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.

Voluntary Income in The Church of England is over £800M a year, and funds 75% of the cost of parish ministry. The Church of England National Giving Strategy 2020-2024 has invested over £7.5M in enabling giving and encouraging generosity within its churches. Giving is one of the top 5 priorities for the Archbishops’ Council and the Church of England continues to invest in the National Giving Strategy and Team to encourage giving within its churches.

The National Giving Team, work alongside Dioceses to maintain growth in annual voluntary income by investing in national resource, emerging technologies, and exploring alternative funding streams and income generation initiatives.

Post Introduction

As Regional Giving Advisor, you will work in the National Giving Team to support the network of Diocesan Giving Advisors in the South. You will share your knowledge and insight to help churches enable giving and grow generosity.

You will support the adoption of good practice in churches and dioceses through project management, delivering key projects such as the Giving Advisor Fund, Cornerstone, Digital Giving, the Contactless Device roll out as well as a range of new projects and giving initiatives. The post holder will work collaboratively within the Giving Team, and colleagues in the wider directorate.

You will need to have experience of giving in the church and providing strategic advice to senior Managers and key stakeholders. An excellent facilitator and communicator, you will externally represent the Church of England on all giving issues.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday 6 December 2023 (midnight).  Interviews will be held on Wednesday 13 December 2023.

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.

Role Responsibility

The main responsibilities for this role are:

Supporting giving advisors

Supporting dioceses through assisting in the recruitment, training, and non-managerial supervision of giving advisors.

• Assisting dioceses in the recruitment process for Giving Advisors, offering guidance and support on job descriptions, person specifications, recruitment advertising, shortlisting and interview process and sitting on the interview panel if asked.
• Administering the Giving Advisor Fund in the South including liaising with senior diocesan staff to monitor the strategic impact of postholders, financial administration of grants, and supporting with recruitment.
• Auditing the training needs of all Giving Advisors in the region and creating and delivering a training programme with colleagues from the national team and others.
• Providing non-managerial supervision and specialist advice and guidance for Giving Advisors, through regular meetings and ad-hoc support, where Giving Advisors are supported and given space and time to explore their challenges and the most effective way of addressing those challenges.
• Co-ordinating regional meetings of the Giving Advisors, agreeing dates, venues, agendas and desired outcomes.

Developing good practice in the region

• Taking a strategic, national lead on at least one aspect of generous giving (eg fresh expressions, cathedral giving, rural ministry, clergy training etc)
• Supporting the National Digital Giving Manager to deliver the national rollout of contactless equipment to our churches in the South region dioceses.
• Supporting the other Regional Giving Advisors in the development of new clergy training initiatives and pilots of training programmes. Assisting in the delivery of training within dioceses for clergy and laity.
• Supporting national initiatives, such as Generosity Week, to ensure they are widely adopted within the region. 
• Producing good practice guidance in various formats by working closely with the Head of Giving Resources & Insight for ongoing Giving initiatives.  
• Monitoring and evaluating the impact of the adoption of good practice across The Church of England.
• Answering queries and offering advice and guidance to parishes throughout The Church of England on a range of areas of giving, e.g. gift aid, governance, legacies, digital giving.
• Assisting with the development of materials and training to ensure generous giving is encouraged within a way that meets our safeguarding aspirations and is consistent with the Christian faith.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate should have:

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level
• Professional Qualification from the Institute of Fundraising

Experience

• Experience of encouraging giving in a paid capacity is essential
• Experience influencing Senior Members of internal staff and key stakeholders
• Influencing others through communication and strong leadership skills

Competencies required

• Proven educator, able to evidence learning through training given in the past.
• Effective written and oral communication, especially in presenting to large groups
• Good leadership, influencing and coaching skills
• Good inter-personal skills, as this work requires a high degree of sensitivity and discretion
• Ability to manage time effectively, prioritising tasks and ensuring deadlines are met
• Strong analytical and data management skills
• Very strong self-motivator and initiator as the job requires an ability to work unsupervised
• Strong administrative skills, including knowledge and experience of using Microsoft Office effectively
• An ethical approach, with practice that is entirely consistent with the Christian faith and abides by all relevant legislation (including the Code of Fundraising Practice.
• Ability to manage time effectively, prioritising tasks and ensuring deadlines are met

Desirable:

• Experience of working within the Church sector, either in a paid or voluntary capacity, ideally in relation to giving, fundraising, or church finances
• Good at working within a diverse and dispersed team
• An ability to think strategically as this role will assist in delivering the National Giving Strategy, and the post holder will need to engage with dioceses to ensure that giving is a strategic priority for them.

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.