6 C O N T E X T 1 1 9 : M A Y 2 0 1 1 Professional prospects Why would anyone want to do this for a living? Bob Kindred writes: The employment of conservation specialists has recently become more precarious that at any time in the last decade, particularly in the public sector. Advertised posts in local authorities in England have fallen from a peak of 158 per annum in 2003–4 to just 26 in 2010, the lowest since IHBC started monitoring salaries and terms and conditions in 1998–9. The immediate outlook for employment in local government appears very uncertain. The extent to which the traditional model of directly employed staff will continue under the current government’s localism and big society agendas is also unclear. Regrettably the route-map for opportunities for those wishing to work in potentially the largest part of the heritage sector remains obscure. The present crisis in the profession can not be disguised. Coinciding with the mounting evidence of redundancies and frozen and downgraded posts is a growing concern about the future capacity of the planning system to meet the needs of the development industry and the aspirations of local communities when the economy recovers. There will certainly be a need for appropriate heritage expertise if, for example, neighbourhood plans get off the ground. Communities and Local Government has reminded local authorities on more than one occasion not to shed planning officers but to redeploy them, although regrettably without specifying the need to retain associated heritage professionals. The view in some quarters, not least among some chief planning officers and leading councillors, is that local authority conservation services are expendable because they are non-statutory. Not only is this not the case, but a succession of recent Ombudsman cases has clearly criticised local authorities for failing to give specialist conservation advice compelling weight when dealing with planning proposals. Just as it is difficult to give clarity about employment prospects in local authorities, so it is difficult to generalise about what comprises a typical conservation service and what a prospective new recruit might expect. Services range from teams of several individuals in metropolitan boroughs and (a decreasing number of) counties, to lone individuals in shire boroughs and rural districts. Some authorities are entering into joint service provision, and some are merging voluntarily. This seems not necessarily to be creating new job opportunities. If anything the opposite may be the case. The size of the heritage resource often has little influence on the numbers employed. Some shire districts, for example, have numbers of listed buildings running well into four figures, spread over a wide geographical area, but employ just one specialist. In these situations the number of heritage assets will inevitably influence the nature of the local authority’s conservation workload. Similarly, there is a range or organisational structures, from standalone heritage services to those most typically integrated with colleagues in development control, planning policy or urban design teams – or occasionally with regeneration or economic development staff, depending on the authority’s overall political priorities. Another important element is the location of the specialist within the decision-making hierarchy of the authority. The seniority and reporting structure of the post and the degree to which it involves contact with key decision makers (either officers or councillors) will indicate the level of influence likely for the advice given by the post-holder. Much of this should be reflected in a good job description and person specification, about which more below. A key element for recruiting employers is the balance of qualification and experience demonstrated by prospective candidates. Ideally employers will be seeking both attributes, unless the post specifies that it is on a career grade and geared for recent graduates. Many prospective candidates face a classic dilemma: no job, no experience; no experience, no job. Candidates with relevant work experience (whether paid or not) frequently stand out in applications. It never ceases to surprise this writer that advertisements for relatively junior posts are often ambitiously phrased to reflect the inflated expectation of the employer. The appointee (particularly if recently graduated) will apparently be capable of demonstrating a full range of the skills from the outset, and immediately and persuasively advise, negotiate with and influence planning colleagues of greater seniority and experience, as well as agents and the general public. It perhaps goes without saying that a little homework on the prospective local authority is advisable (and if a job application is subsequently made, demonstrating this where appropriate in the application form and at interview). If the recruitment advertisement states that an initial informal approach can be made to a specific officer for further information, this is an opportunity to probe issues that may not be clear from the recruitment documentation. This should be carefully planned in advance, as the candidate may feel frustrated if key questions are remembered only after the event, and employers will be less favourably disposed towards candidates making the same queries more than once. Such pre-planning is also essential if the candidate is short-listed for interview. The conservation-related pages of the local authority website (where the job description and person specification will usually be posted) is also a useful primer. Do the current local policies and guidance appear
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