HR Officer

The Church of England; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 13,000; Full time

Job summary

A national church organization in Greater London seeks an HR Officer on a fixed-term basis for 18 months. The role involves providing proactive HR support to staff and managers across the National Church Institutions. Candidates should have experience in HR, possess strong administrative and communication skills, and be proficient in Microsoft Office and ideally HR systems. The salary is £12,172 (FTE £30,430) annually, plus benefits including 25 days annual leave and pension contributions.

Benefits

25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years)

Access to Medicash health plan

Flexible working arrangements

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Previous experience in an HR department, with knowledge of the HR lifecycle.
• Enthusiastic and organized demeanor.
• Ability to manage competing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Respond to operational HR queries via the HR Helpdesk.
• Prepare letters and documentation, liaising with payroll for employment changes.
• Support virtual and in-person induction sessions.

Skills

Strong administrative skills

Excellent communication skills

Proficiency in Microsoft Office

Knowledge of HR lifecycle

Education

CIPD Level 3 qualification (or working towards)

Tools

Oracle HCM

Job description

Join Our HR Team and Make a Real Impact as an HR Officer, here at the National Church Institutions

About the Department / Role

The Human Resources department provides a strategic and operational HR service to the seven National Church Institutions (NCIs) and the 42 Diocesan Bishops’ offices. Our HR Operations team focusses on the entire employee lifecycle providing support, advice and guidance to senior leaders, line managers and staff. The Organisational Development team lead on culture, values, wellbeing, development, and our belonging & inclusion strategy. Through our External Service team, we also offer HR support on a consultancy basis to other Church of England organisations including our dioceses and cathedrals.

We are a friendly, diverse, well respected, and highly engaged HR team who are committed to actively sharing knowledge and learning across the team and beyond. We encourage flexible working within the team, with hybrid working meaning we work from the office 1 day per week on average. We also regularly meet together online and in-person for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and building relationships within the team.

What you'll be doing

This is an exciting opportunity to join our team as an HR Officer on a fixed-term basis for 18 months. Working as part of our HR Operations team, you will be involved in providing an outstanding proactive and professional HR service to staff and managers across the National Church Institutions, and other organisations within the Church of England.

In this role, you will be the day-to-day HR contact for NCI Staff, supporting the HR Operations Manager, HR Business Partners and Deputy People Director. You will be required to meet staff online and face-to-face and be a visible HR presence.

Main responsibilities include :

• Respond to operational HR queries via the HR Helpdesk.
• Prepare letters and documentation, liaising with payroll for employment changes.
• Monitor reports for timely DBS renewals and right-to-work checks.
• Maintain accurate employee records in line with data protection regulations.
• Support virtual and in-person induction sessions.
• Contribute to improving HR processes and implementing HR systems.

Key role requirements

• The postholder will be expected to work from our office one day per week (currently Wednesday)
• The office location can either be Church House in Westminster, London or The Brewhouse at Bishopthorpe Palace, York

About You

• Previous experience in an HR department, with knowledge of the HR lifecycle.
• Strong administrative skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and ideally HR systems (Oracle HCM).
• CIPD Level 3 qualification (or working towards) is desirable.

You’ll be enthusiastic, organised, and committed to delivering outstanding HR support.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information about the role and person specification.

The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME) / Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups. As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to recruiting disabled people. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the role.

Interviews will be held online week commencing 19 January 2026

What we offer

Your Salary

• A salary of £12,172 (FTE £30,430) per annum, plus age-related pension contributions between 8-15% of salary. We will also match any pension contributions you make up to an additional 3% of your salary.

Your Benefits

• 25 days annual leave (increasing to 30 days within 5 years) plus eight bank and three additional days (pro-rated if working part-time).
• We welcome all flexible working arrangement requests. This is looked at in a case-by-case scenario and if this fits within the department’s needs. We try to be as flexible as we can in your work pattern to support you with other commitments, and to give a good work-life balance.
• We offer many services and initiatives under our Family Friendly Programme, some of these include enhanced Maternity Leave initiative, Adoption Leave, Paternity Leave, & Shared Parental Leave. Structured induction programme and access to a range of development opportunities including apprenticeships.
• Automatic enrolment and access to Medicash (one of the UK’s leading health cash plan providers), providing you with many services including reimbursements of routine dental treatment, optical, specialist consultations, and therapy treatments. Unlimited access to virtual GP & Private prescription service and health & Stress related helplines.
• Access to Occupational Health, and an Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to the Department of Education Restaurant and Westminster Abbey with a plus-one guest.
• Opportunity to join the Civil Service Sports & Social Club, and get involved in a range of staff networks, groups and societies.

ABOUT NATIONAL CHURCH INSTITUTIONS

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.

Please note : You must have the right to work in the UK to be considered for the role.