Head of Scientific Dating

Summary

We are the public body that looks after England's historic environment. We champion historic places, helping people understand, value and care for them.

Historic England have a fantastic opportunity for you to join us as our Head of Scientific Dating.

This is a full time, permanent post.

The location of this role is National where we offer hybrid working, you will be based in one of our following offices and from home - Newcastle, York, Manchester, Birmingham, Swindon, Bristol, Portsmouth (Fort Cumberland) and Cambridge.

We offer a wide benefits package including a competitive defined benefit
pension scheme to which we make 28.97% employer contributions,
a generous 28 days holiday, corporate discounts, free entry into English Heritage sites across the country and development opportunities to ensure you achieve your goals.

£40,545 - £48,000 pro-rata dependant on experience and location.

National £40,545 - £45,000 pro-rata

Greater London+ £43,651 - £48,000 pro-rata

To view our full range of benefits please follow the link
here
.

What you will be doing

The Scientific Dating Team provide research, support and advice to Historic England and the wider sector on the appropriate use of scientific dating techniques and the chronological modelling of archaeological sites, buildings and sediments. The team has expertise in dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating and other methods of scientific dating.

In this role you will work closely with other parts of the Investigative Science Team (Fort Cumberland Laboratories and Science Advisors), as well as Historic England's Archaeological Investigation Team, Regions Group staff and the wider sector. Our purpose is to understand the character, date and condition of historic places, objects and materials. We develop and promote evidence-based technical policy, standards and best practice. We also provide specialist advice and analysis to all Historic England colleagues, the English Heritage Trust (through a Shared Service agreement) and the wider heritage sector.

Overall purpose of the job:

• To provide leadership for the Scientific Dating Team.
• To provide management, quality assurance, and financial oversight of the programme of scientific dating carried out by Historic England.
• To oversee the delivery of specialist dating services to support both statutory and designation casework at Historic England, the work of English Heritage, and beyond.
• To develop and promote evidence-based, authoritative, technical advice, standards and best-practice guidance.
• To ensure the results of scientific dating carried out at, or funded by, Historic England are robust, secure and accessible.
• To maintain a strategic overview of sector needs in capacity and training, and in collaboration with the sector, seek ways to address these.

Who we are looking for

• Experience of team management or the management of complex programmes
• An appropriate qualification, preferably a post-graduate degree, or equivalent experience, in archaeology, historic buildings research, and/or an appropriate science
• An excellent understanding of the application of scientific dating to archaeological sites, past landscapes and historic buildings
• A good understanding of archaeological post-excavation stratigraphic analysis, with knowledge or experience of English commercial archaeology and/or the English historic buildings sector and its working practices
• Evidence of successful project management and/or the management of researchers and contractors
• Management of budgets and finances

Please note your application will be scored and assessed against the above criteria.

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 won the Gold Award from MIND for workplace wellbeing in seven consecutive years, we also recognise the importance of a healthy work-life balance.

We are an inclusive employer and believe that flexible working options are for everyone. We want to make sure our working arrangements don't prevent anyone from joining us because of their personal circumstances. We also want to provide you with the best balance in your home and work life that we can.

We are open to considering options including job sharing, part-time working, compressed hours working and different working locations, including hybrid working. Please visit our jobs pages or contact us to find out more.

Why work for Historic England

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

if you have any recruitment queries.

At Historic England we use a hiring system called Applied. Applied is a behavioural science-backed recruitment platform that reduces bias, improves quality of hire and increases diversity. We do not use CV application for the majority of our hiring processes. You will answer a selection of questions that allow our hiring teams to test your skills and suitability for the role.

At Historic England, we value the expertise and individuality each candidate brings and want to hear about this in your own words. If you require the use or AI tools or other resources to support your application, we ask that all information is factually accurate, original, and reflects your own experience. To best represent yourself, we encourage you to write in your own words and use AI-generated content only as inspiration—not as direct input.

Provisional virtual interview date: 17th December 2025

Please follow the link for a full copy of the Job Description –