We Include. You Belong.

Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims 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 National Church Institutions (NCIs) are national administrative bodies that work together to support the mission and ministry of the Church of England. Their activities are hugely varied, ranging from management of a multi-billion-pound investment fund, to a grant-giving charity, a housing service for retired clergy and the administration of four multi-employer pension schemes.

The Church of England Pensions Board is one of the seven National Church Institutions (NCIs), that support the mission and ministry of the Church of England.

The Board provides retirement services to those who work or minister for the Church, providing pensions for 42,000 members, and providing support with retirement housing to 1 in 6 retiring clergy. We also directly manage c£3.2bn of pension investments, ensuring these are invested responsibly in line with the Church of England’s ethical policies.

The Board is currently exploring the possibility of introducing a collective money purchase pension scheme, in tandem with simplifying its existing pension arrangements.

The Strategic Change Manager will support the Project/Programme Manager, Head of Customer Services and Pensions Director in the development of realistic plans to deliver the planned change, proactively identifying and overcoming risks/barriers to successful delivery. Working with the Head of Customer Services, they will specifically lead the development of a comprehensive change strategy and plan that will ensure a successful transition from current to future arrangements, bringing stakeholders and colleagues along the change journey and drawing on the expertise of others within the team As a change expert, they will be responsible for ensuring that good change management principles are threaded through all workstreams/plans, working with the Head of Communications and Director of Strategy & Engagement, on an innovative stakeholder and communications plan.

The Strategic Change Manager will be responsible for enabling the development and delivery of the business change plans required to deliver our future pensions strategy, realising significant benefits for members and employers right across the Church This will require significant collaborative working within a highly technical environment.

Closing Date: 3 December 2023 (midnight).

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 other under-represented groups.

The main responsibilities for this role are:

• Work with the project/programme manager to ensure that the work of the programme, including the scope of each project, covers the necessary aspects required to deliver the outputs and outcomes that will lead to the benefits we expect in the required timescales.
• Develop the change framework, strategy and plan for the programme/project, to successfully realise the intended benefits of the change, drawing on the technical expertise of others within the team.
• Working with the Head of Customer Services, driving the delivery of the change plan, and assessing the impacts of the change on different groups.
• Work with senior colleagues to prepare members, colleagues, and stakeholders for transition to new ways of working, ensuring they can approach these with confidence in the future – this may include commissioning/delivering training and other interventions.
• Identify and manage anticipated resistance to change with both internal and external stakeholders, including identifying and proposing mitigation strategies to relevant project/programme risks.
• Support and inform the development of a comprehensive communications and stakeholder engagement strategy.
• Work with the Pensions Communications team, NCI communications colleagues, and the Director of Strategy and Engagement, to deliver the detailed communication plans needed to successfully deliver the engagement strategy.
• Provide the structure required to enable successful transition management, ensuring that business as usual is maintained during the transition and the changes are effectively integrated.
• Define ‘ready to go’ criteria for implementation of the change and assessing our readiness against those to support discussions with senior leaders.

The ideal candidate should have:

Essential

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including ability to clearly and credibly communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Able to comfortably and confidently present to large groups of 20+ people using a variety of delivery methods
• Able to build relationships, trust and credibility with a wide range of diverse stakeholders
• Able to adapt and take a pragmatic approach in order to obtain an effective outcome
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Knowledge/Experience:

• Theoretical and practical knowledge of what it takes to deliver change well in a technically complex and operational environment, supported by a formal qualification/training in change management
• Significant experience as a change manager working on ‘business change’ projects covering process, systems, people and customer facing transformation, with a demonstrable impact against business goals/strategies.
• Experience of working with and to project and programme management processes
• Experience of delivering change with successful outcomes in a remote-working environment.
• Experience of commissioning services from experts e.g. on communications, training to help deliver change

Personal Attributes:

• Self aware, with good level of emotional intelligence
• Able to build rapport quickly with colleagues at different levels
• Takes pride in doing a good job
• Willing to get stuck in to what needs doing
• Dedication to customer service
• Good attention to detail
• Able to work calmly and efficiently under pressure

Circumstances:

• While the core requirements of the role can be fulfilled while working remotely, on occasion travel may be required within England to see stakeholders/colleagues.

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience of pensions
• Understanding of the structures of the Church of England and sympathy with its work and aims

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

NCI values

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

We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. 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.