Parliamentary and Policy Researcher (Education)

The Church of England has a unique role in the education system, providing
around 20% of all schools (around 4700 schools). Its national work is overseen
by the National Society for Education (Church of England & Church in Wales),
working closely in partnership with Diocesan Boards of Education, school and
trust leaders, alongside strategic leaders in the FE and HE sectors. 

The NSE is chaired by the Bishop of Portsmouth, who has also sat in the House of
Lords since December 2025. He regularly speaks in debates and works across the
House with a wide range of peers, also working very closely with ministers,
particularly in the Department for Education. This role is to provide
parliamentary and policy support to him and a range of other Lords Spiritual who
will speak on education issues.

The role sits inside the NSE team, line managed by the Head of Education Policy,
and then working closely with the wider team of other Parliamentary and Policy
Researchers across the wider Church of England. It provides an excellent
opportunity for someone looking to support the Church’s work in education at the
most strategic level.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Monday 3rd August 2026. 

Interviews will be held virtually on Thursday 6th August 2026. 

Please note that you will not be able to view the role description after the
closing date. We suggest that you save a copy of this page before you submit
your application.

About the NCIs
The National Church Institutions comprises a wide variety of teams, professions
and functions that support the mission and ministries of the Church of England
in its vision to be a church, centred on Jesus Christ, for the whole nation – a
church that is simpler, humbler, bolder.

We Include. You Belong.
Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims for everyone in the National Church
Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong, and are valued for who they are
and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways
towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their
background.

Living out our values in all that we do, we:
* Strive for Excellence
* Show Compassion
* Respect others
* Collaborate
* Act with Integrity

We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and
drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all
backgrounds and walks of life. We welcome applications from people of all faiths
and of no faith. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of
people who share our values.  Even if you have never thought about working for
us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would
like to hear from you.

Use of AI in your application
We appreciate that you may want to use AI tools to help you with your
application. We’re happy for you to use AI to come up with ideas and help
structure your thoughts, but you shouldn’t use AI to fabricate information or
write your whole application for you. One of our values is integrity, and
although we want you to demonstrate your best self, we don’t want an
AI-generated persona. If you simply copy and paste AI-generated content into
your application, this will reduce your chances of success.