Programme Information Officer - Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board
Please Note: The application deadline for this post has now passed.
Post Introduction
This role is located within the Church of England’s National Communications Team, working very closely with the Vision and Strategy Team.
The National Communications Team delivers the communications strategies for the Church of England nationally, oversees communications for the National Church Institutions (NCIs) and ensures coordination with the communications of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. This role provides an excellent opportunity to work with a friendly, committed, good humoured, professional, purpose driven and busy team who work on a varied and often fast-paced portfolio. We support the Church to contribute to national conversations on issues of social significance, fulfil its obligations regarding transparency and accountability, and manage communications around complex issues facing the Church today.
The Vision and Strategy Team consults on and manages the distribution of one of the largest grant-making programmes in the country, with over £100m of Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment (SMMI) disbursed by the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board to support the work, and encourage the growth of, the Church of England annually. The team supports the whole Church in its engagement with the national Vision and Strategy for the Church of England for the 2020s which has three strategic priorities: to be a church of missionary disciples; to be younger and more diverse; and to develop a mixed ecology – being church in varied forms and settings. The team is also the lead owner of the strategy within the NCIs, and therefore responsible for ensuring that the work of other teams within the NCIs is aligned to the strategy and helps ensure its delivery across the Church. The team also helps the delivery of projects funded by previous grants.
What you'll be doing
The purpose of this role is to deliver an effective Communications and Engagement Strategy, for both church and external audiences, that will tell the story of the funding programme and its impact on communities and everyday lives.
The post holder will work with the Vision and Strategy Team, Digital and Communications Teams and other NCI colleagues, as well as Diocesan Communicators across the country, to promote the work delivered and opportunities provided by Vision and Strategy. The work will involve interaction with a wide range of stakeholders.
In this role you will:
- Lead on the delivery of the Vision and Strategy Communications and Engagement Strategy for the funded grant programme.
- Proactively identify and exploit PR opportunities for demonstrating the national and local impact of the funding programme.
- Develop strong working relationships with stakeholders, digital and diocesan communications colleagues to identify proactive communications opportunities and help amplify their work where necessary.
- Working with communications colleagues help draft accurate reactive lines in response to media questions.
Please note this is an 18 month fixed term contract which can be suitable for a secondment.
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:
- Experience of working in communications and engagement in a large and established organisation.
- Proven stakeholder management skills to manage competing demands, achieve outcomes and deliver projects to time and cost.
- Engaging communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills for a wide range of audiences.
- Able to adjust communications to the audience, enabling stakeholders to feel heard and able to participate.
- Excellent IT skills, with working knowledge of MS Office and communications platforms and emerging technologies.
For a person specification, please see attached job description.
What we offer
Our benefits include:
- A salary of £46,577 per annum 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 (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus three additional days
- Flexible working hours and location, with an expectation of just 1-2 days per week in our office in Westminster
- Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships
- Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme
- Opportunity to the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies
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.
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.
