Church leader jobs in edinburgh
Summary
WE ARE LOOKING FOR A GROWING FAITH FOUNDATION PROGRAMME LEAD
About the Department/Role
The National Society for Education (NSE) is both an NCI and a Royal-charter charity. It's aims are to support Church schools and the wider education sector by developing leaders, shaping policy and growing faith.
The NSE leads the Church of England's national work in education in partnership with 41 Diocesan Boards of Education and approximately 4,700 Church of England schools. We also support the national education work of the Church in Wales, which includes around 150 schools. Our presence extends to work with community schools and academy trusts, as well as higher and further July 2025 education through numerous chaplaincies, providing spiritual support and guidance to children and young people, and to adults.
The Church of England's Vision and Strategy for the 2020s has three priorities, one of which is to be a church which is younger and more diverse. As part of this, the House of Bishops want to ensure that a flourishing children, youth and families ministry is within reach of every young person in England.
The NSE is working with the Vision and Strategy team to help deliver this vision through a range of projects in our 'growing faith' pillar which focus on the intersection between church, home and school; aiming to develop the faith life of children and young people, whilst also growing young leaders.
We are a dynamic team, working remotely from our homes around the country. We gather regularly online, and also have in-person team days through the year.
What you'll be doing
The purpose of this role is to design, develop, implement and evaluate effective leadership development programmes which enable participants to lead deep and lasting culture change which instinctively prioritises the needs, voice, development and impact of children, young people and families. To enable growing impact and reach of these programmes through embedding long-term strategic partnerships with delivery partners at local, regional and national level, contributing to the overall national target of developing 30,000 leaders of mission and ministry with children and young people by 2030.
Key Responsibilities
- Designing and delivering effective leadership development programmes.
- Enabling effective quality assurance and continuous improvement.
- Developing theological thinking and evidence-led practice that catalyses culture change.
Key role requirements
- This is a fully remote role.
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. 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
Your Salary
- 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.
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.
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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
- 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.
We are looking for someone who:
- Demonstrates excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build trust with key stakeholders
- Has experience of supporting the wellbeing of caring professionals, ideally with those in Christian ministry
- Is familiar with the Anglican diocesan structures and culture
- Is a strategic thinker with experience in partnership development
- Shares our vision to see flouishing clergy
This newly created role within St Luke's is supported by a generous grant from the Henry Smith Foundation to develop our wellbeing programmes over the next three years. The Associate Director will engage with dioceses and individual clergy as they explore and embed our wellbeing programmes.
The post holder will represent St Luke's and our Christian ethos within senior diocesan teams and help shape and deliver our strategic vision for flourishing clergy. This role will support the advancing clergy reflection programme and support dioceses, other networks and communities and Theological Educational Institutions in establishing wellbeing practices.
The role is home based with travel around the UK as required. There will be a requirement to be in London at least once a month for team meetings.
This role carries an occupational requirement for the postholder to be a practicing Christian, in accordance with Schedule 9, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010. The role involves representing and upholding the Christian ethos of St Luke’s in both internal leadership and external engagement.
Please see job pack for more information.
A leading charity in clergy wellbeing and mental health
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
We are recruiting for a Philanthropy Manager to manage a portfolio of dedicated major donors who contribute significant funding to the charity, developing and implementing inspiring supporter journeys that encourage repeated/ increased support. The postholder will work within a committed and supportive team environment, working collaboratively to raise awareness of the charity’s services, initiating and building mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships to ensure long-term support.
About Life:
Life is a UK charity for vulnerable women and families facing unexpected pregnancy or pregnancy loss. Life’s aim is to provide housing, care and support to vulnerable pregnant women (typically aged 16-25) who are in crisis situations, such as those facing homelessness (or at risk of), escaping abuse or other traumatic circumstances. We offer supported housing, a helpline and counselling service, and other practical and emotional support. Our services are inclusive; non-judgemental; and client-centred.
Our Values:
All our work is underpinned by the following universal human values:
- Humanity – All people are special and equal.
- Solidarity – We’re with you and for you.
- Community – We’re better together.
- Charity – Doing good for one another.
- Common good – Building a better world.
About You
Reporting to the Head of Fundraising, the postholder will work closely with the Individual Giving Manager and other fundraising team members to identify major donor prospects, ensuring thorough research and engagement to cultivate relationships and solicit major gifts. The role will also involve interacting with senior church contacts such as Archbishops and diocesan representatives who have a history of support, so whilst the charity is non-religious and non-political, sensitivity within this jurisdiction will be required.
Information about the role:
For further information, please see the attached job description.
Salary: £36,000 – £40,000 FTE
Hours: 21 hours per week over 3 days
Location: Home-Based with frequent travel to supporter locations and occasional travel to Head Office (Leamington Spa)
Please note that this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date if a suitable candidate is found.
Benefits:
At Life we are passionate about providing our employees with a supportive and engaging environment. As well as ongoing development and training, we offer our:
- Generous holiday allowance, starting at 25 days per year, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time hours)
- Birthday Leave (applicable after 1 years service)
- Extra annual leave for long term service
- Company Pension Scheme
- Signed member of the Menopause Workplace Pledge
Safeguarding and Equality:
Life is committed to protecting all staff, volunteers and service users from harm of any kind. Life expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct.
We are committed to ensuring diversity and equality within our organisation by encouraging applications from all backgrounds.
