Parliamentary and Public Affairs Adviser/ Researcher to the Archbishop of Canterbury
Please Note: The application deadline for this post has now passed.
Post Introduction
The role involves the briefing and management of events and meetings held by the Archbishop, and the management of his interventions in the House of Lords including speechwriting. It also involves carrying out research both at the specific request of the Archbishop, and where possible assisting the Public Policy team in research that supports the wider Church of England.
As a link between the Archbishop and the Faith and Public Life team, the post-holder will have frequent personal contact with the Archbishop and close working relationships across the team, ensuring through the Director that the Archbishop can avail himself of all the skills and experience held within the team as required. The post-holder’s research activities will contribute to, and be coordinated with, wide research activities of the Public Policy team within F&PL.
This is a 12-month fixed-term contract.
The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation - a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.
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.
Living out our values in all that we do, we:
- Strive for Excellence
- Show Compassion
- Respect others
- Collaborate
- Act with Integrity
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.
About the Department
This post sits within Faith and Public Life (F&PL), the team that supports the Church of England’s work in the public sphere, and specifically supports the work of the Archbishop of Canterbury across a wide range of topics, from his role in Church and state relations, to his witness on issues of social justice. The work is set in the context of the priority areas of the Archbishop’s ministry, the Quinquennium goals of the Church of England, and the five marks of mission of the Anglican Communion. Policy and research on these areas are carried out within the Faith and Public Life team and so the post will link across all the areas of work in F&PL.
The creation at the start of 2022 of a new F&PL department for the National Church Institutions brings together for the first time a number of outward-facing activities formerly divided between the Archbishops’ Council and the staff of the Archbishops. Public policy and ethics, Parliamentary support for the Lords Spiritual and Second Church Estates Commissioner, Inter-religious relations, links to the Anglican Communion and Ecumenical relations, 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, all come together to form the new team, with opportunities to learn from one another and work effectively across specialisms. Administrative support for all areas of the work is delivered through the F&PL support team.
What you'll be doing
This role will involve:
- Assisting the Archbishop of Canterbury, through the Parliamentary Team, in his Parliamentary duties, including research for speeches, questions and meetings, monitoring and updating him on specific issues and events, and liaising with others in Parliament, civil society and the National Church Institutions on his behalf.
- Liaising with the other members of the Faith and Public Life team to ensure that the Archbishop is appropriately advised on key developments in government policy and legislation.
- Ensuring that the Archbishop of Canterbury is kept abreast of the wider activities of the Lords Spiritual.
- Organising and staffing meetings in Parliament with the Archbishop.
- Undertaking discrete and ongoing research projects, to assist in the ongoing public affairs work of the Archbishop and the Faith and Public Life team’s wider work.
- Assisting in developing briefing material to support the Archbishop’s contributions on social and public issues, including drafting speeches, notes and preparatory material for the Archbishop and members of his senior staff as required.
- Providing support for new projects that enable the Archbishop to address his own priorities in his ministry.
- Assisting in the preparation of briefs for the Archbishop’s official engagements for which the Faith and Public Life team has lead responsibility, including basic research and collation of information.
- Working alongside the F&PL administrative team, and acting as a key point of contact for organisations with which the Archbishop has a patronage relationship, particularly those engaged in policy work.
- Assisting in the maintenance and development of relationships with major charities, NGOs, think tanks and social and public affairs (or equivalent) departments at a national level in other denominations and faiths.
- Assisting in the day-to-day activities of the Faith and Public Life team, such as drafting correspondence on behalf of the Archbishop on relevant matters, and responding to the numerous invitations that the Archbishop receives.
- Where appropriate, attending meetings on behalf of the Archbishop and/or the Faith and Public Life team.
About You
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 Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.
To be successful in this role, you will have:
- Qualification in a relevant subject, e.g. Politics, Theological Studies, or similar.
- Excellent ICT skills.
- Excellent communication skills, verbally and in writing.
- Excellent organisation skills, including time management, diary management.
- Research skills and the ability to gather and collate information quickly and accurately.
- Good knowledge of Parliament, its function and structures.
- Appreciation of the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England in national life.
- Proven ability to present complex data in manageable and informative ways.
- Experience of organising events (receptions, seminars, small and large meetings etc.)
- Discretion and judgement in handling confidential or sensitive material.
- Willingness and ability to work some unsocial hours when required.
For a full person specification, please see the attached job description.
Closing date: 19th August 2024
Interviews are expected to be held on 2nd September in London
What we offer
Our benefits include:
- A salary of £46,577 plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of salary.
- 25 days annual leave plus eight bank holidays.
- Flexible working hours and location, with an expectation of just 1 day per week in our office in Westminster
- We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
