Church relations officer jobs

Connexional Worship Renewal Team Leader

London-Hybrid

Hybrid Working: Connexional Team staff based at Methodist Church House have a hybrid work pattern which is currently 2-3 days in the office.

We are offering a hugely exciting role to support Methodist worship renewal across The Connexion and to continue to enhance our wonderful communities of local preachers, worship leaders and musicians through the training and development programmes offered by The Methodist Church in Great Britain.

It is open to both ordained and lay Methodists alike.

In recognition of the centrality of the worshipping life of the Church to Our Calling as both Christians and Methodists, we are absolutely committed to effectively supporting (in theology, craft and with practical questions) all of those who lead worship. We also recognise the missional imperative for high-quality worship. Thus the holder of this post will lead a small team, whose aims are to:

• Empower all of those leading worship through support and development.
• Operationalise and manage the Worship Renewal stream of the Methodist Church in Britain’s God For All ambition and strategy.

This will include working strategically; embedding deep learning and practice; envisaging and developing exceptional training and resourcing for all those involved in worship leading; managing staff, workplans and budgets; and being responsible for the governance aspects which sit within this role.

About you

Thus, we are looking for someone who is a gifted ‘crafter of worship’ and preacher, with deep sensitivity for Methodist worship in its varied traditions, passion for excellence in Methodist worship and creative strategic thinker. You will care deeply about the communities of people who lead Methodist worship, working alongside them to enable all to lead worship which contributes to flourishing Methodist churches. 

It is essential, therefore, that you are a presbyter, deacon or local preacher in The Methodist Church, have a deep understanding of Methodist – and wider – theology with an understanding of how to translate these for contemporary society. You will have an excellent understanding of current training structures for worship within The Methodist Church, alongside experience of leading and managing change in a complex organisation.

The team

The Ministries and Learning Team in which this role sits, is friendly, supportive, vibrant and passionate. Within this team, you will be line-managed by The Director of Ministry Development. The Team exists to equip the Methodist Church by training, developing and supporting those called by God to serve in lay and ordained ministry embedding the strategies which support the Church’s aspiration to be inclusive, justice seeking, evangelistic and growing.

The postholder will manage a small team and work widely with other teams, such as Evangelism and Growth, and across the wider Connexion.

This post carries an occupational requirement for the post holder to be a Christian (in accordance with the Equality Act 2010).

Our Culture, Values and Benefits

Thank you for considering joining our inclusive and welcoming team that strives for excellence and values employee wellbeing.

We value and support all those who join our team through a positive work-life balance augmented by generous annual leave (plus an extra 3 days over Christmas/New Year), TOIL, flexi-leave and an on-site Well-being Adviser service. We offer a generous occupational pension scheme, where the Methodist Church will pay double the employee contribution up to a maximum of 16% employer contribution.

The Methodist Church is an inclusive and supportive employer. We are actively committed to encouraging applications from people of all backgrounds. We welcome applications from people of Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic groups. We also welcome applications from people living with disabilities.

For ministers in Full Connexion the standard terms of service apply.

Closing date: 2 October 2025

Interview date: 21 October 2025 (Methodist Church House, London)

Job Title: Cathedral Safeguarding Officer

Reports to: Canon Precentor

Key Relationships: As part of their role, the CSO will work closely with the Cathedral Safeguarding Lead (Canon Precentor), the Diocesan Safeguarding Team including the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) and the Diocesan Safeguarding Executive Committee (SEC); volunteer cathedral safeguarding representatives (CRs); all other relevant stakeholders including Director of Music, Chapter, Residentiary Canons, staff, the Senior Leadership Team and Cathedral Safeguarding Committee. In addition, the post-holder will work with all relevant external agencies, e.g., CofE National Safeguarding Team (NST), Police and Probation services, local authorities, Domestic Abuse Services.

Start Date: ASAP

Salary: £30,000 (£50,000 pro-rata)

Hours of Work: 21 hours per week – over 3 days

How to apply: Please complete the application form by Friday 19th September at 5pm.

Interviews: Wednesday 1st October.

