Church and Lieutenancy Appointments Team Support Officer

at  Cabinet Office

JOB SUMMARY

The Cabinet Office is the centre of Government, and this post forms an integral part of a team based in the Propriety and Constitution Group, right at its centre. The vacancy is based in the Church and Lieutenancy Appointments Team; and is a unique opportunity to join a specialist team in a unique role, working at the heart of government, whilst working closely with No10, the Royal Household and other senior stakeholders.
Successful candidates would be expected to spend at least 60% of their time working from the office in 1 Horse Guards Road.
The Church and Lieutenancy Appointments Team’s work is split into two distinct categories, church appointments and lieutenancy appointments. For Church appointments, The Crown is responsible for a range of ecclesiastical appointments in the Church of England. This is for historical and constitutional reasons, based on the fact that the Church of England is the Established Church and The King its Supreme Governor. As well as Archbishops, Bishops and some Cathedral Deans, these appointments include 20 residentiary canonries, and priests in over 650 Crown parishes. There are also a range of other appointments which include Church Estates Commissioners, the Chair and members of the Churches Conservation Trust and the Lord High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland. In respect of Lord-Lieutenant appointments, The King is represented by a Lord-Lieutenant, Vice Lord-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenants in every county of the UK. Their duties include arranging visits by members of the Royal family and representing The King, including presenting certain honours and awards. Candidates to be Lord-Lieutenant are proposed to the Prime Minister by the Appointments Secretary, following an extensive consultation and are then approved by The King.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The role require a self-motivated individual who enjoys working with external stakeholders. We are looking for candidates who will be looking for an unusual civil service role that provides an opportunity to engage with high profile areas of work encapsulating both the Civil Service and the Crown. You will need to be comfortable working at pace, as the volumes of work across the team can fluctuate according to the demand and you must be capable of a high standard of administrative detail.
You will help ensure the smooth running of the processes for key Crown appointments. Whilst there are historical and legal reasons for much of the processes, there is still scope for imagination and creativity to shape the way in which the work is done. Alongside your work supporting church appointments, you will also be responsible for processing the appointments of Lord-Lieutenants, Vice Lord-Lieutenants and Deputy Lieutenants; liaising with Lieutenancies to support funding bids; processing the payment of Lieutenancy expenses and the supply of Lieutenancy stationery; and for providing PA support to the Prime Minister’s Appointments Secretary.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

TYPE OF ROLE

Administration / Corporate Support
Secretarial
Other

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Supporting the Assistant Head in the completion of the appointments process for Archbishops, Bishops, Deans and Suffragan Bishops, including developing strong working relationships with stakeholders in No10, Buckingham Palace, Church House and Lambeth Palace.
• Supporting the Assistant Head in the completion of the appointments process for clergy to their benefice roles in liaison with No 10, Buckingham Palace and the Lord Chancellor’s Private Office. Maintaining records for church appointments in line with GDPR and retention policy.
• Supporting benefices following interview panels including liaising with Dioceses on press announcements and to arrange representation at installation services.
• Processing Lord-Lieutenant, Vice Lord-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenant appointments, and supporting Lieutenancy appointments in the Devolved Administrations.
• Ensuring Lord-Lieutenants’ personal office expenses and travel costs are paid and stationery supplied.
• Responding to requests regarding pastoral reorganisations and suspensions.
• Providing PA support for the Prime Minister’s Appointments Secretary.