At a Glance
- Tasks: Support countryside stewardship recipients and coordinate expertise for heritage funding objectives.
- Company: Historic England, dedicated to preserving heritage for a better future.
- Benefits: Hybrid working, wellness programmes, generous holiday, and free entry to English Heritage sites.
- Other info: Flexible working options available, promoting a healthy work-life balance.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on heritage while enjoying a supportive and inclusive work environment.
- Qualifications: Skills in negotiation, problem-solving, and knowledge of countryside stewardship and heritage assets.
The predicted salary is between 38957 - 38957 £ per year.
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 Heritage Officer - Countryside Stewardship. This is a Full Time, Fixed-Term Contract until 31st March 2027. There is potential scope to extend this contract beyond this date.
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.
What you will be doing
- You will support a portfolio of Countryside Stewardship recipients to achieve their stewardship funding objectives for heritage through Defra’s Higher Tier stand alone HE1 capital grants funding stream and PA2 feasibility studies, both directly and by coordinating expertise from regional teams and commissioned experts.
- You will work in partnership with regional teams, owners and agents, and the Rural Payments Agency.
- You will encourage and facilitate applications that address heritage at risk in places identified by regional teams.
- You will review all heritage applications received by the Rural Payments Agency and monitor those that are approved to ensure heritage outcomes are delivered.
- You will coordinate expertise from relevant regional teams and other professional advisers to ensure proposals meet best practice.
- You will provide specialist building, landscape or archaeological Countryside Stewardship advice as part of a national team and be the primary casework contact for the London and South East Historic England region.
Who we are looking for
- You will have an ability to prioritise workload, meet deadlines and work within tight delivery timescales.
- You will have negotiation, influencing and problem-solving skills.
- You will have a proactive attitude to work, a team player who is always seeking to engage with colleagues and partners to seek ideas and solutions.
- You will have a working knowledge of Countryside Stewardship and heritage assets, including an understanding of the statutory consents system as it relates to Countryside Stewardship and the historic environment.
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.
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.
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.
Provisional interview dates: 24th September 2026 in our London office.
Heritage Officer - Countryside Stewardship in London employer: Be Applied Ltd
Historic England is an exceptional employer, offering a supportive and inclusive work culture that prioritises employee wellbeing and professional growth. With a competitive benefits package, including generous leave policies, wellness programmes, and opportunities for mentoring, employees can thrive in a hybrid working environment in London while contributing to the vital mission of preserving heritage for future generations.
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We think this is how you could land Heritage Officer - Countryside Stewardship in London
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We think you need these skills to ace Heritage Officer - Countryside Stewardship in London
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