Caroline Kendall

BA History of Art, 2010

Based:

London

Ambitions for the future:

I really enjoy my current role, but I’m also interested in world heritage and I love to travel, so working for UNESCO would be a dream come true!

Senior Listing Policy Adviser at Historic England

Describe your current role and what attracted you to it.

I manage policy and guidance to support the development of the National Heritage List for England (the NHLE), which is the national database of historic places that have protection through the planning system. The NHLE includes listed buildings, scheduled monuments such as ancient burial mounds and stone circles, registered parks, gardens and other designed landscapes such as cemeteries, protected shipwrecks and more.

I first learnt about Historic England when I was studying for my MA as they were doing a big project about public art, which I’m really interested in. I finally got the chance to work for them in 2020 and have done a couple of different roles at the organisation. My current role appealed to me because listing these sites is so important in celebrating and protecting heritage, and it is also a really varied role.

What’s your favourite part of the role?

Everyone at our organisation is passionate about heritage and many people have really specialist knowledge too. I learn something new every day.

What are the key skills you learnt at Warwick that have helped you with your career to date?

I studied Art History and chose to take several courses on architecture, particularly focusing on pre-medieval and medieval churches, castles and country houses. We were lucky to go on some great field trips to visit hidden away churches and other buildings that inspired me to keep exploring heritage. I have also worked in the museum sector and the art historical knowledge I gained on my course has really benefited me with that.

Did you have a specific career path in mind when you chose to study at Warwick?

I’ve been interested in the museums and heritage sector for a long time (I even did my Year 10 work experience at The National Trust), but I doubted if I would be able to get into it, as I went to comprehensive school and I didn’t have any connections in the sector. After graduating, I tried teacher training, but I didn’t enjoy it, and eventually got my first heritage job working for The National Trust. Sometimes you just have to be patient and believe in yourself.

What top tips do you have for Warwick graduates who would like to work in your sector?

Don’t be put off if you can’t do unpaid internships or don’t have lots of connections in the sector. Increasingly more paid internship opportunities are coming up, and good organisations in the sector will be looking for people with the right skills, attitude, and knowledge, even if they haven’t done lots of internships. It’s not an easy sector to get into, and it isn’t always well-paid either, so you have to be passionate, flexible about location, and patient for the right opportunity.

What should current students or recent alumni be doing to move their careers forward?

If you can volunteer at museums or heritage sites you should. But other jobs can also give you transferable skills like teamwork and independence, so don’t be afraid to look elsewhere if you don’t get straight into the sector after university.