Sheffield Town Hall Refurbishment

Project Background

Sheffield Town Hall, one of the city’s five Grade I listed buildings, is undergoing a major refurbishment programme to secure its long‑term future as a civic, cultural and democratic landmark. The project will safeguard the building’s historic fabric while delivering a more sustainable, accessible and welcoming Town Hall for the people of Sheffield.

Once reimagined and reopened, the Town Hall will be a “Town Hall for All”: a building that better reveals its heritage and collections, improves access to cultural assets, and provides high‑quality civic, community and event spaces that strengthen Sheffield’s civic life.

We are seeking a Development Manager – Town Hall Heritage to lead the heritage and cultural workstream of this flagship project, ensuring that conservation, interpretation, engagement and future public use are embedded at the heart of the restoration from concept stage onwards.

About the Role

The Development Manager will lead the heritage and cultural workstream of the Sheffield Town Hall project, ensuring that the building’s historic fabric, collections and stories are protected, understood and meaningfully revealed to the public.

Working closely with the Project Director, architects and conservation specialists, you will oversee the documentation, conservation planning and interpretation of the Town Hall’s historic features, furnishings, artworks and collections. You will provide specialist heritage advice throughout the design process, supporting well‑judged decision‑making and balancing conservation priorities with the future operational and public use of the building.

The role includes leading heritage‑related funding and development activity, contributing to stakeholder and community engagement, and shaping plans for the future cultural and civic use of the refurbished Town Hall.

You will also lead proposals to reopen the Town Hall Joiners’ Workshop, developing a programme focused on the repair of historic furniture and the promotion of traditional building crafts and skills. This work will be delivered in partnership with the Council’s Corporate Repairs team, apprentices and local craftspeople.

The initial 18‑month fixed‑term contract aligns with RIBA Stage 2 (Concept Design) of the project.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the management, documentation and care of the Town Hall’s historic collections, furnishings and artworks.
Commission and oversee conservation research and specialist restoration work, working with accredited conservation professionals and statutory bodies.
Provide specialist heritage advice and input to the design and decision‑making process across the capital project.
Develop proposals for a heritage‑focused apprenticeship and skills programme linked to the Joiners’ Workshop.
Shape and deliver interpretation, engagement and learning approaches that improve public access, understanding and inclusion.
Build and maintain effective relationships with key partners, community groups, funders and heritage organisations.
Lead heritage funding applications and manage associated budgets and reporting requirements.
Contribute to strategic planning for the future civic, cultural and operational use of the refurbished Town Hall.
Provide clear reports, updates and risk information to the Town Hall Project Director and senior stakeholders.

About You

You will bring strong professional experience in heritage, conservation or cultural development, alongside the ability to operate confidently within a complex public‑sector capital project.

You will have:

Demonstrable experience working with historic or listed buildings, heritage assets or collections, with a sound understanding of conservation principles, heritage legislation and planning requirements.
Experience of contributing to or leading heritage or cultural projects, ideally within a refurbishment or capital development context.
Proven ability to manage projects, budgets and competing priorities, and to provide clear, well‑judged advice to senior stakeholders.
Experience of developing or supporting heritage funding bids and managing grant‑funded activity.
Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with specialists, partners and communities.

You will be a confident and thoughtful professional, able to balance the protection of a highly significant civic building with the ambition to create an accessible, inclusive and relevant Town Hall for the future.

A relevant qualification in heritage management, conservation, architecture or a related discipline is desirable, or equivalent professional experience.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone and where appropriate to the role the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.