Deputy country director jobs in London

About the Church Commissioners

Established in 1948, The Church Commissioners works to support the Church of England's ministry.

The main aspects to the work of the Church Commissioners are as follows:

Managing the endowment fund

The Investments team of c. 85 colleagues manages the Church's permanent endowment fund. This £11.1 billion fund (as at 31st December 2024) is one of the largest in the country and has its origins in Queen Anne's Bounty, which was established in 1704.

The fund represents a diverse investments portfolio, which is managed with a strong focus on responsible and ethical investments that enable the funding support for the Church of England to grow in line with agreed investment return targets.

Church-Facing Commissioner Teams

There are three Church-facing Commissioner Teams:

• The Church Buildings team of c. 35 colleagues supports dioceses and parishes with the care, conservation and development of historic church buildings, advises on permissions for changes to church buildings and provides guidance on architectural and heritage matters. It helps churches adapt for worship and community use and works with government to advise on policies that affect church buildings;
• The Mission & Pastoral Services team of c. 10 colleagues supports the creation, merger and closure of parishes and benefices. It oversees the adjustment of parish boundaries, supports dioceses on the legal framework for pastoral change, and handles the legal steps when a church building is no longer required for public worship, including finding suitable alternative uses or disposal;
• The Bishoprics & Cathedrals team of c. 40 colleagues advises on the provision of suitable housing and office accommodation for diocesan bishops and archbishops, funding bishops' working costs, and supporting cathedrals in their governance and sustainability. It also oversees , the historic library and record office of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the main archive for the documentary history of the Church of England.

Central Support and Governance

Overall, there are c. 10 colleagues in the Central support and governance team:

• The Commissioners' Secretariat team supports the Chief Executive, senior trustees and Board in all aspects of their governance;
• The Engagement Manager is responsible for working closely with a wide variety of Commissioners' teams to help ensure that the Church Commissioners has effective engagement with a wide variety of Stakeholders;
• The Strategic Programme management team varies in size depending on the strategic projects currently underway (see below for further details).

Church of England Central Services (ChECS)

The Church Commissioners is supported by a number of key enabling teams which are part of the Church of England Central Services. This NCI consists of Finance, Assurance, Technology, Data, Project Management, Communications and Legal teams. The ChECS team is c. 150 colleagues.

The Church Commissioners is accountable to Parliament, General Synod and, as a registered charity, to the Charity Commission. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the Commissioners' Chair and the current Deputy Chair is the Bishop of Salisbury. Three of the Commissioners' trustees are known as Church Estates Commissioners (CECs), who will be key stakeholders for this role. The First CEC chairs the Assets (investment) Committee and the Second CEC is an MP who helps exercise accountability to Parliament. Both are appointed by HM The King on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Third CEC chairs committees that oversee the work of the Church-facing Commissioner Teams and is appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Director of Strategy and Engagement has direct responsibility for Central Support and Governance, comprising the Commissioners' Secretariat (4 colleagues), the Engagement Manager and the Strategic Programme Management team (c. 5 colleagues). Additional Strategic Programme team members may be added as further strategic projects are commissioned.

Strategic focus

• Support the Chief Executive and Board with the development, articulation and delivery of the Commissioners' strategic business plan to enable it to support the mission and ministry of the Church of England, engaging widely and authentically in so doing;
• Act as a close adviser and sounding board for the Chief Executive and leadership team, ensuring the provision of accurate and timely advice, briefings and presentations;
• Assist in developing and delivering plans and projects to give life to the business plan.

Communications and stakeholder engagement

• Advise on, and support, stakeholder engagement. Develop and implement engagement and communications strategies for key stakeholders and leaders, e.g., bishops, parliamentarians, dioceses and General Synod (the Church's legislative and deliberative body). This includes major projects and programmes of work and liaison with the Communications team;
• Champion the views of key stakeholders and beneficiaries within the Commissioners, helping to ensure that business plans and projects reflect the perspectives of the wider Church.

Project support

• Manage complex or sensitive strategic projects and issues, thinking through the consequences of those projects, decisions and communications, including considering reputation matters.
• Facilitate the implementation of change plans, working closely with the Commissioners' leadership team and other NCI executive team colleagues.
• Support the implementation of cross-NCI programmes from the Commissioners' perspective;
• Use the Project and Programme Methodology adopted by the Church Commissioners and participate in current project governance structures - working with the PMO to continue to improve this.

Provide leadership and support to project teams, including:

• the Programme Spire team (which is managing a multi-year research programme to understand and respond to the charity's historic links to African chattel enslavement);
• any changes to the organisational structure for the Church Commissioners, ensuring they are provided with appropriate performance targets and support. This should be done working closely with the appropriate Finance and People teams.

Leadership and wider context

• Keep up to date with current events, trends and concerns which might affect the work of the Commissioners, NCIs and the wider Church;
• Support the wider Church as a senior leader, contributing to the development of the NCIs. Draw connections between operational activities in different teams, and with other NCI activities where appropriate.

