Salary range: Grade 11 £48,519 - £50,676 p.a. plus fantastic benefits
Contract: Permanent
Hours of work: 36 hours per week
Location: Croydon
Croydon has a rich and varied built heritage. This includes the highly significant Old Palace School (former Archbishop’s Palace), Croydon Minster, and 16th century Whitgift Almshouses (all Grade I Listed), as well as a particularly fine concentration of Victorian architecture in the town centre. The borough is diverse, ranging from dense London suburban development in the north to the leafy greenbelt to the south. Croydon is also increasingly being recognised for its post-war 20th century heritage, including buildings in the town centre such as No.1 Croydon, Corinthian House and the 1970s St Bernards development on Park Hill, one of a limited number of mid 20th century conservation areas in the country.
Croydon’s heritage is protected through having over 180 statutory listed buildings, 21 conservation areas throughout the borough, 8 scheduled monuments, and 3 registered parks and gardens, as well as a well-established register of local heritage designations, including locally listed buildings, local heritage areas and locally listed parks and gardens.
This post offers a unique and exciting opportunity to join Croydon’s Placemaking Team, which brings together the disciplines of urban design, conservation, architecture, landscape architecture and planning policy. You will provide heritage expertise to support a coordinated approach to the planning and delivery of sustainable development in Croydon. You will have a qualification related to heritage and conservation. You will be involved in a wide range of Spatial Planning and Development Management projects and applications and will assist in placing heritage at the heart of the borough’s plans for the future.
You will be required to undertake a range of tasks related to heritage protection and building conservation, including:
You will demonstrate a solid understanding of current legislation, policy, guidance and best practice in relation to planning and heritage protection. You will be able to demonstrate conservation and heritage-related professional experience and passion for the historic environment. You will also have a good understanding of how diverse social and cultural heritage informs local distinctiveness and character whilst forming part of a holistic approach to heritage led placemaking.
In addition to the person specification, the successful candidate will also be motivated, innovative and able to prioritise a varied and challenging work programme. Excellent communication skills are essential due to the high level of internal and external stakeholder engagement.
The Croydon Council Placemaking Team is an award winning, multidisciplinary team of built environment practitioners with experience from the strategic level through to detailed design and delivery. The team sits within the Council’s Place Directorate and works across strategic planning, urban design, architecture & landscape architecture, research, public engagement, public realm, public art & culture, heritage and conservation. The team is part of the Spatial Planning Service, which brings together Croydon’s Placemaking and Planmaking functions to provide a holistic and coordinated approach to planning, design and delivery. It comprises urban designers, architects, landscape architects, built heritage specialists, cultural practitioners and planners.
The Croydon Placemaking Team is committed to ensuring a fair and open place of work. We aim to shape places that are created with and enjoyed by all people of different cultures, identities, needs and experiences. We believe that our team should reflect the diverse communities we serve and therefore particularly encourage applications from disability groups, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour), and people with trans+ identities, who are currently under-represented within our team.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role. We will also be pleased to consider applications from candidates seeking flexible working arrangements.
Croydon council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.
For a job pack please visit https://www.croydon.gov.uk/jobsatcroydon where you can register and apply online.
To arrange an informal discussion please email Nicolette Duckham (Lead Conservation Officer) at Nicolette.duckham@croydon.gov.uk or Anisha Jogani (Placemaking Team Leader) at Anisha.jogani@croydon.gov.uk
To view the Senior Project Officer - Conservation role profile please Click here.
The Council balances its books, listens to residents, and delivers good sustainable services
Key business plan outcomes:
Croydon Council is an inclusive employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Subject to business needs, we will be pleased to consider applications from candidates seeking flexible working arrangements and support hybrid working, whereby staff attend the workplace for part of their working week and work from home, or elsewhere, remotely for the rest of the time.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the advertised role.
Croydon council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.
The Successful candidate will be subject to a DBS check, if the role requires one.
We provide a large number of services for local people, businesses and visitors to the borough, including services for children and adults, and environmental, cultural, sports, housing, planning and benefits services.
The borough is split into 24 electoral wards, and local elections are held every four years.
With a workforce of approximately 3,300 staff, including teachers in schools, Croydon Council is the largest employer in the borough. Spending over £900 million per year, the council makes a significant contribution to the local economy.
The council comprises three main political functions, the Executive (Leader and Cabinet), Committees, and Scrutiny.
The Leader and Cabinet are responsible and accountable for shaping policies and plans and recommending them to the council for approval. Cabinet also gives direction to departmental directors on the way services are managed and the budgets allocated to them.
Six non-executive committees take decisions relating to planning, licensing, standards of behaviour and conduct for members and officers, staffing issues, tenders, property transactions, liaison with local utility companies and internal audit.
Scrutiny holds the council executive functions to account. Examining aspects of council performance, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee also increasingly involves other local agencies which contribute to the economic, social and environmental well-being of the local population.
