Ecumenical Lead

Ecumenical Lead

Permanent. Full time. Hybrid working. (You will be required to attend the office for a minimum of 2 days per week with the option to work remotely for the remaining 3 days)

Location: The role can be based in the following locations:

UK - Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, or Warrington

International - Abuja, Bogota, Dhaka, or Nairobi 

Salary: Competitive

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 and the option of being a homeworker for most of our roles too. 

Learn about our vision, mission and values

About the role

Reporting in to the Global Head of Programme Policy and Practice, the Ecumenical Lead actively develops and maintains key ecumenical relations in Britain and internationally and provides cross organisational leadership to ensure engagement with the churches and parts of the ecumenical movement is effectively coordinated, purposeful, meaningful and maximises impact. 

The post-holder will ensure Christian Aid staff working on church influence and church relations are working to a commonly held agenda that maintains strong cross organisational collaboration within the wider Christian Aid strategy, aligning with organisational value and goals/

Some of the main responsibilities of the Ecumenical Lead include:

• Provide leadership on ecumenical engagement/partnerships, building relationships based on trust and openness and drive meaningful change and support the cross-organisation’s strategy on church relationships with the Church and Engagement team
• Foster links, engage and provide staff time to strengthen global ecumenical coalitions across our programme and influencing priorities thematic areas of work to maximise impact.
• Manage global faith partnerships as part of our overall partnership approach that focus on priority outcomes and of core faith partnerships aligning with organisational goals.
• Manage relationships, lead collaboration and coordination to develop and deliver partnerships with ACT and WCC, together with global church coalitions and other faith organisations sister agencies (e.g. within ACT family / E8 and interfaith initiatives) ensuring maximisation of quality, consistency and impact.
• Support and equip CEO, Directors and wider leadership (including MCC’s, Humanitarian, Church relations, and Policy and Influencing Teams) engagement in global, regional and national ecumenical spaces and in strategic management and relationships with faith partners, proactively identifying opportunities that are high-impact initiatives to maximise impact. 
• Manage relationships in faith and development spaces (e.g. JLI and Side by Side), to maximise our impact.

About you

Who we are looking for:

Essential:

• Highly developed relationship-building at senior level.
• Significant experience providing high quality leadership and support to staff. 
• Highly developed ability to negotiate, influence and persuade others.
• Highly developed political judgement, able to work with people in leadership positions.
• Detailed understanding of UK and global ecumenical structures including WCC, ACT, CTBI and other national forums.
• Detailed understanding of and ability to navigate different church networks, including the global families and institutions connected to Christian Aid’s sponsoring churches, and Evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Orthodox church networks. 
• Understanding of international development issues.
• Detailed understanding of theology and liturgy particularly as related to missions and international development. 
• Substantial experience of working within a church structure or network with credibility within their networks gained by having held office.
• Highly developed communication skills, verbal, in writing and presentational.
• Substantial experience of public speaking and preaching and of media work.

Desirable:

• Demonstrable lived experience in the global south and countries in which Christian Aid works.
• Relevant degree or equivalent

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. To discuss this role in greater detail, please contact   X@christian-aid.org

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. 

You can expect a wide range of rewards and benefits, please refer to the benefits booklet for your location to see our full list of employee benefits. 

For Salary details for this role, please refer to the Salary band by location.