Newport, Wales
Graduate architect
at Caroe and Partners
Caroe and Partners is seeking a graduate architect to join its studio in Newport, Wales.
Report to: Jane Chamberlain and Jonathan Saunders (partners)
Location: Newport
Contract: permanent, full-time
Introduction
Caroe and Partners was founded in 1884 and is a leading conservation architects’ practice, with specialist skills in the conservation, repair and adaption of historic buildings and sites. We have offices in Wells, Newport and Tewkesbury.
We are passionate about the art of conserving and maintaining historic buildings, to delight and endure and to minimise intervention when repairing building fabric. We place great importance in approaching each project individually and providing an enthusiastic and personal service which involves every member of our team.
Our aim is to meet these aspirations while fulfilling our clients’ needs and meeting our financial goals.
Key objectives of the role
This is a key position in our newly relocated south Wales office with the opportunity for career development and advancement. A genuine interest and true feeling for the conservation and creative adaption of historic buildings and sites is essential and more important than actual experience.
This role is primarily to provide the professional, technical and interpretative skills of a qualified architect and other services which we offer, notably high-quality care and adaption of historic buildings and similar projects.
The role is integral to the smooth running of jobs from conception through to tendering, site operations and post contract administration. The role is highly operational, client-facing with account responsibility, the post holder will be required to manage projects and provide support to others.
As part of a small team, the post holder has to be adaptable and able to work with and support colleagues where necessary.
Key responsibilities:
- partners
- colleagues in Llandaff/Ledbury and other offices
- clients
- contractors
- statutory authorities
Duties and responsibilities include but not limited to the following:
- work closely with Jane Chamberlain and Jonathan Saunders to ensure delivery of high-quality service to our clients
- assist on projects which will entail producing drawings, securing planning permissions, undertaking contract administration and reporting back to clients, all with support from colleagues
- client liaison to ensure satisfaction and providing professional advice in line with legal and professional requirements
- monitoring the progress on projects and inspecting completed building works
- carrying out tasks completely and professionally within determined timescales and financial budgets
- build good working relationships with current and future clients and stakeholders
- provide regular reports to partners as appropriate
- helping the partners to create and maintain a positive and successful office culture
- any other reasonable duties that arise from working within a small office and the nature and character of the post
- at all times uphold the reputation and standing of the practice
The successful candidate can expect support in their professional development from partners and colleagues.
Key performance indicators:
- KPI’s are subject to change, However, within the first twelve months it is expected that you will be measured against:
- ability to work within defined project budgets
- feedback from clients and employees – this may be in the form of ‘satisfaction assessments’
- success of the integration of the service offering to the practice and its business as a whole
- KPI’s will be formally reviewed by the partners at three, six and twelve months from the start date
Key challenges:
- interpreting the sensitivities of conservation work
- managing and delivering a number of time-sensitive projects
- assisting in the growth of the practice
Knowledge and skills:
- full qualification as an architect from a RIBA recognised university
- relevant professional memberships, e.g. ARB
- proven post-qualification performance with sound knowledge and understanding of UK planning and building legislation and its application
- first-rate design and technical skills and strong knowledge and understanding of the role of working drawings (both manual and electronic)
- a demonstrable interest in the issues and challenges associated with conservation/historic buildings and new design in the historic environment
- proven ability and evidence of working with historic buildings and conservation issues
- proven direct responsibility of end-to-end job running
- good overall knowledge of traditional construction (e.g. brickwork/lead/slate/timber)
- sound working knowledge of AutoCAD, with the ability to produce a high volume of consistently high quality and accurate work
- ability to ‘hit the ground running’ and to work with little supervision and to plan and deliver consistently high-quality work on time and to budget
- strong written and oral communication skills; able to convey messages with clarity and conviction
- able to provide guidance and support to colleagues
- ability to maintain focus on the big picture and achieve results (without losing sight of the details) through timely completion of all associated job activities e.g. site inspections details, paperwork etc.)
- good understanding of budgets and cost control
- strong problem-solving skills; able to think ahead and spot potential obstacles, work effectively when faced with ambiguity and devise appropriate solutions and see these through to ensure that projects remain on target both in terms of timescale and fee
- engaging, cheerful and inspirational interpersonal skills
- proven team player
- well developed influencing and negotiation skills
- able to quickly gain the confidence and support of a variety of people at all levels, and be able to deal with challenging situations in a confident, tactful and professional manner