Head of Buildings Project Manager

Liverpool, England, United Kingdom

6/26/2025

Job Summary

This is a senior project manager role, managing a team of 5 people (soon to be 8), enabling the Diocese of Liverpool and its parishes to achieve maximum value (monetary and/or social) from its churches, halls, land and associated housing.

The Diocese of Liverpool has a number of under-used historic assets and some assets that are no longer needed. This role will give oversight to three development aspects relating to those assets, working with and through a small staff team.

Context

Within the Church of England building management and stewardship are delegated to parish level, involving statutory measures such as Faculty and Quinquennials inspections, so the postholder will operate within this devolved landscape.

Objective Of The Role

• Asset realisation. The Right Buildings Process, managed by this team, is delivering a steady stream of emerging assets for disposal/income-generating alternative use, as parishes rationalise their buildings. For those buildings that will be sold, scope and land the right deal for parishes and the Diocese, ensuring that the sites continue to support our desire for good community development.
• Income generation. Identify and nurture potential income generation options to increase the midweek usage of church buildings and church halls so that they become both economically more self-sustaining and community hubs to a greater extent. This will mean nurturing and holding key partnership relationships with public bodies, as well as project managing the development of resources to deliver on / maintain income generation.
• Asset development. Oversee refurbishment projects relating to churches and halls that will be retained, or schemes on existing sites to deliver new worship facilities alongside other uses.
  
  
  

The Post-holder Will Manage

• Buildings Strategy Manager (full-time): Enabling deanery teams to decide which buildings should be retained and which released. Driving and resourcing the Right Buildings Process.
• Fundraising Officer (0.8 FTE): Fundraising for buildings refurbishment and mission focussed projects.
• Buildings Release Officer (0.3 FTE): For released buildings/sites, manage the CofE closure process and liaise with preferred agents to market properties to realise social/monetary value.
• Church Buildings Support Officer (0.8 FTE): A post funded by the Church Commissioners specifically to assist parishes with building issues and small works.
• Diocesan Advisory Committee Secretary responsible for Faculty and Quinquennial Reporting
• Up to 4 new staff (to be recruited) for whom funding has recently been secured. These are likely to be Project Management and Fundraising professionals.
  
  
  

Key Responsibilities Include

The key responsibilities/tasks associated with this role are:

• Oversee all processes relating to change work for church buildings and halls.
• Oversee the scoping and delivery of the best solutions for sites being sold and developed.
• Nurture and hold key partnership relationships with public bodies to generate shared use / income.
• Project manage the development of local resources to deliver income generation in the medium term.
• Add additional project management resource to the team by taking on specific pieces of work yourself as needed.
• Team outcomes.
• Staff management and development; the team listed above.
• Ensure that robust, clear and approved processes and KPIs are in place for all the elements of work.
• Manage relationships with small numbers of service providers: solicitors, agents, surveyors, architects, designers, building contractors, AV contractors.
• Manage relationships with key internal stakeholders: -
• Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance (LDBF) through the Assistant Diocesan Secretary
• Fit for Mission Board
• Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) for planning
• Clergy Housing
• Net Zero team
• Manage the immediate needs surrounding a building that is being closed or becomes abandoned.
  
  

Indirect responsibilities/tasks (delivered by team members but with oversight by postholder):

Identifying sites and assessing options appraisal

• Facilitate the Fit for Mission Right Buildings process to identify potential buildings and land for retention/development
• Evaluate the different options to find a best value solution (with due regard to the Coming Home Report)
• Present options to the relevant boards and committees
  
  
  

Project management

• Design suitable projects for the development / reordering of buildings with appropriate timescales and milestones
• Oversee the management of a project to completion
• Provide appropriate reports and KPIs on project development
• Liaise with any appropriate statutory bodies with regard to the development of a project
  
  
  

Liaising with service providers

• Build effective relationships with a preferred set of service providers ensuring that we have a mix of skills and options for our development portfolio
• Periodically review the list and link to new service providers
• Ensure sites are appropriately marketed and best opportunities are realised.
  
