Senior Heritage Consultant

We are looking for a committed, ambitious and knowledgeable senior person to lead our heritage consultancy offer in the north. Leading one of our four regional heritage consultancy teams, this position offers an exciting opportunity to help shape the direction of heritage consultancy across our north region as we help our clients manage change in the historic built environment.

If you are an experienced Senior Heritage Consultant looking to take that next step, we are looking for an enthusiastic individual who can inspire creativity and confidence amongst clients, consultants and colleagues alike, delivering excellent advice, promoting Purcell and conservation, and developing new business opportunities.

Purcell is an award-winning employee-owned architectural and heritage consultancy practice with a commitment to quality, innovation, and diversity. We have staff of approximately 300 talented architects, designers, heritage consultants and surveyors across 14 offices, in the UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Winners of Architect Employer of the Year 2022. Collaboration is central to our employee-ownership culture, providing opportunities to work on some of the finest buildings; from meticulous heritage and conservation schemes to bold contemporary design. We offer a rewarding and supportive environment for personal and professional development and our employee-owned ethos empowers everyone to use their voice. We believe in creating an equitable and inclusive culture, founded on our values, which celebrates knowledge sharing and our successes, to build an inspiring work environment.

It is our distinctive employee-owned working culture that has contributed to our status as a World Architecture Top 100 Practice, renowned for our excellence in architecture and heritage consultancy.

Our benefits package includes:

• Agile, flexible and hybrid working (a minimum of 3 days in office, up to 2 days WFH)
• Annual leave increasing with long service
• Life assurance
• Study sponsorship with paid study leave
• Employee assistance programme
• Season ticket loans
• Cycle to work scheme
• Virtual GP service
• Company day out
• Enhanced learning and development opportunities

The role is based in our regional studios of York and Manchester and reports to the Regional Partner. You will act as Heritage Consultancy lead in the region, working with and advising on architectural, landscape and master-planning commissions across the north of England, Wales and Scotland. You will be project leader on a variety of projects, making decisions, providing heritage advice, advocacy and guidance. Your focus will be providing bespoke and high-quality advice, with outputs including Conservation Management Plans, Significance and Capacity for Change analysis, and Heritage Impact Assessments.

A key element of the role will be to help expand our project portfolio, requiring experience in business development, bid preparation, networking and drawing upon existing contacts in the region. Working with the regional leadership teams in York, Manchester and Edinburgh, you will drive the business development plan and take responsibility for the management of resource, financial profitability, and quality assurance.

Skills and Qualifications:

• A skills base in building conservation, buildings archaeology, heritage planning or other relevant field is a must, with at least 5 years of relevant professional experience.
• Excellent skills and demonstrable experience of archival and desk-based research, on-site built fabric analysis and producing well-written reports.
• Proven track record in providing advice as heritage lead.
• Experience of planning and managing your own workload and the workload of others and managing multiple simultaneous projects.
• Experience of preparing fee proposals and bids.
• Working knowledge of current UK heritage legislation, policy and guidance.

Highly desirable:

• Knowledge of the market in the North of England and Scotland.
• Experience in mentoring and managing junior members of staff.
• A UK driving licence.
• Experience of GIS software.
• Specialism in heritage planning or environmental sustainability.

How to apply:

Please email a copy of your CV and portfolio referencing job code P0055 to recruitment@purcelluk.com. Please include details of your Right to Work in the United Kingdom, as well as an available start date.

This job description is a guide to the duties the post holder will be expected to undertake. It is not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive and will be subject to change as working requirements dictate and to meet the organisational requirements of Purcell.

Don’t meet every single requirement? That’s okay. Research shows that women and people from underrepresented backgrounds can be less likely to apply unless they meet every criteria listed. At Purcell, we are committed to building an inclusive, transparent, and welcoming team. If you’re enthusiastic about the role and excited to grow and learn with us, we warmly encourage you to apply.

Please feel free to use your preferred name — we don’t require full or birth names at this stage. We are proud to foster a culture of kindness, respect, and authenticity, where everyone can thrive and bring their whole selves to work.

Please note that due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unfortunately unable to provide individual feedback. If you have not heard from us within 6 weeks of your original application, then you have been unsuccessful. Please continue to look at our vacancies and apply where relevant. We wish you all the best in your job search.

As world leaders of heritage and conservation, Purcell is committed to embracing diversity and equal opportunity within our international teams, reflective of the society in which we work and live. We welcome people from all backgrounds and celebrate differences through our culture of employee ownership.