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 overarching vision for The Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) is to provide independent oversight of the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST). The ISB has been created to ensure the Church delivers on its safeguarding agenda.

The ISB is the organisation that ensures good safeguarding, including preventative work, is done as a matter of course across the Church, including ensuring timely responses to recommendations made in the course of its work. The ISB holds the Church publicly accountable for any failure to respond to the ISB recommendations, acting without fear or favour. The ISB aim to ensure that all victims and survivors are heard and involved in the safeguarding work of the wider Church.

This ISB is currently in its first year of conception and the model of the ISB continues to be developed, including ensuring it remains an independent body.

This is an exciting time to be joining the ISB in a role that involves shaping and informing the vision of a new entity that intends to make a significant impact. The ISB is developing its vision, and this includes establishing the team that will support its work; the Business Support Manager will be central to developing that team.

The Business Support Manager will play a key role in promoting understanding and confidence in the work of the ISB. They will be a role model of the ISB as we work towards growing public confidence in the ISB.

We’re looking for a dynamic and experienced manager to provide leadership and support to ISB operations and being an advocate for our vision. We are looking for someone who can be instrumental in driving forward the work of the ISB. This is a demanding role within a high profile and pressurised environment. This is an opportunity to provide leadership, working at your own initiative and being proactive, to the development of a key element of safeguarding in the Church. The role will contribute to information sharing, future planning and delivery, case management and problem solving. This postholder will be passionate about safeguarding and be self-motivated and experienced in providing strong leadership, with experience of chairing meetings, engaging with diverse stakeholders, and building partnerships that will shape the ISB’s future.

A core responsibility of the role is to ensure that effective and organisational support is provided to the ISB to enable effective delivery of the business plan. The postholder will provide guidance on Church processes and policies, where necessary with the assistance of Church bodies. This post also has responsibility for ensuring project management support for the high-profile project to develop a model for independent oversight of safeguarding. This post has management responsibility for the provision of high-level administrative services, project management, and case management support that enables Board members to focus on their strategic vision.

The postholder will effectively oversee ISB intelligence and data and provide timely reports. The post is also required to oversee induction of any future staff into the team, refining business processes, acting as the responsible officer for correct financial authorisation processes and the provision of the public facing response from the ISB.

The main responsibilities for this role are:

Business Manager to ISB

Direct leadership, review, and management of the current and any future staff, including development to the required standard. responsibility for the management of the ISB business function, leading and coordinating the work and priorities of to support the ISB Terms of Reference.

• Ensure the ISB continually develops policies, procedures, training, and communications in relation to engaging, safeguarding, and promoting the welfare of victims and survivors.
• Form and maintain effective professional relationships with other relevant strategic boards, and professionals both locally and regionally across the Church, to ensure a cohesive strategic response to promoting safeguarding and increasing accountability.
• Oversee ISB development and implementation of best practice, by ensuring that recommendations are monitored for their implementation, and learning is shared and evidenced.
• To lead on further developing the business plan, systems, including creating new systems when the need arises.
• To have oversight of and manage the on-boarding of new team members including desk risk assessments as well as the appropriate processes for leavers, in liaison with the HRBP and senior management, to establish and maintain induction materials.
• Oversight of key ISB meetings to ensure they are organised and facilitated appropriately. Ensuring appropriate and high quality administrative support.
• To have oversight of the planning and co-ordination of national events led by the ISB e.g. consultation events or launch events, engagement with survivors.
• To lead on the production, formatting and publication of the Annual Report.
• To work with shared services and contractors to ensure the ISB is compliant with processes.
• To monitor and oversee contractual arrangements with external partners e.g., legal advisors and plan appropriate tendering exercises where necessary.
• To lead on ensuring the ISB is GDPR compliant and managing processes in relation to data breaches.
• To hold responsibility for reviewing and sending out communications to the national church, governing bodies and other external parties as required on behalf of the ISB.
• To effectively oversee the shared email inbox and quality assure the responses given by the administrative team as well as ensuring that the team are trained and well-equipped to receive disclosures of abuse.
• To lead on recruitment processes for the ISB in liaison with relevant partners and to be the point of contact for survivors who are part of an interview panel.

Project Management

• To assist the Board in developing the plan for Phase 2. This is the consultation and planning process to determine what the final structure for independent oversight of safeguarding will look like.
• Be responsible for keeping this work on track, reporting progress, budget, and risk on a monthly basis to the Board.
• On completion of Phase 2, manage the project to deliver the final structure.

Casework

• Ensure alongside the ISB that all requests to review cases are appropriately logged, and all relevant consent and GDPR obligations are complied with.
• Liaise with other agencies e.g. NST, dioceses, statutory services to compile a full case record.
• Work with the relevant agencies or team members to ensure the preparation of chronologies and key lines of enquiry for all cases.

The ideal candidate must have:

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Management skills – oversee and lead administration function and ability to develop the team
• Experience of managing budgets
• Influencing and negotiating skills
• Proven track record in delivering with a high degree of accuracy
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Enthusiastic, organised, flexible and able to prioritise
• High resilience with the ability to work under pressure, often to changing and competing demands
• Ability to work autonomously, use own initiative and make decisions
• Evidence of a high level of administrative and organisational ability including document management skills and complete understanding of the full Microsoft Office suite (e.g. Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
• Demonstrable experience of balancing competing demands from public, staff, and other agencies
• Ability to work with other to collate and analyse complex information to formulate and present action plans, business plans, reviews and other management reports

Personal Attributes:

• Self-motivated, proactive and committed to achieving results.
• Leadership qualities and the ability to command the respect of others.
• Collaborative and collegiate in approach
• Flexible to meet the demands of the post
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to establish positive working relationships with senior stakeholders and to represent the ISB to external partners.
• Operates with discretion and integrity – ability to be trusted with confidential information and a sound ambassador for the ISB
• Ability to deal sensitively and professionally with survivors and other vulnerable groups
• An understanding and empathy with the structure and culture of the Church of England.

Knowledge / Experience:

• Proven track record in project management
• Policy work including research and drafting
• Experience of working in the safeguarding field, with an understanding of the needs of varied stakeholders in the safeguarding process
• Budget management experience
• Experience of working with Non-Executive Directors or other Board level appointees
• Experience of dealing with victims and survivors of abuse
• Evidence of dealing with confidential and sensitive material, and up to date knowledge of GDPR
• Experience of case management or overseeing
• Understanding of regulatory bodies, including differing governance structures

Education:

• Degree level or equivalent experience

Desirable

• A broad understanding of the work of the National Church Institutions.
• Experience of working in a similar, public or third sector environment
• Knowledge of safeguarding structures and processes within the Church of England
• Experience of involving service users in the planning of working groups, development, and evaluation of services.

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.

Although the candidate will formally be employed by the NCIs, they will be working for the Independent Safeguarding Board.

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.