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 Foundation for Educational Leadership was set up in 2017 with the mission to ‘develop inspirational leaders who are called, connected, committed to deliver the Church of England vision for education’. Since then, it has operated a wide range of leadership development programmes, networks, research, conference and events, and published a range of key leadership resources to equip school leaders at every level to put their vision into practice.

A vital building block of this provision has been the growth of facilitated peer support networks working with over 1200 schools, Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) and dioceses across the country. With the growth of Foundation including national lead provider status as a National Professional Qualification (NPQ) provider, our Head of Networks has been promoted to the role of Head of Partnerships and Inclusion, and we are now seeking to fill the vacant position of Head of Networks, in order to continue to build resilient networks to support the Church of England’s vision for education and educational landscape.

We are looking for an exceptional Head of Networks to cultivate and sustain outstanding peer support networks, so that the Foundation continues to grow in scale and impact and leaders feel called, connected and committed to our vision for education.

You will bring yoursuccessful track record of school senior leadership, your blend of educational thinking and theological reflection, and your passion for the flourishing of adults and children, ensuring a strong sense of team culture and high-quality delivery.

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. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minority Ethnic Backgrounds.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact nigel.genders@churchofengland.org

Interviews are expected to be held in person, on Thursday 6^th January 2022.

In return 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.

The Role

• Facilitate a range of Peer Support Network groups across the country, drawing on school leadership experience and practice (including focus areas of Rural Schools, MAT Peer Support Network, National Secondary Leadership Network and Regional Peer Support Networks in Dioceses, Diversity and Inclusion Networks).
• Oversee a team of facilitators (including, where appropriate, consultants) ensuring a strong sense of team culture and high-quality delivery of the Foundation’s Networks.
• Provide training and support for Network facilitators, resourcing their networks and developing their facilitation skills.
• Work with the Head of Partnership and Inclusion to ensure that all networks are fully inclusive, and scope out opportunities for new networks which enable under-represented leaders to connect and progress.
• Ensure strong systems and processes for communication, invoicing and resource sharing which ensure positive relationships with key partners.
• Collaborate with Head of Programme Delivery to ensure strong cross-fertilisation with the Foundation’s programmes (e.g. NPQs and DELP – Diocese Education Leaders Programme) and the Head of Growing Faith Foundation, to enable best practice in networking.
• Develop strong and sustained partnership relationships with Dioceses, embedding a networking approach to Leadership Development which adds capacity to Diocese teams.
• Create capacity for Peer Support Network to grow and expand ambitiously and sustainably.
• Contribute to the creation of high-quality leadership development resources which equip school leaders to embed the Church of Vision for Education in their day-to-day leadership, ensuring these are fully representative of modern Britain and the communities schools serve.
• Further develop the Online Community for the Foundation, connecting leaders across the country and facilitating collaboration and exchange of leadership development resources.

The Requirements

Essential

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Skilled and experienced facilitator in a group context both face to face and virtually.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Adept and confident in use of online learning platforms and social media.
• Able to deal with a wide range of external contacts in a professional manner.
• Good organisational skills with attention to detail.
• Good time management and the ability to be proactive in planning and executing tasks.
• Able to work within a small team and to be adaptable.
• Able to work effectively under pressure and to maintain appropriate levels of confidentiality.
• Commitment to evidence informed practice which leads to excellent student outcomes.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Clear understanding of the Church of England Vision for Education and application into school leadership.
• Current/recent school senior leadership experience.
• Leadership development or CPD design/delivery experience.
• Engagement with current educational research and practice including for example curriculum design.
• pedagogy, character education.
• Experience of effective team leadership.
• Deep understanding of research underpinning effective networking and partnership development.
• Building and facilitating networks within an educational context.
• Confidence in online communication in networking including social media.

Personal Attributes:

• Credibility and relationship building – establishing trust and delivering on expectations.
• Blend of educational thinking and theological reflection.
• Passion for the flourishing of adults and children.
• Patience and resilience under pressure.
• Strong sense of collegiality and team.

Education:

• Degree level qualifications (or equivalent).

Desirable

Education:

• NPQSL, NPQH or other postgraduate qualifications in Education, Leadership or related field.

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Ability to think and write theologically about education.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Previous experience organising and facilitating network groups within an educational context.
• Experience overseeing conferences and network events.

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.