positive contribution of heritage to delivering growth and improving people’s lives. You will support our approach to issues such as devolution and housing, as well as other investment opportunities such as creative industries, visitor economy and public land disposal. You will help ensure the social and economic value of heritage and its role in making successful places is fully realised.

Reporting to the Senior Policy Adviser (Devolution, Housing and Investment), you will facilitate the team’s engagement with DCMS, MHLCG and other government departments on these issues, supporting effective, influencing relationships. You will coordinate and undertake activity that supports our strategic direction, evidence-based insight and sector leadership, to influence policy-making in a way that secures the mutually beneficial contribution of heritage to government growth programmes. You will assist our work with relevant partners, both within and outside the heritage sector, to enable their constructive engagement in the process.

You will work collegiately with others in the Growth Policy Directorate, alongside colleagues across the Policy and Evidence Group and Regions Group, supporting delivery of high quality advice and the design of impactful programmes. You will be outcome-focused and will help ensure our policy engagement is targeted towards achieving our corporate priorities in the most effective and efficient manner.

Who we are looking for

• Experience of policy work in a relevant field.
• Experience of undertaking research and analysing information.
• Enthusiasm for heritage and recognition of its economic, social and environmental value.
• Ability to engage professionally with a wide range of stakeholders, internally and externally.

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

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: Early September 2026