Introduction to the Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral has been a place of Christian worship for over 1400 years. Now it stands on the vibrant and exciting regenerated south bank of the Thames surrounded by cultural venues such as Tate Modern, Shakespeare’s Globe and Borough Market, the offices of major companies as well as schools and diverse residential communities. It is an inclusive Christian community that offers a welcome to all.

The Cathedral’s mission, ministry and musical tradition are core to its life as a Cathedral and a parish church serving the community. It also relies on the valuable financial contribution made by its income generating activities such as its shop, café, conference rooms, corporate events and concerts. It is a very busy place, attracting 200,000 visitors a year to the Cathedral, its churchyard and medieval herb garden. The Cathedral relies on a small but dedicated team to be inclusive and welcoming to all.

Our Vision & Values

Southwark Cathedral’s original foundation was a Priory with a community that lived by the rule of St Augustine, written around 400 AD. Augustine begins his rule with the words, ‘Before all else, love God and then your neighbour, because these are the chief commandments given to us’. Our renewed vision of ‘making space for love: with Heart, Mind and Soul, finds its inspiration in our spiritual heritage.

Our mission and objectives combine in what we are calling the pathways for realising our vision. The pathways through which we will make space for love of God and neighbour are:

Objective 1: Rooted in Christian faith - to be a place of hospitality, exploration, imagination and kindness. We will be a Cathedral that rejoices in making space for all people to flourish and grow in heart, mind and soul.

Objective 2: Heart - to keep the heart healthy in London by a commitment to social justice, upholding the human dignity of all people and of every age.

Objective 3: Mind - to help people both live faithfully and think critically, being a place of learning and discovery.

Objective 4: Soul - to be a school for the soul, a place for enrichment of the inner life through prayer, our Cathedral building, the arts, and community.

Our Values

Integrity, Kindness, Justice, Courage

Role Overview

The role of the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer is to maintain and build on the strong culture of safeguarding at Southwark Cathedral and carry out an effective safeguarding role as a key visible member of the Cathedral team. The role holder will promote awareness and understanding throughout the Cathedral community (staff, volunteers and worshippers) of the needs of children and vulnerable adults and actively promote the philosophy that their interests are paramount.

The successful applicant will be responsible for the development and implementation of Cathedral safeguarding arrangements, good practice, policy and training. The Cathedral Safeguarding Officer will make sure that safeguarding risks are appropriately managed and ensure that the Cathedral is applying any emerging national policies, procedures and best practice so that our ways of working continue to remain current.

NB: The successful applicant will play a leading role in the preparation for the upcoming INEQE safeguarding audit of Southwark Cathedral and Southwark Diocese scheduled June 2026. They will be supported in this aim by the appointed INEQE action group.

The role carries responsibility for safeguarding casework, including ensuring that allegations of abuse are promptly and appropriately handled, and where appropriate referred to the statutory authorities. Further, the role holder will effectively communicate and engage with survivors and victims of abuse.

The Cathedral Safeguarding Officer will advise the Cathedral on all safeguarding matters ensuring that all advice is in line with the law, government guidance and national policy and guidance from the House of Bishops. They will be supported in their role by three experienced volunteer cathedral safeguarding representatives who offer knowledge and experience of the cathedral. They will work collaboratively with peers in the Diocese and the National Safeguarding Team.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Key Duties

1. To lead the Cathedral’s work on the following National Standards:

· Organisational culture, leadership and capacity - Church bodies have safe and healthy cultures, effective leadership, resourcing and scrutiny arrangements necessary to deliver high-quality safeguarding practices and outcomes.

· Prevention - Church bodies have in place a planned range of measures which together are effective in preventing abuse in their context.

· Responding to and managing risk - Risk assessments, safety plans and associated processes are of a high quality and result in positive outcomes. The assessment and management of risk is underpinned by effective partnership working.

· Victims and survivors - Victims and survivors experience the timeliness and quality of Church bodies' responses to disclosures, and their subsequent support, as positively meeting their needs, including their search for justice and helping their healing process.

· Learning, supervision and support – All those engaged in safeguarding-related activity in Church bodies receive the type and level of learning, professional development, support and supervision necessary to respond to safeguarding situations, victims and survivors, and respondents, effectively.

