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Role Description – Archbishops’ Council Member

General Objective

The statutory object of the Archbishops’ Council, to which each of its 19 members contributes, is to co-ordinate, promote, aid and further the work and mission of the Church of England.

Current Vacancy

We are currently seeking an exceptional individual to join the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. We are looking for an experienced professional with a track record of strategic insight who understands how to contribute to the governance of the charity and particularly one with a large national but distributed nature. The successful candidate will also Chair the Council’s Racial Justice Board.

The appointee will automatically become a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and their relevant diocesan and deanery Synods. They will also have the opportunity to serve on various committees and lead individual areas of work.

The Council comprises the two Archbishops, the Prolocutors of the House of Clergy, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the House of Laity, two members elected from each of the House of Bishops, House of Clergy and House of Laity, the First Church Estates Commissioner and up to six members appointed by the Archbishops with the approval of the General Synod. The Archbishops’ Council is currently chaired by Alison Coulter and the current membership is available at Archbishops’ Council | The Church of England.

The Racial Justice Board

As Chair of the Racial Justice Board (RJB) the successful candidate will work alongside its Deputy Chairs, the Church of England’s lead bishops for racial justice the Rt Revd Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Bishop of Croydon, and the Rt Revd Arun Arora, Bishop of Kirkstall. The Board is a committee of the Archbishops’ Council and oversees the work of the Church of England’s Racial Justice Unit in encouraging and fostering racial justice, implementing the recommendations of the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice and sharing best practice in this area across the Church. The Board replaces the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC) and is part of a new governance framework set up after following the recommendations set out in the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice final report.

In addition to the Chair and Deputy Chairs, who are the lead bishops on racial justice, the RJB consists of a further 10 members.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Archbishops’ Council has seven objectives.

  1. A Younger Church: To double the number of children and young active disciples in the Church of England by 2030.
  2. A More Diverse Church: To fully represent the communities we serve in age and diversity.
  3. Revitalise Parishes: A parish system revitalised for mission so churches can reach and serve everyone in their community.
  4. New Christian Communities: Creating 10,000 new Christian communities across the four areas of home, work / education, social and digital.
  5. Missionary Disciples: All Anglicans envisioned, resourced, and released to live out the five marks of mission in the whole of life, bringing transformation to the Church and world. All local churches, supported by their dioceses, becoming communities and hubs for initial and ongoing formation.
  6. Sustainability: A Church that cherishes God’s creation and leads by example in promoting sustainability.
  7. Safety and Dignity: A Church that affirms the dignity of all people by being a safe place for all, especially children and vulnerable adults.

The Council and its staff achieve these objectives in a number of ways. Our work can either be indirect or direct and largely falls under seven types of activity:

  • Legislate, regulate and deregulate matters (directly or through General Synod).
  • Distribute money.
  • Provide national services to dioceses, parishes, cathedrals, schools etc.
  • Provide consultancy services.
  • Campaign and engage publicly.
  • Enable the Church to govern itself.
  • Engage people directly, especially through digital

The work of the Council over the past year is described in more detail in its most recent annual report, and is debated by the General Synod each year.

As charity trustees all members of the Council are expected to ensure that the Council:

  • Meets its statutory obligations as a registered charity with the Charity Commission, and meets its duties to General Synod.
  • Establishes its strategic direction and achieves its goals.
  • Defines the boundaries of senior management authority.
  • Delegates to senior management the implementation of planned budgets.
  • Monitors performance on a regular basis and holds senior management accountable for the outcomes.
  • Has effective governance, financial and internal controls, and risk management.

Specifically members are also expected to:

  • Acquaint themselves with the National Institutions Measure 1998 (as amended), the Council’s objectives and the responsibilities of its members (who are charity trustees).
  • Regularly attend, and contribute to, Council meetings (usually six a year, two of which are residential) and support others to contribute.
  • Be ready to speak for the Council in the General Synod and elsewhere and generally promote its policies.
  • Join in regular reviews of the Council’s activity.
  • Be willing to accept a lead responsibility in relation to specific areas of work of the Council, including through membership of subordinate bodies.

A key focus for the Council is its work supporting and developing safeguarding structures and practices in the Church of England, working closely with the National Safeguarding Team.

Candidates may be aware that draft legislation regarding changes to the governance of the National Church Institutions has recently been considered by the General Synod of the Church of England and the Ecclesiastical Committee in Parliament. This legislation included plans to replace the Archbishops’ Council and all or part of the other bodies, such as the Church Commissioners, with ‘Church of England National Services’. This legislation (‘Measure’) will now not progress in 2026 and it is not known whether it will be reintroduced to Synod in 2027.

Members of the trustee bodies affected, including the Archbishops’ Council, are now being invited to review potential non-legislative opportunities to progress governance work over the coming months while work in other areas progresses. The new member will be expected be part of these conversations as part of the trustee body.