Summary
We have an exciting opportunity for a Skills Training Manager to join the team working to deliver an innovative skills programme, generously funded by a £4.3m donation from The Hamish Ogston Foundation. Just over a year into delivery, the programme team has enrolled the first 18 trainees and organised a range of heritage construction skills training at historic sites. You will be joining the team as a fresh cohort of trainees are onboarded and plans for our 2023 Summer School are developed.
This is a unique role responsible for managing and overseeing the Skills and Training Workstream of the Hamish Ogston Foundation Programme. The Hamish Ogston Foundation Heritage Building Skills programme aims to; Reduce shortages in heritage craft skills, Improve the condition of Heritage at Risk (HAR) sites, Create viable career opportunities for young people from less-advantaged backgrounds.
The location of the role would be in one of our offices in the North Manchester, York or Newcastle - we are open to hybrid working where you will be based in both the office and home.
What you will be doing:
You will be responsible for overseeing the work based training opportunities, ensuring that people are recruited, developed and supported in each tier of the programme. You will provide host organisations and the apprentices/trainees with practical support. Responsible for managing a budget of c.£1.5m, which is principally the cost of apprentice salaries and training bursaries.
The work-based training opportunities are delivered in three tiers: Prepare (Tier 1): 9-week heritage construction placements; Enter (Tier 2): 24 to 36-month construction apprenticeships and Sustain (Tier 3): 6 to 12-month self-directed development opportunities. Off-the-job training is contracted to further education colleges and other specialist training providers.
What we are looking for
- Programme or project management experience in delivering a skills based programme.
- Experience of delivering partnership working in heritage, construction or other similar industries.
- Knowledge of current approaches to vocational educational in England, particularly relating to T Levels and apprenticeships
- Excellent written communication skills with the ability to engage a wide range of audiences.
- Excellent people skills and the ability to build constructive relationships with a wide range of people.
- Awareness of current initiatives to address the skills and knowledge gaps affecting specialist workers and building professionals working in the built heritage sector in England
Please note to reference to the key essential skills in the advert when you are completing your application and highlight examples of any related knowledge, skills and experienced based on these.
Why you should work for Historic England:
- We are an equal opportunity employer which values diversity and inclusion. If you have a disability or neurodiversity, we would be happy to discuss reasonable adjustments to the job with you. Having just won the Gold Award from MIND, we also recognise the importance of a healthy work-life balance.
- We offer a wide benefits package including a competitive pension scheme starting at 21% contributions, a generous 28 days holiday, corporate discounts, free entry into English Heritage sites across the county and development opportunities to ensure you achieve your goals.
- We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity for everyone. Diversity helps us to perform better and attract more people to support our work. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds.
- We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and candidates with disabilities as they are underrepresented within Historic England at this level.
Historic England want all of our candidates to shine in the recruitment process. Please tell us what we can do to make sure you can show us your very best self. You can contact us by email at or telephone if you have any recruitment queries.
Provisional interview date: end June/early July 2022 via Microsoft Teams