An exciting opportunity to be at the heart of a new initiative to provide training, support and development across the Church of England and support churches to grow and increase their gospel reach.

Who we are:

The Kindling Network is an exciting new programme focused on equipping clergy to revitalise their struggling parishes across the Church of England - particularly those facing numerical decline, ageing congregations, and limited resources.

The role:

Working out of the church office at St Michael’s Eastbourne, you’ll be responsible for the planning and co-ordination of all the activities that make up the Kindling Network.

You’ll create and manage the process of engaging with participants, book accommodation, provide resources, run training weeks, create online communities, run group calls, report and budget and arrange an annual conference – amongst other things!

You’ll need to be highly organised with the ability to own and resolve problems and deal with a wide variety of people. Most importantly, you’ll have a passion for the growth of God’s kingdom and will be keen to use your gifts to serve the church.

You’ll need strong skills with Microsoft Office, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and experience of tracking and reporting on financial and other data to provide both monetary and progress reporting on the project as a whole. Experience of maintaining and updating websites would be a significant advantage.

You’ll have previous work experience in project management or complex administrative roles – a knowledge of the structures of the Church of England would be helpful but not essential.

The role is funded by the Church of England for 2 years, with the possibility of a third year, after which a further application for funding with be made. We are seeking to appoint with a start date of 1^st October 2025.

For further information please see the job description and person specification.

What we offer:

• A salary of £32,270 per annum for 35 hours per week
• Hybrid working - you’ll need to be in the office in Eastbourne at least 3 days a week.
• Enrolment into the Church of England Church Workers Pension Scheme with a 15.1% employer contribution and an employee contribution between 0-6%
• 28 days of annual leave, plus bank holidays and an additional 2 privilege days leave per year

The Kindling Network and Chichester DBF are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders are expected to share this commitment and to comply with the relevant safeguarding policy.Our full safeguarding policy can be found here.

This role is subject to an Enhanced DBS check and completion of the Church of England Confidential Declaration Form.To understand how the information you supply in your Confidential Declaration Form is used and your rights with respect to that data please read our privacy notice.

Please note this is post to which a Genuine Occupational Requirement under paragraph 1 of Schedule 9 of the Equality Act applies, the requirement being that the post holder is a practising Christian.

The post will involve work at weekends.

For more details and a confidential discussion contact the Revd Ben Sleep by email on ben@smchurch.co.uk

Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining how your experience, skills and knowledge meet the person specification to recruitment@chichester.anglican.org by midnight on 20^th July 2025.

Interviews will be held at Church House, Hove on 30^th July 2025