ICOMOS-UK’s call for WHS Representatives on World Heritage Site Advisory Boards, Steering Groups or Coordinating Committees

Call for Expressions of Interest – ICOMOS-UK is looking for World Heritage Site Representatives on World Heritage Site Advisory Boards, Steering Groups or Coordinating Committees

WHS Steering Groups (WHSSGs) play a vital role in advising on the 1972 World Heritage Convention and Operational Guidelines, which support good practice, effective engagement, and sensitive development in and around UK WHSs.
 
ICOMOS-UK would like to strengthen its network of Representatives serving on WHSSGs, and invites Expressions of Interest from appropriately qualified heritage practitioners, researchers and academics, who can act in this capacity. The role is voluntary, but it provides opportunities to consolidate, maintain or build professional experience and develop new areas of expertise, and forms a basis for knowledge exchange, local collaboration, and national or international research. There are vacancies at a number of WHSs around the country, and opportunities to work across Sites and with other Representatives.
 
WHSSG meetings usually take place two or three times a year; Representatives also meet as a wider group on a biannual basis. Most meetings take place online, with Site visits as needed. Understanding the role the Site plays locally as well as nationally and internationally, and the contribution it site makes to local communities, is fundamental to the role.

ICOMOS-UK’s Representatives provide advice on good practice as part of a national network and in collaboration with the ICOMOS-UK’s World Heritage Committee (WHC). Representatives play a critical role in locating the WHS within a wider context, sensitive to local circumstances but able to take a more holistic or expansive perspective. Their contribution is underpinned by the international context in which World Heritage is defined and managed, and by the interdisciplinary approach to cultural heritage adopted by ICOMOS-UK. They offer advice locally, informed by national and international policies, research, and current heritage thinking.

Representatives are accountable to the ICOMOS-UK WHC which in turn reports to the ICOMOS-UK’s Executive Committee. They are expected to attend biannual meetings to share experience, good practice, and items for future analysis or debate. The discussions at these meetings helps to shape training programmes and other support, WHC agendas, and effective liaison with other agencies.

How to apply:

ICOMOS-UK are inviting Expressions of Interest from suitably qualified applicants to join their network of Representatives. If you would like to be considered, please send a copy of your CV and a short supporting statement (approx. 500 words) to [email protected] by 12 May 2025.

Please indicate if you are interested in working with a specific Site or within a defined geographical area.

Please contact the General Secretary if you would like further information or to discuss the role: [email protected] or click here.