Senior Design, Conservation and Sustainability Officer WCC615568

Job Details:

Salary range: £40,005 – £43,824 per annum 
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36  
Contract type: x2 Temporary for 12 months
Closing date: 3 May 2024
Contact details for an Informal Discussion: Tom Burke, Head of D C and S via email: TBURKE@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF SERENA’S VISION 

Regeneration, Economy and Planning in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where innovative and open-minded people bring everything to the cause. Even expertise from surprising places. 

Take Serena. She is an absolute force of nature at the heart of our Church Street regeneration. And she puts the residents first in everything. Serena’s vision is clear. Regeneration isn’t just about bricks and concrete. It’s about communities. It’s about the environment. It’s about the lives of people and how they feel about where they call home. Serena is their advocate, making sure residents’ voices aren’t just heard, but drive the changes we’re making. The future is safe in her hands. 

Please view the extraordinary story of Serena’s Vision here.

The Role:

As Senior Design, Conservation and Sustainability Officer, you can make your own powerful contribution by ensuring Westminster maintains its rich architectural history and timeless appeal – while balancing this with the needs of a dynamic city that continues to evolve and grow! As a member of our high-performing Design, Conservation & Sustainability Team, you will act as a trusted guardian of a large number of historic and iconic landmark buildings which are located across the borough. Providing in-depth urban design and heritage conservation advice, you will play an instrumental role in preserving and enhancing the borough’s urban design and landscape. 

Working alongside our expert multidisciplinary team (which is comprised of Architects, Urban Designers and specialists in architectural history, conservation and sustainability), you will take ownership of applications and requests for comments from Planning Officers. These could range from applications affecting listed buildings to the control of advertisement applications, so every day will present you with the most interesting array of projects to tackle, each requiring a bespoke solution. 
Balancing the needs of Westminster’s communities and vibrant economy with the conservation of the borough’s unique character, you will provide guidance on the care and protection of historic and listed buildings, monitoring their condition and preparing reports with your recommendations. 

With the capacity to manage a busy caseload and meet multiple deadlines, you will enjoy the challenge of engaging with applicants, agents and the general public, including attending site visits. You will also provide advice relating to adaptations to existing buildings in relation to climate change and energy efficiency, and you will be ready to assist in prosecutions relating to unauthorised works and the demolition of listed buildings and unlisted buildings in Conservation Areas. 

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

This is a fantastic opportunity to manage change sensitively, within an amazing historic environment.  As such, you will excel in our team if you either have a degree in a related subject (such as architecture, architectural conservation or urban design) or you are working towards this and have the desire to achieve a professional qualification. With experience of planning applications, you will have the confidence to negotiate with applicants and those involved in appeals and enforcement. It goes without saying that you will have specialist expertise in conservation, care and protection of historic buildings and urban design matters, and a good knowledge of planning law and procedures. 

Ensuring every project receives the attention it needs, you will be a details-focused individual with great organisation and communication skills. Good IT and computerised record keeping skills are important, and it would be helpful if you have the ability to use document management systems. 

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.