2. To provide in person safeguarding training for Cathedral volunteers & staff.

3. To work closely with the Director of Music and the Sub-Dean to ensure that the children and young people in the cathedral choirs and Sunday school are effectively safeguarded

4. To be responsible for recording, investigating and managing all Safeguarding concerns;

5. To assist the CSL with production of monthly and annual safeguarding reports and to attend Chapter (as required) and Committee Meetings (as directed).

6. To assist in the production of risk assessments, policies and procedures where there are safeguarding aspects to them.

7. To provide advice in relation to obtaining criminal record checks (DBSs) for staff and volunteers.

8. To work collaboratively with the National Safeguarding Team (NST) and other Church of England Safeguarding Officers and attend national safeguarding events and activities as required.

9. To engage in professional supervision and quality assurance provided by the relevant NST Regional Safeguarding Lead.

Other responsibilities:

10. To participate in performance reviews and appraisals

11. To ensure that professional skills are regularly updated through participation in training and development activities

12. Any other duties and responsibilities as may be required by Chapter.

Finance Coordinator is a new role to support our expanding services.

This newly created role will form part of our Finance Team. As a member of a small but dynamic team, you will work closely with the Senior Finance Officer and Head of Finance. Your role will be critical to our success, with your principal responsibilities including:

• processing purchase ledger invoices
• inputting bank and all financial transactions onto the Xero accounting system
• recording donations to Xero accounting system
• reconciling donations, stewardship and CAF transactions with Xero
• reconciling cheques, standing orders and Stripe transactions with Xero
• processing the weekly payment runs ensuring that all payments are paid on time
• processing staff and volunteer expenses

You will have the support of our excellent and established Finance Team, which is central to the smooth and effective running of our operations. You will be responsible for liaising with colleagues at all levels across the organisation, as well as our Trustees, partners and suppliers. 

Join Our Fundraising Team ! 

At Scripture Union, we’re looking for two experienced and driven fundraisers to join our team. The fundraising team work to a target of around £2m per year, generated from a range of channels and segments. We’re looking for two more people to grow this team as we expand our mission to reveal Jesus to the younger generations in England and Wales. 

About the roles    

We’re looking for two fundraisers to tackle the following areas: 

• Individual Giving, working to maintain and grow our portfolio of donors giving between £10pa -  £1,500 pa each.

• Fundraising Innovation, coming up with fresh new ideas that will generate more income for the mission that take us beyond our tried and tested fundraising activities. 

Between them, the two roles account for 1.8 FTE, and we’re flexible about how that’s allocated. It could be that both roles work 4.5 days a week each, or one full time and the other four days. We’re open to suggestions as we seek the right candidates for the team.

The salary for both roles will be £31,500 - £34,800  per annum for an FTE. 

What You'll Do  

• Individual Giving: Grow income from individual donors through the management of campaigns, regular giving and invitations to increase gifts from general individual donors and mid-level donors. Work to acquire and retain new donors and reactivate lapsed donors. 

• Fundraising Innovation: Develop, trial and implement new and innovative approaches to income generation, contributing to our annual target through new strategic ideas. Work with the fundraising team to ensure these activities align with our fundraising strategy and relationships with grant making trusts, major donors and legacy income. 

Why Scripture Union  

• Hybrid working (minimum 1 day/week in Milton Keynes HQ)  

• Flexible hours (full-time or part-time from 29 hours/week)  

• Generous benefits: 23 days holiday + bank holidays + 5 volunteering days, up to 12% pension contribution, life insurance, and enhanced family leave.  

• Free Bible Reading Guide

• A supportive, faith-filled environment where your work has eternal impact  

Important things to note before you apply.   

• We are committed to building a culturally diverse workforce. As part of this commitment, we welcome applications from people, regardless of their background.   

• The Movement takes Safeguarding seriously. This role will require a Disclosure from the Disclosure & Barring Service and has an occupational requirement to be filled by a committed Christian, active in church life. Equality Act 2010, Part 1, Schedule 9 applies.   

• Please note that we do not provide visa sponsorship arrangements so applicants will need to have the right to live and be employed in a permanent job in the UK. 

