Inspector of Ancient Monuments

We are the public body that looks after England's historic environment. We champion historic places, helping people understand, value and care for them.

Historic England have a fantastic opportunity for you to join us as our Inspector of Ancient Monuments as part of the Development Advice Teams.

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.

Through applying our ethos of Constructive Conservation, this role will manage change to some of the most significant archaeology across this diverse region. The new Inspector of Ancient Monuments will deliver Historic England`s advice in response to pre-application and formal consultations across the diverse and fascinating North West Region, including Hadrian`s Wall, a World Heritage Site, our extensive industrial heritage and assets ranging from Cheshire moats to Cumbrian stone circles. At its heart this post involves advising on scheduled monument consent applications, planning applications and management advice in relation to places of archaeological interest.

What you will be doing

As part of the North West Development Advice Team, the Inspector of Ancient Monuments 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, specifically scheduled monuments, archaeology and historic environment planning, 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. The role will also contribute to specific projects where their expertise would add value.

This role will provide Historic England's statutory advice on planning, scheduled monument consent and management advice in relation to scheduled monuments and other designated heritage assets and archaeological landscapes. This will include undertaking an assessment of proposals, providing and delivering advice to timescale and with excellent customer service standards. A key part of this involves understanding the legislation and polices involved and then working collaboratively with colleagues across teams and where necessary drawing on advice from regional and national specialists.

The Inspector of Ancient Monuments will be an effective advocate for the benefit for local places of conserving heritage assets, whilst supporting the delivery of Corporate Plan, Historic England Places Strategy, Public Value Framework, and other national and local strategies as outlined with line management, including working on specific projects.

Please note that the role:

requires regular travel to sites not serviced by public transport.

requires visiting/inspecting sites which is likely to require climbing scaffolding and negotiating confined spaces.

may require occasional attendance at community or planning meetings which are usually held at evenings or weekends.

Educated to undergraduate or postgraduate degree level in archaeology or a relevant subject or equivalent experience.

Broad and extensive experience of managing change to ancient monuments and archaeological landscapes, including through the planning system

Experience of effective advocacy and working constructively with members of the public

A thorough knowledge of ancient monuments and archaeological landscapes in England, and the techniques of their assessment and study

A good understanding of relevant Government policy, guidance and statutory procedures for the historic environment in the planning system, including Scheduled Monument Consent, Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

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 just won the Gold Award from MIND, 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.

Why work for Historic England

We offer a wide benefits package including a competitive pension scheme starting at 28% 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.

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.

Historic England want 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.

To ensure a fair and inclusive recruitment process for everyone the use of AI or automated tools is not permitted.

Interview date 15th January 2025 - Manchester, in person