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 purpose of the NCIs is to support the mission and ministries of the Church of England. In particular we aim to support all parts of the Church in their engagement with the Church’s ambitious Vision and Strategy for the 2020s, seeking to double the number of children and young people in its churches, to launch up to 10,000 new worshipping communities, and to use its national funds to support ministry across all its 42 dioceses. We seek to become a Jesus Christ-shaped and centred church, which is simpler, humbler and bolder.

The Archbishops’ Council is the national body which will resource and support this Vision and Strategy, working with the Church Commissioners, the House of Bishops and the General Synod. The Council’s Central Secretariat supports the work of the Council itself, the work of the House of Bishops, and the General Synod. It is the principal policy-making and support organisation for the Church nationally. It is a charity, created in statute, with a turnover of around £120-150 million p.a. The bulk of its expenditure consists of grants to dioceses, though it also delivers important services in-house.

The board of trustees of the charity, also called the “Archbishops’ Council”, comprises the two Archbishops, four Synod officers and the First Church Estates Commissioner ex officio, six members elected from and by the General Synod, and six appointed members.

The Central Secretariat of the Archbishops’ Council is the “corporate centre” for the charity.

As Director of the Central Secretariat and Clerk to the Synod​, you will act as the equivalent of “Company Secretary” for the Archbishop’s Council charity; overseeing policy work on how the Church organises and governs itself. You will also support the Chief Executive, the Secretary General, across the range of his responsibilities, including deputising where necessary on issues within the Church and with key stakeholders outside the Church.

The NCIs which includes the Archbishops' Council, are currently engaged in a process of reviewof their governance. As Director of the Central Secretariat and Clerk to the Synod, youwill help shape these significant proposals for change, with the flexibility needed to adapt and help implement them, if they are approved. This will involve fostering increasingly close working with the secretariat of the Church Commissioners, and other parts of the NCIs.

To be successful, you will need the ability to manage and deliver change and lead through influence and personal authority, with resilience and emotional intelligence.

This role involves representing the Church of England to other Christian denominations, to other faiths, Governments and to others in civil society. Therefore, and in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 this role carries an occupational requirement to be a Communicant Anglican and we would welcome applicants who are regular worshippers within the Church of England or Anglican Churches which are part of the Anglican Communion.

To arrange an informal conversation please contact yvonne.darling@churchofengland.org

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.

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

The Central Secretariat

The Central Secretariat of the Archbishops’ Council is the “corporate centre” for the charity. The Director of the Central Secretariat acts as the equivalent of “company secretary” for the charity; oversees policy work on how the Church organises and governs itself; and also supports the chief executive, the Secretary General, across the range of his responsibilities.

The Central Secretariat has three main areas of responsibility. The small team of 10 staff covers these responsibilities in a matrix manner, rather than comprising defined sub-teams:

• Governance support and event management – the Central Secretariat supports the board of the Archbishops’ Council itself, and is responsible for the committee structure of the Council. It is also responsible for staffing and supporting various other Church governance bodies: notably the General Synod and the General Synod Business Committee; the House of Bishops and College of Bishops; the Appointments Committee; the Dioceses Commission; the Liturgical Commission. The General Synod (the Church’s legislative and national deliberative body) meets two or three times a year, in London or York. The Director of the Central Secretariat is the Clerk to the Synod, the senior administrator of the Synod’s business under the Secretary General.
• Central policy support – the Central Secretariat provide policy support and analysis for various permanent bodies of the Church, and also for ad hoc working groups and task-and-finish groups addressing policy questions arising in the Church, particularly where these concern intra-Church relations and structures. It thus acts as a policy resource for addressing many key issues within the Church.
• Archbishops’ Council corporate centre – the new director of the Central Secretariat will be asked to develop the role of the Secretariat in providing corporate support to the Secretary General and the Council on corporate and business planning, management information and board effectiveness. The Council is in the course of implementing a recent board effectiveness review. The Secretariat will need to work with the existing NCI corporate service functions (finance, HR, legal etc).

In addition, the Secretary General looks to the director of the Central Secretariat to be able to support him across the range of his responsibilities as chief executive, including deputising where necessary on issues within the Church and with key stakeholders outside the Church. This requires developing effective relationships with many different parts of the Church of England, with other Christian denominations, and with partners in Government and in civil society. This involves representing the Church of England to those bodies.

The director of the Central Secretariat is a member of the Senior Management Group of the Archbishops’ Council, and works closely with the other directors both in corporate leadership of the charity, and in a collaborative approach to much of its business.

The national Church institutions are currently engaged in a process of review of their governance. Following the publication of the Governance Review Group report in September 2021, and a motion thanking the Group for its report at the General Synod in February 2022, a programme of governance reform is getting under way. This will affect the Central Secretariat and its director in two ways:

• First, the director should expect to contribute to the governance reform programme, working with the programme director, in terms of both the responsibilities of the Archbishops’ Council, and also handling issues with the General Synod.
• Secondly, we anticipate that, subject to the views of the Synod and Parliament, draft legislation will be put forward to create a new national trustee body which would take over the functions of both the Archbishops’ Council, the Church of England Central Services company (the NCIs’ corporate services arm), and elements of the Church Commissioners.

The Director of the Central Secretariat and Clerk to the Synod​ will need to help shape these significant proposals for change, and be flexible enough to adapt to them and, if they are approved, to help implement them. This will involve fostering increasingly close working with the secretariat of the Church Commissioners, and other parts of the NCIs.

The Requirements

Essential

• Experience of effective team leadership that inspires people through change and leads by example through role modelling organisational values.
• Ability to manage and deliver change in a matrix environment.
• Experience of supporting a complex set of stakeholders, including familiarity and expertise in working with senior stakeholders across a diverse and multi layered organisation.
• Ability to successfully influence and engage stakeholders in support of strategic objectives.
• Confident written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience of financial and resource management at director level or equivalent
• Ability to see the big picture strategically, while also capable of overseeing the detailed requirements of governance, legislative and other Synodical business.
• Experience of managing competing demands and the ability to utilise personal resilience strategies.
• Empathetic understanding of the diversity of the Church of England and its structures, combined with a willingness to learn more and to engage professionally and sympathetically with all the diversity of views and beliefs across the Church.
• This role involves representing the Church of England to other Christian denominations, to other faiths, Governments and to others in civil society. Therefore, and in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 this role carries an occupational requirement to be a Communicant Anglican and we would welcome applicants who are regular worshippers within the Church of England or Anglican Churches which are part of the Anglican Communion.

Desirable

• Knowledge of legislative or Parliamentary procedures.

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.