The Church of England currently makes some provision for redress for survivors of Church abuse as part of the civil litigation process with such payments usually made by insurers, but in some circumstances the Church Commissioners. Alongside financial compensation, where requested, insurers, the Church Commissioners and, dioceses in some cases have provided other forms of compensatory response to victims and survivors of abuse such as funding for therapy and counselling and offers of apology. Redress schemes for victims and survivors of abuse in institutional settings usually contain three primary elements: financial compensation, apology and ongoing support. A redress scheme within the Church of England would be located within the Church’s broader pastoral and safeguarding responses to victims and survivors of abuse. Within this context, a redress scheme should aim to provide not just financial compensation but “a form of solace designed to provide some degree of comfort to the victim for his or her injury and to make some attempt to put right the wrong he or she has suffered”. The postholder will be responsible for formulating recommendations in connection with a national redress scheme and then for developing and implementing such a scheme. The postholder may also be asked to set up an interim scheme (identifying financial hardship) pending the development of a long-term scheme. This would be based on existing needs of victims and survivors and may include those who have previously received civil claims settlements. A successful redress scheme will enable individualised responses tailored to needs, not a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

As a key member of the National Safeguarding Team (NST) Senior Leadership team, the postholder will need to be capable of acting as a senior leader and supporting the National Director to promote active engagement in the Church’s safeguarding work. The postholder needs to be a sound team player and a skilled communicator. The post is also likely to require significant stakeholder engagement and management, and liaison and management of media. The postholder will also bring technical expertise in project delivery, financial modelling and management, and experience of the consistent and fair application of policy or guidance to an assessment of individual need, preferably in the statutory or third sector.