Heritage Officer

Typical Salary

£18,500 To £48,000

Typical Hours

37 to 40 a week

between 8am and 6pm attending events or appointments

How To Become a Heritage Officer

You can get into this job through:

a university course
an apprenticeship
working towards this role

College / University

There are lots of subjects that can be useful for a career in heritage. Examples include:

history
geography
cultural heritage studies
building conservation
architecture
archaeology
Earth or natural sciences

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

Apprenticeship

You can start out by doing an historic environment advice assistant higher apprenticeship.

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Routes into this Career

You may be able to move into heritage officer work if you have relevant skills or experience in other professions. For example:

construction project management
local authority planning
building surveying

You may be able to apply directly if you've got several years' experience in a related industry like civil engineering, construction management, planning or conservation.

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

customer service skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
knowledge of building and construction
the ability to work well with others
excellent verbal communication skills
administration skills
the ability to use your judgement and make decisions
excellent written communication skills
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

In a typical day you may:

inspect historic buildings and monuments to assess work to be completed
respond to queries and give advice to members of the public and organisations
research information using archives, heritage legislation and conservation standards
review building plans and engineering drawings
attend public events and present project proposals
write reports and produce project plans
make sure work meets project deadlines, budgets and conservation standards
communicate with conservation and planning officials
give technical advice to teams working on conservation projects

Working Environment

You could work in an office or visit sites.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and you may spend nights away from home.

Career Path & Progression

With experience and continuous professional development you could become a heritage project manager, a senior inspector or heritage consultant.

To get promotion you may need to relocate to a new area or move between organisations in the public and private sector.

There are lots of opportunities for in-service training through organisations like the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.

Volunteering Opportunities

Work experience and volunteering are really important for getting into this type of work. You can look for opportunities with organisations like:

You could try your local council as they may own historic buildings or sites. There may be opportunities in departments, such as planning or regeneration, where you could get useful experience.

You can also search for private companies in the heritage sector through the Historic Environment Provider Service Recognition scheme.

Some organisations have internship programmes to encourage people from black and minority ethnic communities to think about a career in heritage. For example Historic England summer placements.

Tips & Information

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Association for Heritage Interpretation or the Institute of Historic Building Conservation for professional development.

Restrictions & Requirements

Restrictions & Requirements are not listed for this job.