Who We're Looking For: Our Ideal Candidate    

Some say that Scripture Union’s supporters are the best in the world. We’re inclined to agree, though we do admit we’re probably biased. We’re looking for two individuals to join our fundraising team who will be committed to championing and supporting our existing donors and extending the invitation to others, and who can bring fresh new approaches to how we generate income. 

We think the right people will be

• Relationship Driven: You work to identify, build and maintain positive long-term relationships with donors, colleagues and contacts. 

• Results Oriented: You set challenging yet realistic goals and objectives and strive to achieve them within an agreed timescale 

• Concerned for Excellence: You drive consistently towards excellence and improvement in your work. 

• Deeply Committed to Faith: You have a strong personal commitment to God and live as an active Christian disciple, bringing your faith into your daily work.   

• Committed to SU’s goals and values: You’re totally behind our values, goals and objectives as we seek to resource and equip the Church to reveal Jesus to the 95. 

You’ll have relevant qualifications and/or experience in fundraising, with a demonstrable track record of maintaining and increasing gift income.

As with all our team members, you will also:   

• Be a committed Christian who resonates with Scripture Union's mission and values, actively participating in a local church community.    

• Strive for a strong understanding of the Bible, applying its teachings to your daily life and inspiring others to do the same.    

How to Apply   

If this describes you, and you are in agreement with the aims and beliefs of Scripture Union, then we would like to hear from you. To apply for this role, download a copy of the job profile. You will need to upload your CV (2 A4 pages max) and a covering letter (2 A4 pages max) detailing how your skills and experience reflect the person specification via Charity Jobs. All screening questions provided as part of your application, must be answered.   

Closing Date: 6th October 2025

Interview Date: 21st October 2025

Interview Location: Milton Keynes

Generous Giving Manager
Canterbury, Kent
£36,397 pa plus excellent benefits
35 hours per week

The Generous Giving Manager is a very exciting and influential role at the Diocese, as you will build on the strong and energetic foundations within our two-person Generous Giving Team to strengthen the financial sustainability of local churches by encouraging generosity in time, talents and financial giving.

Working closely with deaneries, parishes and their leadership teams, you will identify local challenges and opportunities for generous giving, sharing innovative giving practices to help parishes and deaneries develop creative and effective ways to resource their mission.

Communicating clearly and inspiringly the principles of Christian giving to diverse audiences, you will keep up to date with National Church resources, promoting and supporting a wide range of giving methods such as the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS), online and contactless giving. You will also offer guidance to parish officers for resources on giving campaigns, legacies and grant funding.

This is an ideal role for someone with a good understanding of church life, a passion for helping local churches thrive, a strong commitment to community engagement and an understanding of generosity grounded in Christian teaching.

With demonstrable experience in fundraising or parish ministry, you should bring an awareness of the financial and missional challenges facing churches today, particularly in rural contexts. 

With an understanding of the Church of England’s structures, ethos, and range of traditions, you will have the proven ability to plan, advise on and lead giving or fundraising programmes in a not-for-profit or charitable context. You should also have a clear understanding of the teaching which underpins the Christian principles of giving.

Your motivational and collaborative approach across a variety of settings, combined with your outstanding interpersonal skills and natural ability at rapport building will ensure you are able to generate and develop creative, solution-focused ideas, engaging and inspiring individuals and groups, both in person and online.

Typically, you will operate during office hours but will need to adjust your working pattern in order to meet with parishes in the evenings and/or occasionally attend their Sunday worship, so the ability to travel to remote locations and work flexibly is a necessity.

Canterbury Diocese is the oldest diocese in England, stretching from Maidstone to Thanet, the Isle of Sheppey to the Romney Marsh. We have 350 miles of coastline with historic ports and seaside resorts, alongside rural communities, market towns and commuter-belt urban developments. Affluent areas often sit alongside pockets of major deprivation, offering an exciting and challenging mission context. 

At the heart of all we do is a vision of transformation for ourselves and our communities: no one can encounter God and remain unchanged. In the Diocese of Canterbury, we want to increasingly become a Christian community transformed through encounter with Christ, growing and overflowing to transform and bless the families, homes and communities we serve: Changed Lives, Changing Lives.

Closing date: 28 September 2025, 11.59pm.

Interviews: 8 October 2025.