Historic England Commissioner - 3 posts available

Summary

You will need to apply for this role via the following link;

Appointment details – Historic England 3x Commissioners – Apply for a public appointment – GOV.UK

The Commission is the governing body of Historic England and provides expert advice and guidance to the Executive. It has corporate responsibility for establishing the overall strategic direction of the organisation and for monitoring its performance against strategic objectives and targets.

Commissioners ensure that the organisation carries out its statutory responsibilities, maintaining high standards of probity in the administration of public funds and the effective use of resources. We are seeking to appoint up to three new Commissioners.

We are seeking to appoint up to three new Commissioners, with a range of skills. We would expect candidates to have good knowledge and experience of the minimum criteria in one or more of the following areas:

Conservation Architect

• Relevant professional qualification
• Experience of dealing with the most significant historic buildings

Finance / Risk

• Accountancy or other relevant professional qualifications
• Knowledge and understanding of public sector finances
• Managing risk in a large and complex organisation
• The intention is that the successful candidate will Chair our Audit & Risk Committee when the incumbent stands down as a Commissioner at the end of 2025

Property Development

• An experienced property developer
• Considerable knowledge of the property market
• Having direct involvement in development impacting the historic environment
• An understanding of the planning system

The skills and experiences outlined above are only intended to be examples and are by no means exhaustive. All candidates are expected to demonstrate a commitment to preserving cultural heritage, and improving education and understanding of British and World history.

Organisation description

About Historic England

Historic England is the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England’s spectacular historic environment, from high streets and battlefields to parks and pie shops. Our vision is for a heritage that is valued, celebrated and shared by everyone. A historic environment that people connect with and learn from and that we are proud to pass on to future generations.

By protecting and caring for our historic environment, with and for people and places, and through our research, listing, grant-giving, planning and technical advice, we help our heritage have a positive impact on the world around us.

Our work is varied and diverse:

• We target our resources and expertise through national programmes, such as our award-winning Heritage Schools programme, which has reached over 2 million school children, and our Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) and High Street HAZ schemes, which have successfully worked together with over 90 places across the country to unlock the potential of the historic environment as a catalyst for economic and social recovery and growth.
• Our campaigns and public programming work engages communities across England, broadens our reach, and helps even more audiences discover the power of heritage
• We are digitising even more of the 14 million photographs, plans and drawings in Historic England’s Archive to make more of this incredible resource available online.
• We maintain and publish the Heritage at Risk register, which helps draw attention to places most at risk of being lost forever through neglect, decay or inappropriate development.
• We make over 1,000 recommendations to the Secretary of State each year on new and existing designations on the National Heritage List for England, celebrating and protecting the wonderful and unique diversity of England’s heritage.
• We work with Government and partners on planning legislation and policy; and work with planning authorities, owners and developers, advising on around 20,000 planning cases a year, to find sustainable futures for our heritage.
• We commission and produce research, guidance and training on a wide range of subjects, and publish Heritage Counts, an annual overview of the state of England’s historic environment.

Our Future Strategy - Championing Heritage, Improving Lives and our Corporate Plan sets out how Historic England can champion and support the historic environment and communities across England to enjoy the benefits of heritage today and tomorrow.

Board composition

The Commission is composed of between eight and seventeen members. The current Board composition is:

• Lord Neil Mendoza - Chair of the Commission
• Nairita Chakraborty
• Jane Gibson
• Jonathan Marsden
• Robert Sackville-West
• Julie Kenny
• Benjamin Derbyshire
• Helena Hamerow
• Paul Farmer
• Sandra Dinneen
• Patrick Newberry
• Susie Thornberry
• Richard Upton
• Susan Wilkinson

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website

Person specification

Essential criteria

• A commitment to preserving cultural heritage, and improving education and understanding of British and World history.
• A commitment to improving opportunities for people throughout the UK and access to people from a diverse range of backgrounds.
• An understanding of Historic England’s work, the environment in which it operates and a commitment to its aims and objectives
• An ability to think strategically and exercise sound judgement
• An ability to work constructively with fellow Commissioners and wider stakeholders
• An ability to represent their own area of expertise in the full range of Commission discussions
• An ability to challenge and support the executive team on the full range of issues

Application and selection process

How to apply

Please follow the link below to apply for the role;

Appointment details – Historic England 3x Commissioners – Apply for a public appointment – GOV.UK

We regret that those candidates who are not shortlisted will not be given feedback.

Please note you do not need to complete the Applied online application.