Head of Growing Faith and FLOURISH

Summary

WE ARE SEEKING THE HEAD OF GROWING FAITH AND FLOURISH

About the Department/Role

The National Society for Education (NSE) is a royal-chartered charity and National Church Institution at the forefront of Church and community schools across England and Wales. We champion leadership, influence policy, and foster spiritual growth in young people and adults alike.

As part of the Church of England's commitment to a younger, more diverse future, we're working with diocesan partners, academy trusts, and chaplaincies to grow faith and nurture the next generation of leaders. We're also driving national initiatives like Growing Faith, focused on the vital link between church, home and school.

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 throughout the year.

What you'll be doing

The National Society for Education is seeking an inspiring and visionary leader to head its Growing Faith and Young Leaders workstream - a strategic post within our Senior Leadership Team (SLT). This dynamic role will shape and deliver key national initiatives including the Growing Faith Foundation , FLOURISH Network of Worshipping Communities , and a suite of leadership programmes such as the Archbishops' Young Leaders Award , Flourishing Young Leaders , and Young Voices at General Synod .

Summary of main responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across our core Growing Faith workstream, managing senior team leads and national programme heads
• Strategically overseeing the implementation of leadership development programmes for adult and young leaders of mission and ministry with children and young people within the FLOURISH movement
• Develop long-term strategic partnerships with diocese, school trust, school/college and church leaders to enable the effective embedding of FLOURISH, Growing Faith Foundation, and Young Leaders programmes at all levels
• Champion safeguarding excellence and spiritual leadership through inclusive practices and worship
• Drive innovation in leadership development for children (4-18) and young adults (18-25)
• Embed a culture of faith-led partnership between church, school and household
• Oversee the national rollout of FLOURISH communities - aiming for 450 sites by 2030
• Shape research, resource planning and evaluation strategies across the team
• Collaborate with diocesan, NCI and national stakeholders on transformative church revitalisation

Key role requirements

• An enhanced DBS check will be required as part of our pre-employment checks.
• This post is subject to an occupational requirement that the holder be a communicant Anglican under Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the Equality Act 2010.

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.

You will need to be/have:

• Of Christian faith and a communicant member of the Church of England
• Experience leading high-performing teams and influencing senior stakeholders
• Knowledge of educational and diocesan landscapes
• Strong safeguarding awareness and budgetary insight
• Inspirational public speaking and writing skills
• Commitment to diversity, collaboration and spiritual formation
• Ability to analyse qualitative and quantitative data
• A qualification in theology, education, youth work or leadership
• Experience in CRM/LMS systems, remote team management, GDPR and Health & Safety oversight
• A clear understanding of/commitment to the Church of England's Education network and its current and future needs

Please refer to the Job Description for more information about the role and person specification.

What we offer

Your Salary

• A salary of £82,157 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

• 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.