Heritage Officer

• East Suffolk Council
• Address: Riverside, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0EQ
  or East Suffolk House, Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1RT
• Salary: £35,412 - £39,152 per annum
• Hours: 37 hours per week
• Contract: Permanent

Join us in protecting and shaping East Suffolk's extraordinary heritage.

East Suffolk is a district where history meets coastline, countryside, and thriving communities. With 3,600 listed buildings, 50 Conservation Areas, 148 Scheduled Monuments, and 31 historic parklands, our heritage is as rich and varied as the landscapes that surround it, from vibrant market towns and rural villages to stunning coastlines within the Suffolk and Essex Coast and Heaths National Landscape.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Heritage Officer to join our established, well-respected Design and Heritage team, part of the council's Specialist Services alongside our Landscape, Arboriculture, Rights of Way and Ecology experts. This is a new role, giving you the rare opportunity to shape its scope and make your mark from day one.

You’ll work closely with our Assistant Heritage Officer, Senior Design and Heritage Officers, and Principal Design and Heritage Officer to:

• provide expert advice on development proposals affecting heritage assets
• support nationally significant infrastructure projects
• commission and deliver Conservation Area reviews and appraisals
• lead on expanding and updating Article 4 Directions
• propose new listings and update our Buildings at Risk register
• champion heritage with colleagues, developers, communities, and elected members

This is not just a casework role, you’ll influence projects and policies that will safeguard East Suffolk's heritage for future generations.

We expect you to bring the skills, experience, and commitment needed to protect and enhance East Suffolk's heritage, including:

• significant experience working with listed buildings and Conservation Areas
• strong theoretical, technical, and practical knowledge of built heritage conservation
• a good grounding in planning and building control processes
• associate or Full Membership of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC)
• a positive, proactive approach with the ability to assess proposals, solve problems, and communicate effectively with a range of audiences

You’ll be part of a team of five heritage and design specialists with backgrounds in building conservation, architecture, archaeology, planning, urban design, and landscape history. Working in a well‑resourced, supportive environment, you’ll have opportunities for career development, professional training, and cross‑disciplinary learning.

If you think you have the skills and passion to succeed, even if you don’t tick every box, we’d like to hear from you.

Specialist Services Prospectus (pdf), provides information on the team and priorities of the Design and heritage Team

East Suffolk Council is a great place to work and there are lots of benefits our employees can access. To find out more about why we are so proud of East Suffolk Council, take a look at our video and hear why our employees think it is such a great place to work.

In addition to the rural and urban diversity of East Suffolk itself, the district is close to the large urban centres of both Norwich and Ipswich, with rail services providing access to the Council's offices by train.
We might be ‘on the edge’ but we can be accessed easily from a wide area (jpg) and offer flexible and remote working in a dynamic team.

• Great opportunities for training and development
• Generous leave entitlement (equivalent to 25 days a year, increasing to 31 days after 5 years’ service, plus bank holidays)
• Local government pension scheme
• Free car parking (for when you are working in the office)
• Discounts on mobile phones, computers, holiday and travel, fashion and clothing, health and beauty and many other products and services

Please view our benefits brochure for further information.

The majority of our teams are working in an agile way, with a mixture of home and office working, depending on individual preferences and service requirements. If you wish to…