Summary
Historic England is the public organisation that brings new life to heritage to build a better future for every place and everyone.
Historic England have a fantastic opportunity for you to join us as our Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas .
This is a full time, maternity cover role based out of London with hybrid working. The role covers the South East of England.
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
The Development Advice Teams provide Historic England’s statutory and non‑statutory advice to our customers, engaging where we add most value to decision-making through our distinctive contribution as national experts. The Development Advice Teams will also work closely with other teams to support communities in looking after historic places and in the advancement of Historic England’s objectives.
As part of the Development Advice Teams, the Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas will take delegated responsibility for the delivery of Historic England’s advice on proposals for change in the historic environment that fall within their area of competence. Applying the ethos of ‘constructive conservation’ and making effective use of Conservation Principles in all their advisory work, they will provide advice to owners, local authorities and others, to proactively work towards the sustainable management of the historic environment. They will also contribute to specific projects where their expertise would add value, for example as part of the Historic England Places strategy.
Who we are looking for
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Relevant qualifications
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A good understanding of secular and ecclesiastical history and the morphology of places
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A good understanding of relevant Government policy, guidance and the planning system, including LBC and EE
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Broad and extensive experience of managing change to historic buildings and areas
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An ability to think creatively, negotiate and influence in order to achieve good outcomes
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Ability to communicate with a wide range of audiences and adapt communication style
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Ability to work independently or as part of a team
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 recruitmentTeam@Historicengland.org.uk 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.
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. You can contact us by email at recruitmentTeam@Historicengland.org.uk if you have any recruitment queries.
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: 24th November 2026
Please follow the link for a full copy of the Job Description –
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. Please only apply using the application link provided within this advert.