Redress Communications & Engagement Manager

Summary

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A COMMUNICATIONS & ENGAGEMENT MANAGER About the Department/Role

The National Safeguarding Team provides professional safeguarding advice to the Church of England on matters of national policy as part of its wider transformation plan, which includes the development and implementation of national policy, training, quality assurance and audit, and work with survivors. The national safeguarding team also leads complex casework and supports dioceses in their safeguarding of children and adults.

An investigation by the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse conducted in 2019 has highlighted some areas for improvement in the Church of England Safeguarding Structure and Practices. This investigation reviewed the extent to which the Church of England and the Church in Wales protected children from sexual abuse in the past. It also examined the effectiveness of current safeguarding arrangements. A public hearing on these specific areas was held in 2019. The report, published in 2020, also drew on the previous two case studies on the Anglican Church, which related to the Diocese of Chichester and Peter Ball. In addition to recommendations made in the case studies, IICSA made eight recommendations in this report, covering areas such as clergy discipline, information-sharing and support for victims and survivors.

The Redress Scheme project is part of the Church of England's Safeguarding Programme, which aims to embed structure, quality assurance and continuous improvement in line with its Safeguarding principles. Following the Church of England's recently approval of a comprehensive redress scheme for survivors of Church-related abuse, the project is now moving into the implementation phase, and we are looking for a new member of the team to help us prepare for the opening the Scheme.

The role will work with multiple NCI departments involving, for example, HR & Payroll, Finance & Resources, Legal, among many others as well as Safeguarding Bishops and Safeguarding teams of the Church of England in support to the mission of the Church of England and this Programme's in particular, as well as external stakeholders, including the media.

To assist this project, there is a requirement for a Comms & Engagement Manager role to be performed by a specialist with relevant experience and expertise. The role will be primarily focused on communications and media, with an emphasis on working under public scrutiny.

What you'll be doing

The purpose of this role is to lead on influencing and enabling effective communications relationships at national level to effectively roll out the delivery of the Redress Scheme, playing a key role in this high-profile project, and to act as a representative of the organisation with a detailed knowledge of the project's history and objectives.

The main duties and responsibilities for the Communications & Engagement Manager will be an integral part of the project team, with strong leadership skills, supporting the team to provide clear direction and purpose, and enabling the delivery of the project's priorities, objectives, and outcomes.

This role will work in partnership with the Church Relations Manager and the rest of the project team to ensure structured stakeholder engagement. The role will lead on communications for the Redress project by engaging with the key programme stakeholders, including victims and survivors, media and press, senior diocesan and cathedral officers and NCI staff, to:

• Campaign & communication management.
• Engagement with relevant external stakeholders (diocesan comms teams, safeguarding teams, Archbishops' Council, House of Bishops) at the most direct and senior level to gain access to necessary information and answer specific queries.

Key role requirements

• 3+ years experience leading communications workstreams on complex, public facing programmes.
• This is fix-term contract till September 2026.
• Hybrid working at least1 days in the office (Church House, Westminster, London).

About You 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 Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role. Please refer to the Job Description for more information about the role and person specification. What we offer Your Salary

• A salary of £68,999 FTE Salary per annum, plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.

Your Benefits

• 30 days annual leave plus eight bank holidays three additional days (pro-rated if working part-time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case-by-case scenario and if this fits within the department's needs. We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK's leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abbey with a plus-one guest.
• Apply for eligibility for an Eyecare voucher.
• Opportunity to join the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

About the National Church Institutions The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation - a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder. 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. Living out our values in all that we do, we:

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

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. Please note: You must have the right to work in the UK to be considered for the role.