Overview

The Cathedral and Church Buildings Division celebrates and supports the maintenance and sustainable development of the Church of England’s 42 cathedrals and nearly 16,000 churches for mission and worship. Through advice, strategic guidance, campaigning, fundraising and grant-giving, it provides strategic support to those responsible for cathedral and church buildings at a local level.

The Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England is the national statutory body for 41 of the Church of England’s cathedrals, with duties relating to their care, conservation and development, including determining applications for the approval of certain works to their fabric and contents and within their precincts. The Director of the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division is the Secretary of the Commission and is the statutory officer responsible for the discharge of the Commission’s duties. She is supported by the Cathedrals Team, which comprises the Senior Cathedrals Officer, the Head of Conservation, and the Cathedrals and Major Churches Officers.

The Church Buildings Council is a statutory body responsible for advising Chancellors, dioceses and parishes on faculty applications and on the care, conservation and development of the Church of England’s 16,000 church buildings. Major Churches are exceptionally significant parish church buildings with a  different order of opportunities and challenges compared to the  majority of parish churches.

Introduction

This is an excellent opportunity to join us as a Cathedrals and Major Churches Officer on a part-time basis working 3 days per week (21 hours to be worked over 3 days). Salary will be prorated for hours worked.

As a Cathedrals and Major Churches Officer you will be the first point of contact for cathedrals and Major Churches within the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division. You will be working as an officer both of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England and the Church Buildings Council.

You will be supporting the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission in ensuring the smooth and timely discharge of the Commission’s statutory and  wider functions under the Care of Cathedrals Measure 2011.

This will also involve handling applications relating to Major Churches to the Church Buildings Council, including applications from churches wishing to receive the Major Churches designation, and proposals for the conservation or development of such buildings, their contents and settings.

In addition to this you will also Coordinate the production of expert guidance on topics relating to the casework of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission and Church Buildings Council, to be approved and issued by those bodies.

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. 

To arrange an informal conversation please contact Abu Pasha at  Abubaker.pasha@churchofengland.org

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 28th September.

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.

Main Responsibilities

The Role

• Dealing with such casework for the Cathedrals Fabric Commission as may be delegated by the Deputy Secretary, and with matters for the Church Buildings Council relating to major churches as may be delegated by the Senior Church Buildings Officer, relating to the conservation and development of these buildings, their contents and settings. This may include following up applications to ensure that adequate information is available; arranging and attending visits by members of the Commission and Council to discuss proposals on site and writing reports on such visits for consideration by those bodies; and presenting proposals to meetings of those bodies.
• Coordinating the production of expert guidance on issues relating to the casework of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission and Church Buildings Council on cathedrals and major churches, to be approved and issued by  those bodies.
• Forming the first point of contact for cathedrals and Major Churches within the Cathedral and Church Buildings Division. This would include giving informal advice to clergy, Administrators, Architects, Archaeologists and others on their duties under the  Care of Cathedrals Measure 2011 and Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2015 (as amended), maintaining good working relationships and communicating with them regularly on matters of common interest.
• Primary responsibility for the administration of meetings of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission (approx. 7 times per year), including:

-preparing agendas;

-receiving formal notices submitted in respect of applications to cathedral Fabric Advisory Committees or for Listed Building or Scheduled Monument Consent, considering their implications, seeking further information where required, and producing a summary and recommendations for the Commission;

-coordinating the circulation of papers; and,

-taking the minutes, preparing promptly a draft for the approval of the Chair and Vice- Chair.

• Contributing to the development of policy initiatives relating to cathedrals and major churches.
• Coordinating with the relevant nominating bodies over the recruitment of new members to the Cathedrals Fabric Commission as necessary.

The Ideal Candidate

Essentials

Skills/Aptitudes:

• Excellent written and spoken communication skills, including an ability to summarise detailed discussions and complex ideas cogently, and to convey criticism tactfully and constructively.
• An ability to think clearly about administrative procedures and how to implement them in a straightforward way, without losing sight of the values which the procedures are there to serve.
• An ability to prioritise and organise one’s workload, working to deadlines and agreed standards even when under pressure.
• An ability to work on one’s own initiative.
• Attention to detail.
• An excellent working knowledge of the use of information technology including Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint and Excel).

Knowledge / Experience:

• Sympathetic understanding of the purposes of cathedrals and major churches as centres of Christian worship and mission.
• Knowledge / experience of the use of church buildings and understanding of their historical and architectural development.
• Knowledge / experience of the broad fields of conservation or heritage management, ideally in England, including planning legislation and the operation of the systems.
• Knowledge / experience of the adaptation of historic buildings for contemporary needs and extended uses to support their continued sustainability and accessibility in a manner consistent with their historic and architectural significance.
• Knowledge / experience of working with committees.

Personal Attributes:

• The ability to be a constructive member of a team, able to communicate, work creatively with colleagues, and manage competing demands.
• The ability to deal tactfully, respectfully and productively with a wide range of contacts.
• Flexibility and adaptability in the face of changing requirements.

Education:

• A good degree or post-graduate qualification in a field relevant to the Commission’s activities. Extensive workplace experience may be accepted in lieu of a formal qualification.

Circumstances:

• The normal place of work is Church House, Westminster, though some home working will be possible (and may be required). In addition, the post-holder will be required to travel regularly (by public transport or by car) to cathedrals and conference venues around the country, which will occasionally necessitate overnight stays – appropriate  travel and accommodation expenses will be paid. The post holder should also be willing to work at heights when on site visits.

Desirable 

Education:

• A good degree or post-graduate qualification specifically in the history of art and architecture, archaeology, the conservation of historic buildings, heritage management, or some other directly relevant subject.

Skills / Aptitudes:

• Familiarity with the use of social media.

Knowledge / Experience:

• Knowledge / experience of the issues faced by the Church of England in maintaining its historic buildings in changing and often difficult circumstances.
• Previous experience in an organisation concerned with the conservation of historic buildings and their planned development.

About us

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.

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..

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