Stonemason - South Highland District

Starting salary: £27,519
Contract type: Permanent
Grade: 2
Location: Fort George
Working Hours: Monday - Friday - Full Time – 1932 hours per year (annualised hours) 
Interviews: w/c 17th December 2025

Thank you for your interest in the post of Stonemason with Historic Environment Scotland, based at Fort George, Ardersier. This is a permanent and pensionable appointment.

You will be involved in planning, organising and conducting masonry repairs within Fort George and the wider remit of HES sites. This could range from pointing and conservation works to dressing stone in the workshops ready for upcoming projects. 

About us

We are the lead body for Scotland’s historic environment; a charity dedicated to the advancement of heritage, culture, education and environmental protection. We’re at the forefront of researching and understanding the historic environment and addressing the impact of climate change on its future. We investigate and record architectural and archaeological sites and landscapes across Scotland and care for more than 300 properties of national importance. We have a People Strategy, which is an overarching strategy to ensure we support and develop staff within the organisation.

For more information about the post and information about the team, please access the full job description Stonemason South Highland new JD.pdf for this post. Please note that if you don't have Office 365 installed on your device, this can be opened using your browser.

Benefits of joining us at Historic Environment Scotland

• Enrolment onto a Civil Service Pension scheme – 28% employer contribution
• 25 days annual leave, pro-rata (increasing to 30 days after 3 years) + 11.5 public holidays
• Reimbursement for relevant professional subscriptions
• Support for further education and personal development
• Study leave for work related courses
• Flexible working hours (where appropriate)
• Free entry to all of our properties (with up to three guests)
• Free entry to English Heritage, Manx and Cadw properties

Key Responsibilities of this role

• Carrying out conservation and routine maintenance works to HES monuments in the Fort George area. This involves all forms of traditional building maintenance for the Fort George and District sites as well as monuments in other areas as and when required. 
• Stone cutting and hewing of various architectural mouldings / stones for Fort George and monuments in other areas as required.
• Traditional building / repairs / indenting of stonework.
• Raking out and pointing defective joints and beds.
• Promoting traditional methods of conservation techniques to carry out challenging and diverse conservation projects / works.
• Operating electrical and petrol-powered hand tools and machinery to facilitate the work including disc saws, mortar mixers, compressors, hoists etc. The winter season may consist of work out with the normal duties associated with stonemasonry consisting of fence repairs, grounds works and painting. 
• Providing training and mentoring for apprentice stonemasons in traditional conservation skills, which you are trained in.
• Complying with and promoting HES Health and Safety Policy.
• Throughout your employment with HES you will be required to attend training courses identified to assist the work, or to comply with health and safety legislation, including First Aid (training as required, this may require overnight stays away from home).

Key requirements of the role:

In order for you to be successful in this post, we will be looking for you to submit a cover letter which addresses how you can meet each of the essential and desirable criteria (in up to 1,200 words), using examples of where you have demonstrated these criteria previously. Please ensure that you provide real life examples for each of the criteria to be considered for this post. You can use examples of how you have met this criteria from your work life, home life, education or volunteer experience. Please read our CV and Cover Letter Guidance first before completing, as you will only be eligible for selection if you use examples of how you meet the essential and desirable criteria.

Essential:

• You must be a time served stonemason with relevant building trade qualification to SVQ4.

• You should have a proven knowledge of traditional building crafts. In particular an understanding and knowledge of current conservation practises and techniques relating to historic buildings and monuments.

• Good understanding and practical experience of the conservation, presentation and repair of historic monuments and/or listed buildings.

• Good all-round understanding and practical experience of using lime mortars.
• Good knowledge of Health & Safety at Work (Responsibilities & Practise).
• Full current Driving Licence

Find out more about desirable skills and experience in our full job description Stonemason South Highland new JD.pdf

We are dedicated to building a workforce which is reflective of diversity within Scotland. We warmly welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, gender or gender identity, religious beliefs, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or neurodiversity. In support of our Gaelic Language Plan, we welcome applications from Gaelic speakers.

We want every candidate to have the best chance to succeed during the recruitment process. If you require your application in an alternative format, please reach out to us via email at recruit@hes.scot or call our Head Office at 0131 668 8600 and speak to a member of our People Team.

Please note that, at this time, we are unfortunately unable to provide sponsorship as part of the recruitment process, therefore you must have current right to work in the UK to be considered for a post.

To submit your application online, please read our ‘How to Apply’ followed by ‘Apply Now’ button to begin your application.

*Due to site maintenance, please note that we are currently experiencing problems with issuing notification emails through our recruitment platform. If you have not received notification that your application has been received, please email recruit@hes.scot. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this.*