Overview

We Include. You Belong.

Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims 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 National Church Institutions (NCIs) are national administrative bodies that work together to support the mission and ministry of the Church of England. Their activities are hugely varied, ranging from management of a multi-billion-pound investment fund, to a grant-giving charity, a housing service for retired clergy and the administration of four multi-employer pension schemes.

The Public Policy team is one part of the Faith and Public Life (F&PL) Department which also involves the Parliamentary Unit as well as teams covering Anglican Communion affairs, Ecumenical relations and Inter-religious affairs, along with a number of project teams working on issues as diverse as modern-day slavery, freedom of religion and belief and social impact investment. There is a strong collaborative working culture across the Public Policy team and the wider F&PL Department

The work of F&PL’s Public Policy team comes under the oversight of the Mission and Public Affairs Council (a sub-committee of the Archbishops’ Council).

Post Introduction

This is a senior role, working as part of a small multi-disciplinary team to support and advise the Church of England in its engagement matters on public policy and ethics.

With fellow members of the Public Policy team, the post holder will give authoritative, timely and well-researched advice and support to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York; to the Lords Spiritual in their Parliamentary role (working alongside the Parliamentary team within the Faith and Public Life Department (F&PL)), to the General Synod, the Archbishops’ Council and other national Church of England bodies, on all matters of public policy and ethics.

This will include responding to Government Consultations, drafting Synod and other papers, organising, briefing and staffing the Archbishops and Bishops in meetings with government ministers and others, and liaison across a wide field of church and church-related NGO, research and campaigning bodies.

The closing date for applications is 18 December 2023 (midnight).

Interviews will be held in London on 31 January 2024.

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minority Ethnic Backgrounds and other under-represented groups.

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 main responsibilities for this role are:

• Advising the Archbishops, Lords Spiritual and other bishops, on matters of public policy and supporting them in their public and political engagement, whether that be in parliament, in the media, with statutory bodies or with Government.
• Representing the Church of England as required with partnership bodies and at significant events, and providing staff support for these where appropriate. This may include engaging in public debate and explaining the reasoning behind the Church’s public policies (including theological reasoning).
• Researching, compiling and preparing briefing papers and reports for senior staff, bishops, archbishops and member bodies with high degree of detail and accuracy.  
• Maintaining and developing a strong network of contacts with staff counterparts from other churches and church agencies as well as civil servants in relevant departments; with the think tank community and academia on economic and social welfare policy issues.
• Participating as required in the meetings of Mission and Public Affairs Council (and some other  committees), and

(When acting as Public Policy Team Coordinator)

• Ensuring that the Head of the Faith and Public Life team is fully briefed on the Public Policy Team’s activities.
• Ensuring that the Public Policy team is informed of the Archbishops’ requirements in this area and that the full range of expertise within the Public Policy team is available to support the Archbishops.
• Contributing as a senior officer in the F&PL staff team to the strategic direction of the team’s activities, taking forward and helping to shape the Church of England’s priorities for public policy engagement.

Other responsibilities

• Acting as a point of contact, information and support for Diocesan Officers in related fields of work.
•  Participating regularly in meetings of the F&PL team and relevant sub groups.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate should have:

Essential

Knowledge/Experience: 

• Intellectual curiosity and ambition.
• A strong track record in church involvement in community-building.
• A sound theoretical understanding of economics, finance and social sciences.
• Theological and practical understanding of Christian social, political and ethical engagement.
• Well-honed research skills.
• Experience of advising senior leaders on economic and social welfares policy matters.
• Proven ability to work in partnership with other church and secular agencies.

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Attention to detail, strong judgement, problem-solving abilities and an ability to translate vision and ‘big picture’ thinking into strategy and deliverable outcomes.
• Able to work quickly – to turn round paperwork, including creative “think pieces”, to time.
• Excellent communication skills (both written and oral) and a proven track record of translating a wide range of data and reporting into concise briefing for a variety of stakeholders is essential.  
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including ability to work collaboratively in a team and to form and sustain a wide range of working relationships that helps support the Church’s public policy engagement.
• Understanding of the different theological traditions within Anglicanism and the ability to present material in ways accessible across those traditions.
• Attention to detail – including planning for meetings and conferences etc.
• Competence in IT skills, including Microsoft Word and Outlook.

Education:

• Educated to a level that confers credibility among and enables confident engagement with, senior church leaders, academics in relevant disciplines including theology.

Personal Attributes:

• Confident; willing to propose courses of action and be creative; equally willing to take direction and to understand when something cannot be done or is not appropriate.
• Willing to work flexibly,
• Willingness to travel both within the UK and overseas.
• The ability to learn from others and enable them to learn from each other.
• Must be a proven self starter with the ability to work independently and proactively, and as part of a team.
• Proven ability to work effectively across a multi-team structure to ensure a joined -up and holistic approach.

Circumstances:

• Willingness and ability to travel within the UK (and occasionally abroad), including overnight trips.

Desirable

Knowledge/Experience:

• Research experience in a relevant field such as: public/political theology, ethics, economics,. social sciences.
• Qualifications and/or relevant experience in economics and related subjects.
• Specific experience of the Church of England’s social, political and ethical engagement.
• Writing for professional publication.

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Skilled in using IT for communication, including e.g. web design, desktop publishing and social media.
• Education and training skills.

About Us

In the National Church Institutions (NCIs), we support the mission and ministries of the Church of England. We work with parishes, dioceses, schools, chaplaincies and other ministries, and with national and international partners including mission agencies, and other denominations and faith groups.-.  

Find out more about working for the National Church Institutions at Careers | The Church of England

NCI values

• We strive for excellence 
• We collaborate 
• We act with integrity 
• We show compassion 
• We respect others 

We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward.  The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values.  Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you. 

If there is anything we can do to support you in your application please get in touch via email to hr.recruitment@churchofengland.org

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

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