The Bishop of Portsmouth seeks to appoint a prayerful disciple of Jesus Christ to serve as the next Archdeacon of the Meon.

The Bishop is looking for an Archdeacon colleague who will share with him, and with lay and ordained colleagues, in seeking to encourage, inspire and enable God’s people to live, pray and serve the Kingdom of God.

The Archdeacon of the Meon will be responsible for the provision of ‘good order for ministry and mission’ across the Archdeaconry ; working collaboratively with colleagues, lay and ordained, to deliver the vocational purpose of the Diocese and to develop and implement the ‘Diocesan Ministry, Mission and Finance Plan 2022-25’; with colleagues, shaping the future planning and direction of the diocese.

The Archdeacon will share the ministry of oversight with the Bishop and Bishop’s Staff Team within an encompassing governance framework provided by Diocesan Synod, Bishop’s Council and the Trustees/Directors of the Portsmouth Diocesan Board of Finance.

The Archdeacon of the Meon will:

• Put prayer first and attend to their discipleship and spiritual growth.
• Participate in God’s mission, build up the people of God and exercise ministry in close collaboration with the Bishop and a range of key stakeholders.
• Exercise an archdeacon’s statutory responsibilities and, where appropriate,delegate responsibility to colleagues, to enable timely support to clergy and parishes.
• Promote ecumenical partnerships and unity in mission.
• Promote excellence in safeguarding.

Please see the attached Statement of Need for further information.

The Bishop seeks to appoint: a prayerful, exceptionally well-organised disciple of Jesus Christ. Having a missional heart, the candidate will be:

• A Change Leader
• An Enabling Leader
• A Collaborative Leader
• A Courageous and Resilient Leader
• A Humble Leader

To discuss the role, please contact the Bishop’s office via Bev.Hughes@portsmouth.anglican.org.

The Diocese of Portsmouth covers south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It is small for a Church of England diocese, but embraces a wide range of geography and demographics.

With three archdeaconries, 133 parishes, 167 church buildings our 75 stipendiary clergy, non-stipendiary, active and retired clergy as well as a large number of Readers minister to approximately 8,900 worshippers and lead mission in their local communities.

The interviews for the post of Archdeacon of the Meon will be held on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th March 2023.