• A salary of c.£95,000 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.

• 30 days annual leave plus eight bank holidays 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.

• Strive for Excellence
• Show Compassion
• Respect others
• Collaborate
• Act with Integrity

We are seeking a full-time Training and Development Associate to develop, pilot and deliver a range of training programmes in 2026. These programmes will be developed from the findings of two key research reports from 2025. Our flagship Shattered Britain report outlined the seven segments of Britain today, while our Progressive Activists report delved deeply into this segment’s views and beliefs. The training programmes aim to:

• Equip Progressive Activists with the tools and strategies to build broad coalitions and campaign effectively informed by deep knowledge of public opinion.

• Help leaders and boards manage progressive, values-driven workforces, ensuring alignment between organisational mission and staff culture while maintaining effectiveness.

• Help managers understand the diversity of public opinion on a range of issues, as well as wider trends and drivers of public opinion, and learn how to use the seven segments to understand and reach new audience

The Training and Development Associate role involves the following indicative duties:

• With the Deputy Director (Strategy and Development), launch More in Common UK’s training arm, ensure all training programmes are high-quality, impactful and - in the long-run - commercially self-sustaining.

• Develop More in Common UK’s training programmes, creating a suite of training materials with advice and support from external partners and contractors where necessary.

• Deliver directly, and support others to deliver, at least 20 in-house training programmes and 6 ‘open-access’ training programmes in 12 months.

• Train over 700 individuals in 12 months, with more than 90% rating the training highly effective.

• Design and implement a robust approach to monitoring and evaluation for our training programmes.

• Ensure all training programmes are underpinned by robust, up-to-date research from More in Common’s work.

• Contribute to More in Common’s wider thought-leadership and political engagement.

• Ensure that More in Common’s UK outputs are of the highest quality and genuinely lead to impact in line with our mission.

• Lead the marketing and outreach to external partners and organisations to secure new business and customers for the training programmes.

• Work with colleagues to build opportunities for training into larger research projects with external partners.

• Design and deliver webinars and short insights products to disseminate our latest insights and research to partners and the wider eco-system.

• Support and collaborate with colleagues on a range of quantitative and qualitative research projects for More in Common’s own thought leadership work and our client/partner work.

• Represent More in Common's work and values to a wide variety of external organisations, acting as a public face for people to learn about our research.

• Any other tasks as reasonably required from time to time.

The Training and Development Associate will work closely with the UK Team across our core areas of research, communications, partnership, and client work. More in Common UK is a small team with a start-up culture where everyone is expected to execute a range of responsibilities, though the Training and Development Associate will focus on launching and making a success of More in Common’s new training arm.

We have initial funding to appoint a Training and Development Associate on a fixed-term (12-month) contract. However, subject to the success of the training programmes, their potential commercial viability and/or further funding, our hope would be to extend or make permanent the role.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Considerable experience in delivering high-quality training programmes. 

• Experience in designing or updating training materials, particularly drawing on robust research.

• Experience designing monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks for training.

• Strong public speaking and facilitation skills

• Some experience with and understanding of quantitative and quantitative research methods.

• Experience producing written content that is engaged with wider political or social debates, and grounded in robust research.

• A deep understanding of UK politics and the role research and communications play in shaping public policy outcomes. 

• An ability to manage projects from start to finish, handling both budget and time management, and dealing with large and complex clients. 

• An entrepreneurial mindset and a track record of spotting opportunities to secure new work.

• The ability to manage tasks and projects independently and in a team - from inception through to delivery and evaluation 

• A hunger for disseminating More in Common’s research to new audiences.

The above is an indicative guide to what we’re looking for, but you do not need to meet every bullet point listed. We are open to a diverse range of experiences, backgrounds and skillsets.

OTHER INFORMATION

With over 70 staff across six countries, each member of our team makes a vital contribution to our impact, and we put a strong emphasis on team selection and values. We look for people who: 

• Are curious, rigorous, restless, energetic and creative

• Are able to think ahead and get big stuff done

• Are committed to a process of ongoing learning

• Have direct experience with and understand people from different perspectives and backgrounds

• Are excited to do work that works across political divides and that promotes shared national identities

• Are interested in reaching left behind communities

• Are excited to work with heart as well as head

• Want to be part of finding practical solutions

COMPENSATION AND CONDITIONS

Competitive salary (£35,000-£40,000) plus excellent benefits including private health insurance, generous leave policy, and a personal learning and growth budget.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

We will have a better chance of uniting divided societies if our team reflects a broad range of social and cultural backgrounds, beliefs, political opinions, and life experiences. We particularly encourage applications from underrepresented and minority communities.  

HOW TO APPLY

Applications should include:

• a short cover letter (max. one page)

• a CV

• a separate Word document describing a piece of training or public speaking you have delivered in the last few years, and what made it effective (max 200 words). 

Initial screening calls will take place w/c 12 January, with interviews w/c 19 January. We aim to appoint by w/c 26 January.