  
  

Budget management & fundraising

• Set appropriate budgets for the development of projects
• Fundraise for projects as required
• Manage cost control on the delivery of projects
• Report on budget performance
  
  
  

Income generation

• Enable enterprise schemes around retained buildings – rental or shared use.
• Deliver the New Income reviews within the Mission Planning and Review Process for each parish
• Stakeholder engagement
  
  
  

Stakeholder engagement

• Manage a range of relationships with key internal stakeholders
• PCCs, Church Wardens and local clergy
  

Liaise with key external stakeholders where appropriate including

• Local councils – planning depts and local politicians
• Community groups
• User groups
  
  
  

Governance and legal

• Ensure that all due processes are followed with regard to the development portfolio including:-
• The consent process with regard to schemes
• Lease and contract negotiations as appropriate
• Liaise with our legal advisors over contract and lease negotiations
  
  

Who We Are Looking For

The Diocese of Liverpool is looking to make the most of under used building/land assets no longer required in a strategic manner. We need:

• A creative thinker
• An able leader
• A great negotiator
• A skilful listener
• An ability to create and drive process
  
  
  

Diversity and inclusion are very important to us at Liverpool Diocese and we want everyone to be themselves at work with a culture that includes everyone. Our policies ensure that every candidate and employee are treated fairly and with equal opportunities.

About The Diocese Of Liverpool

The Diocese of Liverpool is the Church of England in a corner of the north west with churches from Southport to Widnes; Wigan to Warrington and throughout the city of Liverpool all working their hardest to fulfil our vision of asking God for a bigger church making a bigger difference with more people knowing Jesus and more justice in the world.

As we work towards that vision we have four priorities

• Introducing people to Jesus
• Deepening discipleship
• Developing Christian leaders
• Working for justice
  
  
  

The diocesan offices provide essential support services to our parishes with many specialist staff offering expert support to our frontline parishes. We have a reputation for being a creative organisation securing national church backing for a range of innovative projects.

We are a small, supportive team offering a flexible approach. We have adopted a hybrid model balancing office based with home-based working. We are serious about the work life balance with generous holiday allowances and access to an Employee Assistance Programme. Diocesan staff have a strong working relationship with Liverpool Cathedral and our offices sit in the shadow of this magnificent iconic building.

Liverpool Diocese is committed to treating our whole community with dignity and respect. We desire to represent diverse identities within our community whether this be by race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability or social background of each person to ensure they fulfil their potential within a proactive, loving and caring environment.

For more information visit our website www.liverpool.anglican.org

About Fit For Mission

As a diocese we are on a trajectory, first defined in Bishop Paul’s paper ‘Fit for Mission’ (endorsed by Diocesan Synod and Bishop’s Council 2014) to have accountable, dynamic and missional leadership teams in every deanery. Bishops and Archdeacons are leading us forward to work more collaboratively across deanery-scale geography.

The Fit for Mission programme will provide focus and support to work together to face the significant issues that hold back mission and growth.

Fit For Mission Will Support Each Deanery In The Diocese Of Liverpool To Create Their Own Future. There Are Five Elements To This, And For Each Of Them The Programme Will Make Available Help And Specialist Resource

• A focus on developing our discipleship culture through training and support, including delivering ‘Cultivate’, a successful lay development programme which results in new worshipping communities and justice initiatives planted and existing ones revitalised.
• Creating missional leadership teams of lay and ordained people over larger areas with responsibility for specific mission and worship communities.
• Developing high quality support and accountability structures for all leaders.
• Making sure buildings are fit for purpose, with buildings expertise available to assist in making good decisions on use, investment, or closure.
• Work towards each deanery having one or two larger Parishes. Each larger Parish to have high quality support services, resulting in simpler administration, less bureaucracy and more mission.
  
  
  

For more information on Fit for Mission go to www.liverpool.anglican.org/fitformission