Summary

Closed Church Buildings Assistant Case Officers

We are looking for new colleagues to join the dedicated team of professionals who advise on and play a key role in finding suitable new uses for church buildings that are no longer needed for regular public worship.

If you have strong organisational skills, an eye for detail, and enjoy working collaboratively to support complex casework, we would love to hear from you.

You can find out more about these opportunities at our webinar on Tuesday 11 March at 1:15pm. Sign up to register for our webinar

About the Role

Our Closed Churches Church Buildings Assistant Case Officers work alongside the Regional Case Officers to support the process of finding suitable new uses for church buildings that are no longer needed for regular public worship. This is a legal process under the provisions of the Mission and Pastoral Measure (MPM).

Assistant Case Officers provide specialist administrative support throughout the disposal process, assisting diocesan teams, purchasers, statutory bodies, and other stakeholders involved in decision-making and legal processes. They help manage casework by ensuring necessary specialist advice is obtained, maintaining accurate records, and acting as the main point of contact for public enquiries related to closed church cases.

The current vacancies are for two Assistant Case Officers: one based in the North of England and one in the South of England.

About the Department

The Commissioners' Closed Churches Team is regionally based and works with Church of England dioceses to settle the future of closed church buildings. The team is part of the Cathedral and Church Buildings Department, a dedicated team of professionals who work with and advise parishes and dioceses on the care and conservation of church buildings, helping to manage the largest set of historic buildings in the country.

The Cathedral and Church Buildings Department supports the care and sustainable development of the Church of England's 42 cathedrals and 16,000 church buildings, of which 12,500 are listed, to help fulfil the vision and strategy of the Church of England. It also supports dioceses with the disposal of church buildings no longer required for worship and finding them a new future.

Through advice, guidance, advocacy, and fundraising, we provide strategic support on conservation and caring for historic church buildings, making changes to support worship and communities, and working towards Net Zero Carbon 2030. Members of the department engage with dioceses, parishes, and cathedral teams, as well as nationally with government, agencies, charities, funders, General Synod, and across the National Church Institutions to make the case for church buildings and their vital role in worship, community, and national life.

Key Role Requirements

We're looking for people who are highly organised and proactive, detail-oriented, and able to prioritise a varied workload while working as part of a team. You'll be a graduate or equivalent and have strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to handle complex casework and legal processes with diplomacy and tact.

Experience working with property, ecclesiastical or planning law, listed buildings, or complex administrative systems is desirable.

This interesting and varied role involves travel within England, with occasional overnight stays, so a valid full UK driving licence would be beneficial. You'll work either from Church House, Westminster, or a regional base location, with the expectation to be in the office 1 - 3 days per week with flexibility.

These Assistant Case Officer roles are designed to offer training and development opportunities, with the intention that, over time, the Assistant CO may progress to a Regional Case Officer role.

What we offer

Your Salary

• A salary of £40,572 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

• 25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus eight bank holidays and 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.

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.

ABOUT 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.