Overview

Our aim is for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong and are valued for who they are and what they contribute.  Together our people, contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.

The Church of England is currently engaged in a series of major initiatives to review its culture, structures, and governance at national and regional level under the programme of ‘Emerging Church’.  The Governance Review workstream forms part of this body of work and is overseen by the National Church Governance Project Board. 

Post Introduction

This is an opportunity to provide the National Governance Project Board with the necessary administrative support to ensure that the Governance Review Project is being effectively and efficiently managed and delivered.

As Executive Project Administrator your responsibilities will include day to day diary management, meeting support, as well as administration tasks to help the project progress smoothly. You will maintain the projects shared drive and help keep up to date key project documentation, including the risk register and the project tracker. 

You will co-ordinate the delivery of key governance forums, including fringe events at General Synod, Project Board and Reference Group meetings and any project away days.  You will also monitor the Governance Review mailbox and ensure responses are provided promptly to those submitting comments. 

Key to your success in this role will be your written and verbal communication and organisational skills.

This post is offered on a secondment/fixed term contract expected to last two years.

We are taking a flexible approach to work, with many colleagues opting for a hybrid approach to their working week, with a mixture of home and office-based working.  Further details will be discussed at interview.

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country.  This is a priority for the Archbishops. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we particularly welcome applicants from UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities.  

Please contact Stephanie Harrison, Governance Project Director stephanie.harrison@churchofengland.org for an informal conversation.

We offer a unique environment with opportunities for continuous learning, generous annual leave for work life balance, season ticket loans and a range of benefits including discounted entry to attractions and what we feel is a market leading package when it comes to our pension scheme.

Role Responsibility

The Role

• Provide project support to the Governance Project Director and other team members by conducting research, drafting papers, presentations, responses, and communications as required.
• Provide project support to a range of Governance Review meetings including preparing briefings, arranging meetings, and writing notes or minutes.
• Support the Project Director in project reporting, updating plans and support effective governance including risk management and monitoring and logging of issues. 
• Organise project events to support the National Church Governance Project Board, including fringe events, webinars, etc.
• Be the first point of contact for the team dealing with queries as appropriate, monitoring the Governance Review inbox and responding to any correspondence received.
• Set up effective office systems in support of the programme, e.g. Governance Review SharePoint, Outlook calendars, zoom and email accounts, and online data storage. 
• Manage all incoming and outgoing payments for the project, raising Purchase Orders and invoice requests, checking invoices and expenses claims, and resolving queries as necessary. Monitor day-to-day project expenditure against SAP Cost Centres and budget headings; liaising with senior team members to ensure that expenditure is within budget. 
• Organise meetings, including agendas, minutes, papers, and logistical arrangements. 
• Support the Project Director in ensuring the Governance Review Project is correctly and clearly represented on the Church of England website and digital platforms.
• Engagement with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders from across the Church.
• Take responsibility for routine administration in relation to the work of the Governance Review Project. 

The Ideal Candidate

The Requirements

Essential 

Skills/Aptitudes: 

• Writing skills, including summarising material from a range of sources and drafting clear papers and responses. 
• IT skills, including demonstrable experience of MS Office software.   
• Efficient diary management. 
• Time management skills, including ability to prioritise and meet deadlines. 
• Ability to work under pressure using own initiative and ability to work unsupervised.  
• Attention to detail. 
• Ability to deal with people at all levels, get on with people easily, create and work within  teams. 

Knowledge/Experience:  

• Demonstrable office experience, including experience of office systems (particularly MS Office and Excel) which will be required to provide full administrative support of the kind outlined above. 
• Experience of organising events and conferences. 
• Experience of organising governance meetings, including minuting. 
• Knowledge of the Church of England including its governance and structures.

Personal Attributes: 

• Discretion in dealing with confidential matters and sensitive issues. 
• Professional, well organised and creative when appropriate. 
• Self-motivated and well organised, able to demonstrate initiative. 
• Ability to maintain focus to complete tasks under pressure. 
• High sense of responsibility, consistently completing work of a high standard. 

 Desirable 

Skills/Aptitudes: 

• Excellent IT skills, including presentations, spreadsheets, formal papers and basic design. 

Knowledge/Experience: 

• Some understanding of the Church of England and the work of the National Church Governance Project Board.
• Experience of servicing member-led bodies. 
• Experience of financial software, such as SAP. 

Personal Attributes: 

• In sympathy with the aims and ethos of the Church of England. 

About Us

We in the National Church Institutions support the mission and ministries of the Church all over England. We work with parishes, dioceses (regional offices), schools, other ministries and our partners at a national and international level.

Excellence, Respect, Integrity

We follow these three values in everything we do, whether we are of Christian faith, another faith or no faith. To learn more about working for National Church Institutions and our benefits, please click here

As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively look to attract, recruit and retain those of you who are disabled.

As a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, we welcome applications from those of you who have served in our Armed Forces and their families.

We are committed to being an equal opportunities employer and to ensuring that everyone, job applicants, customers and other people with whom we deal, are treated fairly and not subject to discrimination.  We will do whatever is necessary to provide genuine equality of opportunity. We continuously review our policies and processes to support our aim to create a workforce as diverse as the nation the Church of England serves.