Policy Lead (People and Culture)

About the department

In February 2025, the Church of England’s legislative body, General Synod, voted on a motion brought by the Lead Bishop for Safeguarding on future structures for safeguarding in the Church of England. Synod votes on next steps for independent safeguarding | The Church of England

This work was the culmination of a response by the Church of England to two reports published in 2024 about safeguarding structures and operations. The General Synod motion, as amended, sets the direction of travel for safeguarding structures and operations in the future.

The lead safeguarding bishop and her team are in the process of constituting a Programme Board, which will oversee two Project Boards delivering major workstreams:

1. Scrutiny of Church Safeguarding
2. Operational Delivery of Church Safeguarding

The day-to-day operation of delivering the work that General Synod has commissioned is the responsibility of the Safeguarding Structures Team. This team will deliver work to develop a scrutiny body which will scrutinise the Church of England’s safeguarding activities, through the Project Board delivering Scrutiny of Church Safeguarding.

This team, working with the NCI Legal team, will also – through the Project Board designing Operational Delivery of Church Safeguarding – develop policy on the new structures for delivery and once relevant policy has been agreed provide instructions to the legal team to enable all necessary legislation to be prepared. It will undertake further work to understand how externalising safeguarding structures across the whole Church might be realised in future.

The team will also deliver some urgent priorities to help prepare for these two major projects, such as the development of a uniform local complaint process, among other tasks.

The Safeguarding Structures Team sits within the Archbishops’ Council, which is a charity set up in law to coordinate, promote, aid and further the work and mission of the Church of England, and is one of the National Church Institutions.

The HR/People Policy Adviser will play a crucial role in shaping the people-related aspects of the policy, governance and legislative frameworks for the operational safeguarding functions of the Church of England, which General Synod has given the Lead Bishop for Safeguarding the mandate to develop.

You will be responsible for writing policy papers concerning the operational safeguarding functions of the Church of England, undertaking research and analysis and drafting impactful and accessible policy recommendations. These papers will be presented to a Project Board to help them make key decisions.

You must have experience of leading the People and Organisational culture aspects of significant organisational change programmes. You’ll need to able to develop policy proposals at pace and be comfortable working with ambiguity.

The postholder will work with colleagues to test the feasibility of transfer of safeguarding professionals at diocesan and cathedral level to an external employer, considering questions raised at General Synod in February 2025, and to take the response to these questions to General Synod for debate and decision.

Based on the outcome of this General Synod debate and decision, the postholder will support the transfer of staff from substantive employers in the Church of England to an external body, potentially by supporting consultation and other processes.

This is an intensive piece of work to deliver a project rigorously and at pace. The postholder will report to and work closely with the Development Manager (Operational Delivery) and the Programme Director and will produce at least one highly technical policy paper, covering multiple themes, per month during the policy-making stage of the project and then to deliver at pace the implementation work required in order to deliver the organisational change processes thoroughly and to stated deadlines.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy development

• Draft technical policy papers on safeguarding operations, presenting options and recommendations in accessible language for senior decision-makers.
• Conduct research and benchmarking to ensure policy proposals reflect statutory requirements and best practice in HR, people, and culture.
• Developing policy frameworks to support staffing transitions including TUPE-equivalent protections where applicable.
• Assess delivery models for safeguarding operations (internal, external, or hybrid), providing comparative analysis to support board decision-making.
• Support delivery processes based on chosen models, including legislative steps for a new statutory body or procurement and contract negotiation for external provision.
• Develop service level agreements and performance frameworks to ensure accountability, including Synod oversight and mechanisms for raising concerns.
• Incorporate survivor insights into policy development, working with the Survivor Participation Officer to ensure meaningful engagement.
• Collaborate with senior colleagues to advise on operational delivery and respond to governance bodies on technical and practical matters.
• Work with subject matter experts to incorporate legal, financial, and technical guidance into policy, ensuring implications are considered across the Church of England’s diverse structures.

Engagement and Stakeholder Consultation

• Working with the Senior Communications and Engagement Manager and the wider team, along with the National Church Institutions HR team, to facilitate engagement sessions with affected individuals, ensuring that their perspectives inform policy development.
• Working closely with and engaging with dioceses and cathedrals’ HR functions to evaluate the feasibility and implications of implementing model 4.
• Supporting the implementation of new structures by developing guidance materials and frameworks for affected individuals and teams.

Your job description is intended to reflect your main tasks and areas of work, but is not exhaustive.Changes may occur over time and you will be expected to agree any reasonable changes to your job description that are commensurate with your banding and in line with the general nature of your post. You will be consulted about any changes to your job description before these are implemented.

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 underrepresented groups.

You will need:

• Extensive experience in organisational culture and people management roles.
• A strong understanding of employment law and HR good practice and translating the theory into the practical implications of the people aspects of a significant organisational change programme.
• Confident in leading change and culture transformation.
• Experience in designing and leading engagement sessions with affected individuals, particularly in sensitive contexts.
• Experience designing and preparing complex policy papers.

We are looking for someone with the experience and ability to develop clear policy options for governance structures, legislative frameworks, and operating models for new organisations. You will need to be a confident communicator and influencer and able to build and maintain relationships at all levels, with experience of drafting policy papers for complex projects, and communicating complex technical information in an accessible style. You’ll need to have had experience of working in a project-related environment, and working in organisations with complex and fragmented structures.

You’ll also need to demonstrate:

• Strong analytical skills to explore complex policy issues, model problems, and evaluate potential solutions and outcomes.
• Ability to define the prospective impacts and outcomes of a policy and to apply decision making tools to model policy options. embedding cross-cutting policy objectives and responsibilities.
• Commitment to respect and understand advice from victims and survivors.
• Confidence in synthesising evidence, consulting experts, and presenting clear policy analysis and options to senior stakeholders.
• Resilience and adaptability in managing multiple priorities under pressure, with sound judgment and proactive decision-making.
• A trauma-informed, inclusive approach, underpinned by a strong commitment to equality, diversity, and respectful working relationships.

Desirable:

• Financial analysis
• An understanding or awareness of safeguarding
• Understanding of the Church of England’s structures with an understanding of the legislative framework under which the Church operates.