HR People and Policy Lead

This is a 3 year fixed term contract expiring in July 2028. 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 co-ordinate, promote, aid and further the work and mission of the Church of England, and is one of the National Church Institutions.

What you’ll be doing

• The Policy Adviser (People and Culture) 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 undertaking research and analysis, drafting impactful and accessible policy recommendations, and writing policy papers concerning the operational safeguarding functions of the Church of England to help the Project Board make key decisions.
• 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 alongside and engaging with dioceses' and cathedrals’ HR functions to evaluate the feasibility and implications of moving their safeguarding staff to a new independent structure in the future.
• Supporting the implementation of new structures by developing guidance materials and frameworks for affected individuals and teams.

About You

You’ll need to have significant experience of policy development (ideally in the public or charity sector), particularly around the HR, people and organisational culture aspects of significant change programmes and/or the delivery and oversight of safeguarding operations. 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

• A salary of £59,248 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.
• 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.

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
• 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.