The position – executive secretary to the Deanery of Jersey – commands a salary of £31,308 in return for a 20-hour week.
It is a new role, which the Dean, the Very Rev Bob Key, said had arisen because of an increase in the Deanery’s administrative workload following a decision to move Jersey and Guernsey under the pastoral care of the Diocese of Canterbury. That move followed a breakdown in the relationship between Mr Key and the Right Rev Tim Dakin, the Bishop of Winchester, under whose care the Island previously came.
Mr Key said that the Island now took much more responsibility for its own administration and that an executive secretary was needed.
And when asked about the salary that accompanied the role, Mr Key said it was ‘substantially less’ than a Diocesan secretary would be paid in England.
Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, who was recently elected as the chair of the house of laity, the leading layperson for the Church of England in Jersey, said the salary was appropriate for the role and the marketplace.
‘It is a Deanery appointment and the Deanery’s income comes from the share paid by members of churches in the Island,’ he said.
‘None of the money is coming from the taxpayer.
‘We are looking for a very competent administrator with the ability to relate to people in all walks of life and ideally someone who has some financial acumen.’
Mr Key added: ‘What I am looking for is a dynamic, high-level self-starter manager. Since being with Canterbury we have had to do a lot of growing up in the sense we are now running lots more of our own affairs.
‘The workload for our local administration was done for us in England once upon a time. And if I am ever to get out of the Deanery and do what it is I am paid for, we need someone to do the administration and implementation tasks really.
‘The role involves making sure that policies – whether that be safeguarding or financial administration – are adhered to to the highest standard and with the greatest efficiency. It covers everything from the clergy being paid to the laity being trained.
‘And when the Bible speaks of gifts of the spirit it mentions gifts of administration.’
Mr Key said that if his job was to set policy and deal with the community, the executive secretary would be in the ‘engine room’ making sure things were and running smoothly.
The role will also involve looking after a Jersey Church of England website due to be developed. ‘Canterbury are very pleased about this appointment because it means that if they have an administrative question there is one person to whom they can relate,’ Mr Key said. ‘It will be a great channel of communication.’
