Pastoral Secretary

Do you feel you could help shape how our parishes and benefices are structured to support ministry? Are you someone who thrives on complex casework, careful process, and working to agreed frameworks? Do you want to play a central role in guiding the diocese through pastoral reorganisations, ensuring that our structures remain effective, sustainable, and responsive to changing contexts?

Hours: 22.2 hours per week (0.6 FTE)

Salary: £45,378.55 to £48,869.21 per annum (pro rata)

Salary Band: J

Contract: Permanent

Location: Church House Oxford, Langford Locks, Kidlington, OX5 1GF

Closing date for receipt of applications: Sunday 7 June 2026, at midnight

Interviews will be held: On Wednesday 24 June 2026, at Church House Oxford, Langford Locks, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GF.

About the role:

This is a key senior role within the Diocese of Oxford, offering an opportunity to play a central part in shaping how the Church is organised to support its mission and ministry.

As Pastoral Secretary, you will lead and coordinate the Diocese’s pastoral reorganisation work, ensuring that statutory processes under the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 are delivered accurately, consistently, and sensitively. You will manage complex pastoral casework, advise on structural change across parishes and benefices, and support the development of governance models that enable the Church to respond effectively to changing contexts.

The role includes acting as Executive Secretary to the four Archdeaconry Mission and Pastoral Committees (AMPCs), working closely with Archdeacons and committee Chairs to ensure that statutory processes are properly followed and decisions are implemented. You will also line manage the Assistant Pastoral Secretary, ensuring a robust and consistent approach to pastoral work across the diocese.

This role involves close collaboration with senior clergy, the Diocesan Registry, the Church Commissioners, and diocesan colleagues.

About you:

We are looking for a highly organised and analytical professional who is confident working with complex legislation, sensitive pastoral situations, and senior stakeholders.

You will bring experience of managing detailed casework, strong written and verbal communication skills, and a high level of accuracy and judgement. You will be comfortable advising Archdeacons, clergy, and parishes, and able to balance legal, pastoral, and missional considerations in your work.

You will also have the confidence and leadership ability to oversee another member of staff, contribute to training and guidance, and supporting colleagues across the diocese in understanding pastoral reorganisation processes.

You may come from an ecclesiastical, legal, public sector, charity, or governance background, with experience of working within statutory or regulatory frameworks and managing complex, sensitive casework involving multiple stakeholders.

You do not need to be a practising Christian or have a faith to work with us. Around half of our staff are not practising Christians but are comfortable with the Christian ethos that underpins our work. What matters is a desire to support the mission and ministry of the Church and to work collaboratively and professionally.

Benefits and Rewards: 

ODBF continues to offer a range of rewards and benefits to its staff, including:

• Competitive salary

• Generous employer pension contribution of 12.5% into the auto-enrolment pension scheme, which includes a death-in-service benefit (5% employee contribution)

• Re-accreditation as a Living Wage employer

• Annual holiday entitlement starting at 25 days, excluding public holidays, rising each year by one day to a maximum of 30 days, pro-rata for part-time employees

• In addition to the statutory UK public holidays, the Diocese offers three privilege days to all employees, namely Maundy Thursday, Ascension Day, and Christmas Eve (or the closest working day, where this falls on a weekend)

• Flexible working patterns with the ability to do some work from home

• Sabbatical leave, after a qualifying period of service

• Access to wellbeing support via Employee Assistance Programme

• Enhanced family-friendly policies and a generous occupational sick pay provision

• Free parking and subsidised on-site café

• Electric car and cycle-to-work salary sacrifice schemes

• EV charging points on site

• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme with Octopus Electric Dreams

• Cycle to Work scheme with Green Commute Initiative

• Contributions towards eye examinations and prescriptive lenses

• Access to low-interest rate financial services from Churches Mutual Credit Union

• An attractive modern working environment

How to apply:

If you feel you have the skills and gifts we are looking for, we would love to hear from you. To apply, please email your completed application form and  recruitment monitoring form to: recruitment@oxford.anglican.org The forms are accessible via the links below:

Job Description | Application Form | Recruitment Monitoring Form 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. If you do not hear from us, your application has not been successful. 

We want the Church of England’s commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion for all to be reflected in our staff. We are particularly keen to receive applications from UK Minority Ethnic / Global Majority heritage and disabled candidates, who are currently underrepresented. 

The Church of England is committed to the safeguarding, care, and nurture of everyone within our church community. In the Diocese of Oxford, we follow and are committed to the Church of England's House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policies and the relevant statutory legislation and guidance, "Working together" to ensure the welfare of children and young people is paramount.