Design and Conservation Officer in Walthamstow

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: PO4 £49,056 – £52,194

Contract Type: Full-time Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 08/09/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): w/c 21st September 2026

Reference: 2256

About Us: Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work. We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role: A hugely exciting opportunity has arisen for a Design and Conservation Officer in the dynamic and diverse Place and Design Team at Waltham Forest Council. This is a key place-shaping role in a team with a great track record and at the forefront of delivering vibrant, green, safe and accessible neighbourhoods across Waltham Forest. We are looking for someone creative and energetic with demonstrable design skills; who is looking to build on and share those skills to work across teams and help unlock exemplar design across the whole development cycle – from the production of policy documents, briefs, feasibility studies and masterplans, to the pre-application process and post permission oversight of conditions and quality review. With the team focused on the implementation of our ambitious Local Plan, this role will be key to unlocking delivery of new homes, workspace and infrastructure across the borough. The right candidate will be excited about architecture, urban design, heritage, landscape and biodiversity and the design and delivery of joyful places. You will work well with others and can communicate ideas and proposals effectively and will enjoy taking a creative approach to problem solving.

In this role you will work alongside a second Design and Conservation Officer, a Conservation Officer, Trees and Urban Greening Officer and Planning Policy Principal Officer and will report to a senior Design officer.

The Place and Design Team: We are delivering the Council’s priorities for delivering a fairer borough through inclusive growth and ensuring that we deliver the new homes and jobs needed, and that they are of exemplar quality and supported by the right infrastructure in the right places. We are committed to engaging the borough’s diverse communities at all stages of the development cycle to ensure that future development brings the benefits they need and tackles the Climate Emergency head on.

We work within an inclusive structure that rejects silos, embraces sharing and learning and works flexibly and collaboratively. We have adopted a matrix working approach that assembles the right teams for the right projects, building resilience and skills. We also work collaboratively with other teams across the council, including Development Management, Area Regeneration, Culture, Housing, Property, Capital Delivery, Strategy & Design, and Highways and engage meaningfully with our local communities, businesses, strategic authorities (such as GLA, TfL), investors and developers. We are building a reputation as an innovative, positive, proactive team that delivers excellent results with work produced in house including an adopted Local Plan, award winning buildings and public spaces, a visionary Residential Alterations and Retrofit SPD, an evolving Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy and a first-class Local Heritage List.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide specialist urban design, conservation, landscape and biodiversity input on planning applications, pre-applications, listed building matters and regeneration projects, ensuring timely and high-quality advice.
• Provide expert design, conservation and heritage advice to officers, elected members, developers, communities and stakeholders, helping to secure high-quality development, regeneration and placemaking outcomes across the borough.
• Support the delivery of the Council's climate ambitions by embedding sustainability, climate resilience, urban greening and high-quality environmental design into projects and decision-making.
• Lead the preparation, implementation and monitoring of design, heritage and biodiversity planning guidance, including supplementary planning documents, design briefs, masterplans and other place-based frameworks.
• Champion exemplar design across the development process, promoting design excellence from policy preparation and masterplanning through to planning applications, detailed approvals and delivery on site.
• Promote inclusive design principles, helping to create accessible, welcoming and equitable places that meet the needs of Waltham Forest's diverse communities.
• Lead and support design-led projects and initiatives, including design awards, public engagement programmes, exhibitions, design reviews and place-shaping projects that raise design standards across the borough.
• Support the implementation of local and national design policies and design codes, helping to embed a consistent approach to high-quality placemaking and development.
• Work collaboratively with Development Management, Planning Policy and Regeneration teams to promote design quality, monitor completed developments and support compliance and enforcement activities where required.
• Lead public consultation and stakeholder engagement activities, building strong relationships with residents, developers, consultants, statutory bodies and strategic partners to support successful project delivery.
• Represent the Council at meetings, public events, design panels and external forums, acting as an ambassador for design quality, heritage conservation and sustainable growth.
• Contribute to training, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across the Place and Design Team, helping to build design skills and promote best practice throughout the organisation.

Qualifications and Requirements: To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements: Degree/diploma in urban design, planning, architecture, or related subject. Eligibility for membership of RTPI, IHBC, RIBA or similar professional institute. Relevant Experience and continuing professional development. Proficiency in graphics and modelling software such as Adobe Creative Suite, Sketchup, VU.City & AutoCAD is an advantage.

Terms and conditions: The below terms and conditions apply to this role: Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks; Satisfactory declaration of interest; As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role.

How to Apply: Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population.