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.

This exciting new post marks the expansion of the Lay Ministries Team to include support for those ministering with children and young people. By supporting a significant increase in children and youth ministry this role will contribute to the doubling of the number of young active disciples by 2030 which is key to the priority within the Church of England’s Vision and Strategy to be a church that is younger and more diverse.

As Ministry with Children and Young People Officer, you will be working with a wide range of internal and external partners and stakeholders you will raise the profile of such ministries within the Church of England.

You will support the work of dioceses in growing vocations, developing discernment pathways, growing career development opportunities, ensuring appropriate training, and sharing best practice in lifelong learning and ministry support. You will work with colleagues locally and nationally, as well as external partners, to encourage good practice and oversight in enabling ministry with children and young people.

As part of your role you will liaise regularly with the episcopal lead for CYP ministries and contribute to the setting of strategy as determined by the Head of Lay Ministries and Director of Ministry, and alongside other directorates. You will also be the lead for the Ministry Development Team in the collaborative project to grow 30,000 leaders of ministry with children and young people; around 3,000 in paid roles and approximately 27,000 self-supporting and volunteer practitioners.

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 and disabled people.

For an informal conversation please contact jo.henderson-merrygold@churchofengland.org

Closing date for applications will be on Thursday 15th June 2023.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 21st and/or Thursday 22nd June 2023.

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

• To be a public advocate for ministry among children and young people in the Church of England and to develop and implement a strategy for growing the number of people considering their ministerial vocation in this area.
• Providing strategic leadership of ministry with children and young people within the Ministry Development Team.
• Gathering a working group of experienced and knowledgeable colleagues to support this work, to advocate for it in the public square, to co-create alongside the postholder and to offer accountability.
• Ensuring safeguarding best practice is embedded throughout their work, enabling and supporting effective safeguarding leadership and change in church culture, and collaborating closely with the National Safeguarding Team.
• Developing and overseeing clear vocational and discernment pathways for professional children and youth ministers, in collaboration with colleagues in the Vocations and Discernment teams, and with diocesan leaders and other relevant stakeholders.
• Researching and analysing existing training models both within and beyond the Church of England and then working with colleagues in the Formation team and stakeholder groups to develop evidence-based, quality assured training for formation in ministry with children and young people.
• Serving as Ministry Development Team lead and liaison for delivery of children and youth priorities. Initially this will include working within the discovery and delivery teams for the 30,000 new leaders of ministry with children and young people project.
• Championing and advocating for ministries with children and young people and influencing bishops and diocesan officers to promote the quantity and diversity of such ministries in the Church of England.
• Bringing together diocesan officers, including Diocesan Children/ Youth Officers and strategic leads in CYP ministry to consult on and share best practice on a regular basis.
• Collecting and disseminating good practice stories and building communities of learning and practice.
• Developing a wide-ranging knowledge of the ways that CYP ministers are discerned, trained, and authorised within the Church of England so that Ministry Council and the House of Bishops can be resourced for future planning recognising the need for local subsidiarity and national assurance in this high profile and essential area of ministry.
• Co-ordinating liaison with Theological Education Institutions, parachurch organisations, church mission agencies and other training providers for the development of training pathways for ministries with children and young people.
• Co-producing and maintaining good practice frameworks for enabling ministries with children and young people, encouraging development of enabling ministry and oversight, and supporting the implementation of high quality terms and conditions of service.
• Collaborating to develop increased theological engagement, understanding and awareness of the role that CYP ministry has plays in the life and witness of the Church, especially as the Church of England commits to grow younger and more diverse.
• Liaising with members of the Vision and Strategy Funding and Learning team to ensure up to date data and learning from centrally funded diocesan projects can influence the development of new training pathways.
• Reporting on this work to the Programme Board, Ministry Development Council, Archbishops’ Council and Church Commissioners amongst others.
• Carrying out any other duties as required.

The Requirements

Experience

• Experience of CYP ministry or of working closely with CYP ministers in a strategic or diocesan role.
• Familiar with safeguarding best practice and experience of contributing to good safeguarding culture across the church.
• Experience in deriving strategy from vision, informed and resourced by research, stakeholder-insights, statistics and data.
• Personal experience in leading change, managing complexity, demonstrating experience in managing multiple work streams and stakeholders while retaining a clear grasp both of the bigger picture and the necessary detail.
• Experience of volunteer management or oversight.
• Experience in project and change management, including responsibility for planning, execution and budgets.

Knowledge and skills

• A clear grasp of the way in which CYP ministry forms an integral part of the shared ministry of the Church of England and how this operates cooperatively with other lay and ordained ministries in serving the church.
• A clear grasp of the variety of CYP ministries found in the Church of England, their diversity and the way in which they respond to local context.
• An understanding of adult education and training including some understanding of existing models and offerings of training for ministry among children and young people.
• Awareness of the emerging church Vision and Strategy and its strategic priorities, especially those focussing on children and young people.
• The theological resources to share a compelling narrative about CYP ministry capable of influencing the wide diversity of stakeholders within the Church of England.
• Ability to negotiate the relationship between parishes, dioceses, TEIs and the central structures of the Church of England.
• Ability to write engagingly with sensitivity to varied audiences.
• Understanding of the importance of diversity and passion for achieving equality of access to all, recognising that this may require particular and targeted interventions.
• Comfortable with a range of Office applications.

Personal qualities/attributes

• Efficient and well organised, able to manage their own administration in a timely and well prioritised manner.
• Confidence, authority and sensitivity to interact with a variety of stakeholders including bishops and diocesan officers to promote the quantity and diversity of CYP ministries in the Church of England.
• Willingness to work across the breadth of tradition within the Church of England, to support that diversity within the five guiding principles, and to support the ongoing implementation of Living in Love and Faith.
• Personal maturity and emotional intelligence, acting in a collaborative, responsive and professional manner with stakeholders.
• Works well in a team, is self-reliant, understands their own strengths and preferences and knows how to mitigate them.

Other

• Is able to travel and to work at weekends from time to time.

Desirable

• A degree in theology, children or youth work, or other relevant subject or commensurate experience.
• An understanding of the intersection between CYP ministry and Lay Ministry, recognising the need to be able to contribute to both contexts as a member of the Lay Ministries Team.
• Experience in communicating through social media in a third sector or business setting.
• Experience of the diversity of the Church of England in both rural and urban settings.
• An understanding of ways to engage the voices and perspectives of children and young people in strategic development and delivery.

In the National Church Institutions (NCIs), we support the mission and ministries of the Church of England. We work with parishes, dioceses, schools, chaplaincies and other ministries, and with national and international partners including mission agencies, and other denominations and faith groups.-.

Find out more about working for the National Church Institutions at Careers | The Church of England

Our NCI values

• We strive for excellence
• We collaborate
• We act with integrity
• We show compassion
• We respect others

We welcome everyone and we accept and value people for who they are and what they contribute, treating others in the way we would wish to be treated ourselves. We actively listen to and include others, encouraging and enabling everyone’s voice to be heard in discussions and decisions. When we disagree, we aim to disagree well with respect and kindness.

We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you. If there is anything we can do to support you in your application please get in touch via email to hr.recruitment@churchofengland.org.

• As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively look to attract, recruit and retain those of you who are disabled.
• We are a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and welcome applications from those of you who have served in our Armed Forces and their families.