Environmental Sustainability & Resilience Programme Manager

Church of England; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Church of England invites applications for a Project Manager and Technical Advisor in Environmental Sustainability and Resilience to lead the Net Zero Carbon programme in the Diocese of Liverpool. You will ensure rigour, transparency and alignment with national aims across Diocesan processes.

You will support churches, cathedral and diocesan assets with technical guidance and maintain a project pipeline from identification through to funding and delivery, while tracking impact and risks.

Qualifications

• Experience in leading complex projects within a public or church context.
• Ability to develop and maintain project governance and reporting.
• Knowledge of environmental sustainability frameworks and funding processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead Net Zero Carbon programme delivery with rigour and transparency.
• Provide technical guidance to churches, cathedral, diocesan offices, schools and properties.
• Develop and maintain a pipeline of environmental projects from identification through funding and delivery.
• Support governance bodies with reports, plans and financial tracking.
• Coordinate with Faiths4Change and other partners to engage stakeholders.

Skills

Project management

Environmental sustainability

Risk management

Job description

Purpose of role

To project manage the Net Zero Carbon programme, ensuring rigour and transparency within Diocesan processes, thereby contributing to the successful outcome. You will bring project management experience and resource to facilitate and serve the programme aims and deliverables.

To support the delivery of environmental sustainability and resilience objectives across the Diocese, including carbon reduction, helping churches and other stakeholders move from vision and assessment through to funded and delivered projects.

Context and Project Overview

Following the 2020 General Synod motion to commit to a plan toward being net zero by 2030 the Diocese of Liverpool began its net zero carbon journey by engaging in a programme that was designed to assist our churches, cathedral, diocesan offices, schools, properties and buildings to reduce their carbon footprint. Our programme was evaluated as positive and pioneering in 2025 and has now entered a new phase that requires a project manager and technical lead who can navigate the existing programme toward an integrated alignment with our national church funded Development Investment Programme.

Key Responsibilities

The Project Manager and Technical Advisor for Environmental Sustainability and Resilience will focus on five main areas of project development:

1. Offering technical support to churches, cathedral, diocesan offices, schools, properties and buildings to reduce their carbon footprint.
2. Developing and maintaining a pipeline of environmental sustainability and resilience projects, supporting churches and diocesan stakeholders from identification and assessment through to design, funding and implementation.
3. Offering environmental sustainability and resilience advice to the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches.The DAC is a statutory body that advises parishes, Archdeacons, and the diocesan Chancellor on proposed changes, repairs, or reordering of church buildings and churchyards.
4. Providing project technical oversight and management for national church funded Net Zero Carbon Project. This includes:
5. Supporting the delivery of programme outcomes relating to environmental sustainability, Eco Church, Energy Footprint Tool engagement, carbon reduction and wider organisational resilience.
6. Developing and maintaining planning documents for the project in the form of Gantt charts (MS Project), one-page plans etc. Proactively track key actions and outcomes, suggesting interventions where progress is not being made.
7. Developing and maintaining management accounts including forecasting / resource planning.
8. Monitoring programme performance against agreed milestones, budgets, risks and delivery targets, producing clear reports for programme governance and decision-making.
9. Defining measurement criteria / framework for lead and lag goals; ensuring a system is in place for data capture and that it is maintained (definition and process only, data collection by other team members)
10. Developing and maintaining a risk management framework for the project to help highlight areas for particular focus.
11. Supporting the preparation of reports, papers and recommendations for Programme Boards and other governance groups.
12. Ensuring that the team develop a coherent understanding of the stakeholders involved in the programme and execute a strategy to engage with them (managed by the Comms team and Project Officer).
13. Ensuring the project management documents are up to date / available to the Programme Lead for key meetings e.g. the Programme Board.
14. Working alongside our prophetic lead organisation – Faiths4Change – to inspire stakeholders to reduce their carbon footprint, to become environmentally sustainable and future proof their resilience planning. This hearts and minds culture change work is required at every level of the organisation and across all programmes.
15. Fundraising and fund management: whilst we are not looking for someone to directly fundraise, we do need the postholder to work on tenders and bids that will ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the project. This will involve contributing to the writing of bids, using data-analysis to measure impact and social value and working alongside colleagues in identifying, seeking and securing appropriate funding streams. There will also be an element of fund management as we disseminate small grants.

The post holder will undertake other relevant duties as may be requested from time to time and commensurate with the role.