We are so pleased that you are considering joining the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board and bringing your gifts to support the Church’s mission and ministry across England.
The Church’s exciting Vision and Strategy for the 2020s seeks a simpler, humbler and bolder Church for the whole nation which is Jesus Christ centred and shaped by the 5 Marks of Mission. There are three strategic priorities: a Church of missionary disciples; a Church where mixed ecology is the norm; and a Church which is younger and more diverse.
To support the Church to realise the Vision and Strategy in local contexts, the Archbishops’ Council and Church Commissioners launched the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment (SMMI) programme – one of the largest grant-making programmes in the country – with £350m available to invest in 2023-25. The Board was created in 2023 to distribute the SMMI funding on the Council’s behalf and oversee its impact through monitoring, evaluation and learning. To date, the Board has distributed £334m of SMMI funding.
The Council and Commissioners have signalled that they hope to make £1.4 billion available for SMMI in 2026-34, of which £385m will be available for the Board to distribute in 2026-28. The SMMI programme is split into three funding streams: the Diocesan Investment Programme, People and Partnerships Funding and Lowest Income Communities Funding. Together, these funding streams provide significant investment in the Church’s mission, mostly through dioceses but some through partner organisations. More details are given in this candidate pack.
The Board is also responsible, on the Council’s behalf, for tracking the impact and effective delivery of existing programmes and projects supported by national Church funding streams before 2023, namely Strategic Development Funding, Strategic Transformation Funding, and Innovation Funding. The Board regularly reviews the rich learning that is emerging from these programmes.
The impact of the work overseen by the Board continues to grow. For example, by the end of 2024, 37,000 people were newly attending a church or worship setting; 6,000 new leaders were volunteering or stepping up for lay leadership or exploring ordained vocations for the first time; and there were 1,300 new worshipping communities. The Board has developed the Church Support Hub for all parishes to access learning, training and materials.
The Church of England is for everyone and the Board’s membership and its work in distributing national Church funding must reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. The national Church is deeply committed to driving change in culture and practice across the whole of the Church of England in order that all people in England are welcomed and supported to flourish within the Church.
We are now looking to appoint three new independent members to our Board, of whom one will be a senior diocesan leader (ordained or lay). We are interested in hearing from candidates who are familiar with the structure and operation of the Church of England through its dioceses and parishes and who can offer at least two of the following: a) experience in strategic management of or delivering change in a complex organisation/the Church; b) experience of grant-making and leveraging impact through learning, monitoring and evaluation, at Board or Executive level; c) financial appraisal and business case review demonstrating the ability to think strategically and independently; d) experience in or the skills to offer oversight and advice on Christian discipleship, leadership, revitalising churches or increasing engagement with every part of our communities across ethnicity, class and gender.
We are looking for people who are passionate about the local church and bringing the Church’s Vision and Strategy to life, and who enjoy working to make a difference. You will operate impartially, building trust through applying expertise objectively in decision-making across a diversity of contexts and traditions. And you will be an excellent communicator – an ambassador for the aims of the work of the Board.
Joining the Board is a wonderful opportunity to help support and grow the Church of England’s mission and ministry across the country through supporting the distribution of one of the most significant grant making programmes in the Church’s history.
If the opportunity resonates with you and you feel you could bring your experience and heart to this work we would love to hear from you. Further information and the timetable are set out in this pack. Expressions of interest should be submitted by 11:59pm Sunday 12th October 2025.
Carl Hughes, Chairman of the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board