Two people are seated on a sofa having a business meeting.
Colleagues meeting in a break out area at the Bristol office at Finzels Reach © Historic England
Colleagues meeting in a break out area at the Bristol office at Finzels Reach © Historic England

What to Expect When You Apply

Find out how our recruitment process works. Get answers to frequently asked questions about applying for a job with and working for Historic England.

On this page
  1. A fair approach
  2. Our typical process
  3. Hints and tips from the team

A fair approach

Our work on ensuring our recruitment process is fair is a key part of our Inclusion, Diversity and Equality strategy. One of our aims in that strategy is to ensure that we recruit a workforce that reflects the diversity of England’s population.

We 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. If you’d like to talk or email us about the recruitment process please email [email protected] or contact 07763 387811.

Our typical process

  • Step 1: Application
  • Step 2: Application review
  • Step 3: Face-to-face or virtual interview. You may be required to do a pre-interview exercise or assessment or presentation as part of the interview process
  • Step 4: The outcome of your application
  • Step 5: Welcome to Historic England

Hints and tips from the team

  • At Historic England, we use a recruitment system called Applied for our recruitment. Applied aims to overcome unconscious bias in recruiting. Instead of using your CV and work history, we'll be asking you to answer sift questions to test skills needed for the role. The responses are then anonymised and reviewed in a random order by members of our team.
  • Make sure you read the sift questions and tailor your answers to demonstrate how you meet the skills that we’re looking for
  • Where possible give specific examples of your related experience or knowledge to demonstrate your skills

Frequently asked questions

If you have a query regarding your application or would like to know more about a particular vacancy please contact [email protected]. However, before contacting us please check to see whether your question has been answered here.

If you would like to find out more about the work that we do at Historic England, please see the following sections of our website:

  • What We Do section - for our corporate strategy, annual report and information on how we are funded
  • Who We Are section - for details of our Commission, Executive Board, committees and panels

We are committed to involving volunteers in our work. As a result of our unique role within the heritage sector our volunteer roles are extremely varied. Please see our Volunteering section for more information on opportunities that are currently available.

For most of our roles we ask you to complete an online application form, this is to ensure an inclusive and fair application process for everyone.

No, each job will have sift questions to test skills that are relevant to that role. Your answers are then reviewed by hiring teams following a whole set of behavioural design principles that will let them focus on the skills that matter for the job.

Yes, you can save your application at any time and come back to it later, but do keep an eye on the final closing date as applications can’t be accepted afterwards.

You will receive an email confirming that we have received your application form. Please make sure you check your spam filters, but if you have not received an email within 24 hours please contact us via [email protected].

We only take up references once you have been offered a position with us.

The majority of communication during the recruitment process will be via email. Please make sure that you enter your details carefully and check your inbox regularly for updates.

Next steps

Also of interest

What Could You Do at Historic England?
What We Can Offer You