The Church of England has a unique role in the education system, providing around 20% of all schools (around 4700 schools). Its national work is overseen by the National Society for Education (Church of England & Church in Wales), working closely in partnership with Diocesan Boards of Education, school and trust leaders, alongside strategic leaders in the FE and HE sectors.
The NSE is chaired by the Bishop of Portsmouth, who has also sat in the House of Lords since December 2025. He regularly speaks in debates and works across the House with a wide range of peers, also working very closely with ministers, particularly in the Department for Education. This role is to provide parliamentary and policy support to him and a range of other Lords Spiritual who will speak on education issues.
The role sits inside the NSE team, line managed by the Head of Education Policy, and then working closely with the wider team of other Parliamentary and Policy Researchers across the wider Church of England. It provides an excellent opportunity for someone looking to support the Church’s work in education at the most strategic level.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on Monday 3rd August 2026.
Interviews will be held virtually on Thursday 6th August 2026.
Please note that you will not be able to view the role description after the closing date. We suggest that you save a copy of this page before you submit your application.
About the NCIs
The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation - a church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.
We Include. You Belong.
Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong, and are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.
Living out our values in all that we do, we:
- Strive for Excellence
- Show Compassion
- Respect others
- Collaborate
- Act with Integrity
We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you.
Use of AI in your application
We appreciate that you may want to use AI tools to help you with your application. We're happy for you to use AI to come up with ideas and help structure your thoughts, but you shouldn't use AI to fabricate information or write your whole application for you. One of our values is integrity, and although we want you to demonstrate your best self, we don't want an AI-generated persona. If you simply copy and paste AI-generated content into your application, this will reduce your chances of success.
