Overview
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 impact on Westminster’s iconic urban design and landscape. Working within the heart of London, in an area which includes a high number of historic and landmark buildings, you will provide insightful urban design and heritage conservation advice to your colleagues, members of the public and applicants.
Our multidisciplinary Design, Conservation and Sustainability team face the most interesting yet complex challenges. They must support the ever-changing appearance, needs and community requirements of Westminster, while protecting its historical environment. As such, this is a wonderful opportunity to work with a talented professional team that includes Architects, Urban Designers and broad array of specialists, helping them find the perfect balance for a vibrant economy and a constantly growing community.
Every day will present you with an interesting array of projects, so this role offers genuine variety with the scope to develop your professional expertise. For example, our Planning Officers might ask you to attend a site visit to assess applications affecting listed buildings, or you might be called on to determine the suitability of advertisement applications. Alternatively, you might monitor the condition of historic buildings and advise building owners on their care and protection, or you might attend appeal hearings to give evidence on whether energy efficiency adaptations are suitable. Whatever you are doing, you will see to it that every project has received the attention it needs, ensuring deadlines are being met.
You can expect to handle a busy caseload, with lots of requests for your expertise, but with plenty of support from the team, you will find an unparalleled opportunity to make a significant impact on the evolution of this world-famous area.
We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants, so please do consider applying to join our dynamic team as soon as possible.
Please refer to the Job Description for more information.
About You:
The sheer scope of this role means that it would be well-suited to an organised individual who is keen to develop their knowledge. With a degree (or currently working towards achieving this) in architecture, architectural conservation, urban design or similar, you will be keen to secure a professional qualification.
Coming from a relevant background in which you have dealt with planning and related applications, you will be comfortable negotiating with applicants, and upholding enforcement actions. Furthermore, you will support prosecutions in relation to unauthorised works to listed buildings, the demolition of buildings in Conservation Areas and emergency repair notices, so you will have a good knowledge of the relevant planning law, statutes, circulars, rules and regulations. Specifically, you will have specialist expertise in conservation, care and protection of historic buildings, and you will be well-versed in suitable adaptive measures to traditional buildings which will address climate change and energy efficiency (this later skill will come in particularly useful when helping us retrofit our historic housing stock).
As you will contribute to the preparation and production of studies, guidelines and policies, you will have well-developed research and written skills, and you will be IT literate.
From a ‘soft’ skills perspective, you will be a team-player who can confidently manage your own workload, and you will enjoy collaborating with both members of the public and professional partners and colleagues.
Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.
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.
