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 primary function of the Central Secretariat is to service the meetings of the main governance bodies of the Church of England. These are the Archbishops’ Council the General Synod, House of Bishops and associated Boards and Committees.

As Executive Officer, you will provide administrative support to the Director of Central Secretariat, the Head of Governance and the Boards and Committees serviced by the Director and the Head of Governance.

A key part of this role will involve acting as Assistant Secretary to the General Synod Business committee. This means preparing the agendas for such meetings, monitoring its work programme and commissioning and collating papers.

As a member of the General Synod support team prior to and during General Synod meetings, your role will be interesting and varied and will include assembling documents and material, logistical arrangements, processing ‘Requests to Speak’, help manage the Synod Support inbox and maintenance of the General Synod website and app.

This post is offered on a fixed term contract (maternity cover) expected to last for twelve months.

Interviews will be held on the 6th October 2022.

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. This is a priority for the Archbishops. 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 disabled people.

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

Administrative Support for the General Synod Business Committee

• Assisting the Director of Central Secretariat in servicing the Business Committee of the General Synod, preparing agendas and papers, handling correspondence, arranging meetings and taking minutes.
• Assisting with the staffing of any Business Committee working groups, including the Elections Review Group.
• Arranging and attending one annual overnight residential for the Business Committee (when required).

General Synod Support

• Assisting the Director of Central Secretariat/Head of Governance in assembling material for the General Synod Agenda and papers.
• Assisting with the logistical arrangements and organisation of General Synod meetings.
• Processing Requests to Speak during meetings of the General Synod.
• Reviewing the Report of Proceedings of the General Synod meeting.
• Forming part of the Synod Support Team at meetings of the General Synod – including a 7-day residential meeting in York every July.
• Maintenance of the General Synod pages of the website.
• Taking on special Synod-related projects at the request of the Clerk and Events Manager eg Synod accessibility.

Other duties

• Providing administrative support for the Archbishops’ Council (including 2 annual residentials), Board Effectiveness Sub Group and arranging inductions for new members.
• Providing administrative support for the Appointments Committee of the Church of England, including help with setting up meetings, preparing papers, handling correspondence, updating the website and taking minutes.
• Some general administrative support to the Director and other senior members of the team as required.
• Secretary to the Churches Funerals group, including managing agenda and papers, taking minutes, organising meetings, expenses and other send outs.
• Supporting the Governance Project Group as required.
• Editing of the CofE website pages that are owned by Central Secretariat team.
• Any other tasks as required, commensurate with the banding and in line with the general nature of the post.

The Requirements

Essential

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Ability to prioritise, handle tasks and meet deadlines.
• Ability to communicate and organise ideas clearly both verbally and in written form.
• Adaptable and able to use own initiative and work under pressure.
• Excellent and demonstrable IT knowledge, including advanced knowledge of the use of Microsoft office Suite, especially Excel, Access, Outlook, Teams, Zoom and SharePoint.
• Proven track record in the use of databases, word processing skills, spreadsheets and Content Management Systems.
• Attention to detail.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Previous office experience, demonstrating a proven track record in providing administrative support in a busy office and prioritising competing tasks.

Personal Attributes:

• Ability to get on with people easily and to work as part of a team.
• Discretion in dealing with confidential matters and sensitive issues.
• Self-motivated and well organised.
• In sympathy with the aims and ethos of the Church of England.

Circumstances:

• Must be willing to spend a week in July at the residential meeting of the General Synod in York where there is a long working day and to work longer hours during meetings of the Synod in London.

Desirable

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Project Management Skills.

Knowledge/Experience:

• Experience of servicing member-led bodies.
• Experience of working digitally in the not-for-profit sector.
• Understanding of the structure and organisation of the Church of England.

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.