If you’re passionate about enabling our churches to be the best tool for mission that they can be, are skilled in project management, with an enthusiasm for working alongside volunteers and professionals to achieve set goals, then we’d love to hear from you.

Working across the Dioceses of Coventry and Worcester in a collaborative venture, the Project Development Officer (Buildings for Mission) will provide excellent tailored advisory and practical support for PCCs for a range of churches, targeting a mix of urban, suburban and rural churches; aimed at improving the building's condition, supporting the development of missional outreach and heritage engagement in the wider community, and coordination of fabric and development projects. They will also support the development of Net Zero Action Plans for these buildings in conjunction with each Diocese's Net Zero strategy.

The churches identified will likely be highly listed, and an important focus within their local heritage. Some will be on the Heritage at Risk register. They will be key missional churches that often encompass large-scale operations in terms of worship provision, community outreach and the care of significant buildings and churchyards - but are often no better resourced than smaller, far less active churches. These church buildings may be in poor condition, or require some adaptation to enable their full potential to be realised.

The main responsibilities of the Project Development Officer (Buildings for Mission) are:

• Collaboration with the local church team on developing action plans aimed at promoting growth and long-term sustainability of the church building as a missional and community asset
• Creatively exploring additional uses of the building, and community engagement opportunities
• Co-ordinating church building development projects, in line with each church team’s long-term vision
• Overseeing fabric repair and maintenance projects to improve the condition of the building fabric
• Identify sources of funding for community-based projects and capital works, and lead on the application processes
• Develop a Net Zero Carbon Action Plan for each church in collaboration with each Dioceses’ Net Zero Project Officer

Please see attached Job Description for full details.

The person we are looking for will be friendly and professional, with an ability to build collaborative relationships between volunteers, stakeholders, professional advisers and specialists and the wider community alike.

They will have a strong interest in historic church buildings and experience in developing and managing projects, and in the conservation, and development of historic buildings, with a passion for engaging the community with them.

They will need to be a team player, who is self-motivated, enjoys working with people, and is able to balance a busy and varied workload. We also really need someone with good verbal and written communication skills, as there will be an element of reporting, and grant funding application development to the role.

Please see the attached Person Description for full details.

Interested applicants should navigate to the following webpage and follow instructions on applying as detailed on that page.

Current Vacancies - Diocese of Coventry (anglican.org)

This is a new fixed-term post funded by the Church Commissioners of the Church of England through the Archbishops’ Council as part of the Buildings for Mission project.

The funding is for an initial period of approximately two years, ending in December 2025, unless the funding is extended.