Application Guide
How to Apply for Head of Flourishing Programmes
at Church Of England
🏢 About Church Of England
The Church of England is a historic institution with a unique mission to serve communities through education, blending spiritual values with modern educational practice. Working here offers the opportunity to shape national education programmes that integrate faith, character, and academic excellence, impacting thousands of schools across England. This role allows you to contribute to a vision where education nurtures human flourishing in its fullest sense—intellectually, spiritually, and socially.
About This Role
As Head of Flourishing Programmes, you will lead the strategic development and quality assurance of professional development programmes aligned with the Church of England Vision for Education. This role involves overseeing the entire participant journey—from recruitment to completion—while building key relationships with dioceses, Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), and national education providers. Your work will directly influence how schools across England integrate values-based education to support holistic student development.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve virtual meetings with diocesan education teams to discuss programme recruitment, reviewing quality assurance data from ongoing Flourishing Programmes, and collaborating with your team on strategic updates. You could spend time drafting communications for MAT leaders or refining onboarding materials to ensure participants feel supported throughout their journey—all while aligning daily tasks with the broader vision of nurturing human flourishing in schools.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Church Of England Is Looking For
- A senior leader with proven experience designing and delivering high-impact professional development in education, ideally within faith-based or values-driven contexts.
- Skilled in building and sustaining high-performing teams, with strong line management experience and the ability to lead quality assurance processes for programme excellence.
- An excellent communicator who can engage diverse stakeholders—from diocesan boards to MAT leaders—using written, verbal, and digital media to advocate for the Flourishing Programmes.
- Deeply understands the Church of England's educational vision and can align programmes with organisational priorities while ensuring readiness for external evaluation.
📝 Tips for Applying to Church Of England
Explicitly link your professional development design experience to the Church of England Vision for Education—cite specific frameworks or outcomes from their publications.
Highlight remote leadership experience, as this part-time role requires managing teams and stakeholders virtually across England.
Demonstrate your understanding of the education sector's structure by mentioning specific experience with dioceses, MATs, or national providers like the Church of England Education Office.
Provide concrete examples of quality assurance processes you've led, especially those preparing programmes for external evaluation or inspection.
Tailor your application to reflect the part-time, remote nature of the role—emphasise self-motivation, time management, and experience delivering impact in flexible work arrangements.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
['Your direct experience leading the design and delivery of professional development programmes in education, with metrics or outcomes that show impact.', "How you've built and sustained relationships with key education stakeholders (e.g., dioceses, MATs) and managed high-performing teams remotely.", "Your alignment with the Church of England Vision for Education—reference specific elements like 'life in all its fullness' or their focus on community, wisdom, and hope.", "Examples of quality assurance processes you've implemented to ensure programme excellence and readiness for external evaluation."]
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → The Church of England Vision for Education (2016) and its four core elements: wisdom, hope, community, and dignity—understand how these translate into educational practice.
- → Recent Church of England education initiatives, such as the Foundation for Educational Leadership or the Growing Faith Foundation, to see how programmes are currently delivered.
- → The structure of Church of England education—diocesan boards of education, VA schools, and MATs with church affiliations—to understand stakeholder landscapes.
- → Current challenges in English education (e.g., teacher retention, post-pandemic recovery) and how faith-based programmes might address them.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Submitting a generic application that doesn't reference the Church of England's specific educational vision or faith context.
- Overlooking the part-time, remote nature of the role—failing to demonstrate experience with flexible leadership or virtual stakeholder management.
- Focusing solely on secular education experience without showing how you'd integrate spiritual or values-based dimensions into programme design.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Church Of England!