All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks. Life takes its obligation to protect the rights of children and vulnerable people very seriously; therefore, the successful candidate for this post will be also subject to extensive background checking, including an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) which is paid for by the Charity.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Global Influencing Lead
Permanent, Full time.
Location: The role can be based in any of our UK offices: Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, or Warrington
Salary: £59,570 for Cardiff, Edinburgh, or Warrington. £64,454 for London (including London allowance)
If we receive a high volume of applications, we reserve the right to close the advert before the scheduled closing date. Therefore, we encourage interested applicants to apply at their earliest convenience.
About us
Christian Aid exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. We are a global movement of people, churches and local organisations who passionately champion dignity, equality and justice worldwide. We are the changemakers, the peacemakers, the mighty of heart.
We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, and recognise the value this brings in forming strong, creative and high performing teams. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and from those with experience from outside of the voluntary sector. And no, you don’t have to be Christian to work here – we encourage people of all faiths and none to apply. We just ask that everyone lives out our values of dignity, equality, justice and love. We value a good work-life balance, so we’re open to part-time and flexible working. We also offer hybrid working for our office-based colleagues.
About the role
Reporting in to the Head of Policy and Influencing, the Global Influencing Lead provides strategic leadership and oversight of Christian Aid’s global advocacy work in global spaces to ensure advocacy achieves maximum impact.
The role fosters inclusive and collaborative leadership across diverse teams and geographies, ensuring advocacy is rooted in programme evidence, and theological reflection.
Collaborating with Programme and Partnership Leads, and working closely with partners and faith groups, the post-holder will develop joint strategies and manages global partnerships, including faith partnerships that strategically align.
The role will effectively manage Global and Pan African Policy and Advocacy Leads to coordinate, develop and deliver effective advocacy and matrix manage the Senior Gender Advisor. The role represents CA in global spaces and in global coalitions and acts as a media spokesperson.
Some of the main responsibilities of the Global Influencing Lead include:
- Provides strategic oversight for global advocacy in global spaces, to ensure advocacy is impactful, inclusive, and collaborative, rooted in evidence and theological reflection and aligns with organisational values and goals.
- Develops relevant relationships with key stakeholders within global institutions and collaborates on advocacy strategies and initiatives for greater impact.
- Leads on the development and management of strategic partnerships with global partners – including faith partners - including supporting the funding teams to seek additional funding to maximise impact and income.
- Leads on the development of global policy and advocacy positions and oversee their integration into external communications, programme strategies, and donor engagement.
- Leads the Global Influencing team, enabling the Global and Pan African Policy and Advocacy Leads to coordinate, develop and deliver effective advocacy in global spaces in collaboration with the rest of Christian Aid and with partners to promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge, to maximise impact; and supporting the Senior Theology Advisor to ensure that theological reflection underpins our programme, advocacy and supporter facing work.
- Represents Christian Aid in global spaces, including as a media spokesperson, ensuring messaging is meaningful, impactful and consistent, aligning to organisational values and goals.
- Oversees global advocacy budget to support with financial sustainability.
- Deputises for Head of Policy and Influencing, as needed.
About you
Who we are looking for
Essential:
- Degree level qualification in a relevant field.
- Substantial experience of leading and implementing advocacy strategies.
- Extensive experience of international networking, building alliances and coordinating initiatives and networks.
- Substantial experience of working in international faith networks.
- Substantial experience of representing an organisation at a senior level, and in communicating to to diverse and non-specialist audiences.
- Significant experience of planning, leading and managing complex cross-organisational projects.
- Highly developed ability to lobby effectively and successfully build relationships with key advocacy targets.
- Highly developed ability to analyse complex information, present that information, and frame arguments, in a simple way.
- Substantial line management experience and proven ability to lead diverse teams with inclusivity and respect, fostering collaboration including remote management.
- Experience in policy oversight and quality assurance
- Detailed understanding of international policy and advocacy processes, including in the UN system.
- Detailed understanding of ecosystems of faith actors at global and UK level.
- Detailed understanding of global poverty and international development trends and debates
- Highly developed verbal and written communications experience.
- Highly developed public speaking ability.
- Highly developed ability to deal sensitively and discreetly with people and information.
- Highly developed ability to devise, lead and implement advocacy strategies.
- Highly developed ability to work across cultural contexts with civil society and faith leaders from the global south.
- Highly developed ability to manage complex projects.
Further information
At Christian Aid we strive to be an inclusive and diverse employer and recognise the value that this brings in helping to build strong, creative and high performing teams.
We are actively encouraging racialised minorities, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people with caring responsibilities, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, women, and older workers to apply. This is because these groups are under-represented within our teams, especially at senior level, and we recognise and value the contributions members of these groups make to strong, creative and high performing teams.
We have a strong Christian ethos and we encourage applications from all faiths. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of and sympathy with Christian Aid’s faith identity.
All successful candidates will require a DBS/police check appropriate to the role and location and a Counter Terrorism Sanction check as part of your clearance for commencing your role with us. We also participate in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information as part of the referencing process from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.
This role requires applicants to have the right to live and work in the country where this position is based and undertake the role that you have been offered. If you are successful and we make you an offer for the role, we will be required to conduct a right to work check on your immigration status in the UK. We will contact you regarding the documentation you will need to provide to evidence this.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.