About the Role

Faith and Public Life

The Faith and Public Life Department is responsible for the national-level engagement of the Church of England with public policy, ethics and political life, relations with other churches and faith communities and theological support for the Church’s concerns. The team is formally responsible to the Archbishops’ Council (i.e. to the national Church as an institution) and also gives direct support to the ministries of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and to those of the 26 bishops who sit in the House of Lords.

It is a broad remit, which reflects the breadth of the Church’s mission and relationships across the whole country and the way the Department operates needs to reflect the breadth of the Church. The Department manages a number of projects which enhance the Church of England’s ability to drive social change. Current projects include:

  • a Social Impact Investment programme;
  • the support of disabled people in the church; and
  • helping support dioceses and parishes to develop land for housing.

The sub-teams who lead on the above work are supported by a dedicated administration and support team.

Your role

As the Director, your role will be to ensure that the team’s work serves the Church’s mission, and to give strategic leadership to a diverse team of highly skilled and experienced staff, liaising closely with the Church’s governance structures (e.g. the Archbishops’ Council and relevant committees, the Archbishops and other bishops) and other departments of the National Church Institutions. The Department has come together from different backgrounds over the last four years, you will continue the work of building the team carrying on the work of the late Dr Richard Sudworth, who sadly died in December 2025.

You will not be expected to be an expert in every aspect of the Department’s work but will bring depth and wisdom to back up the expertise of your staff team. A good grounding in public and/or political theology and understanding of civil society would be a helpful background to supporting the most fast-moving areas of the team’s work. You will have scope to take the lead in aspects of the work within FPL’s remit, especially where you bring specific experience and expertise.

You will be a full member of the Archbishops’ Council’s Senior Management Group (SMG) and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Senior Advisory Group. You will report to the Secretary General and will line manage the lead staff of the various FPL sub teams.

You will play a part in reflecting upon and shaping wider policy across the Church, introducing learning and perspectives from the FPL team and ensuring that the FPL team has an appropriate understanding of the wider Church context of its work.

The FPL team is based in Lambeth Palace, but team members may be required to work at times at Church House, Westminster and other locations. The Director could be based at Lambeth Palace, or at Bishopthorpe Palace near York. You will be required to attend meetings in various parts of the country, such as the General Synod (in London and York), the House and College of Bishops and the Archbishops’ Council which meet at a variety of locations, and to be visible in dioceses from time to time. The Director will need to work mostly alongside the team and those it supports, though a degree of home working and remote working is possible. The emphasis is on flexibility and working collaboratively with others.

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.

This post carries an occupational requirement to be a Christian (in accordance with the Equality Act 2010).

You'll be a credible interlocutor with bishops, academics and others on the application of theology to public affairs. In order to be successful you will need:

  • high-level professional skills in one or more disciplines such as public ethics, government relations, business development, media relations, external relations, or stakeholder communications
  • the ability to think theologically, applying a theological understanding of mission and of practical theology to public affairs
  • proven experience of building relationships and working collaboratively with leaders in politics, business, or faith networks in order to deliver strategic outcomes
  • clear understanding of trends and current/emerging debates in public affairs and faith relations
  • good knowledge of the Church of England, its doctrine and its diversity of church tradition, sympathy with its mission and values, and an ability to work across all those church traditions
  • experience of leading and creating teams and bringing together high-performing individuals, working together in a complex environment, whilst supporting all staff to build agile, engaged, inclusive, high performing teams.

Remuneration and Benefits

The salary for this role is circa £100,000 per annum.

Our benefits include:

  • Age-related employer pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of salary.
  • 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays and three additional 'NCI days'
  • Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities
  • Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme 
  • Opportunity to the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies

We aim 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.