United Reformed Church House has completed an extensive review of staffing, designed to better serve the wider Church.
The process has resulted in a new structure and roles, which came into being in September. The new structure has three departments. The Administration and Resources Department, headed up by the Chief Operating Officer, Victoria James, includes teams for database and website, Compliance and Services, People and Benefits, and Finance. The department is overseen by the Resources Committee. The Ministries Department includes the Safeguarding Team and is overseen by the Ministries Committee. The department is led by the Revd Nicola Furley-Smith, who was welcomed as a Deputy General Secretary at July’s General Assembly.
The third department, Faith in Action, is led by Deputy General Secretary the Revd Jenny Mills. It includes Communications; Children, Youth, Intergenerational Discipleship, Evangelism and Ecumenism; Global and Intercultural Church and Public Issues; World Justice and Outreach.
The review was carried out to make financial cuts of 20% and to ensure that the staffing structure of the General Assembly is fit for the current and future needs of the Church.
Nine members of staff were made redundant, while seven others have taken new roles and five had changes in their hours of work.
The URC’s draft management accounts for 2024 indicate a deficit of £1.37m, and while Synods are working towards maintaining Ministry and Mission contributions at their current level, over the longer term this is unlikely to be sustainable. The restructuring of the staff team is intended to bring the Offices of General Assembly within a sustainable budget, while also streamlining operations, clarifying roles, increasing collaboration and offering more consistent support to local churches. The Senior Leadership Team had information-gathering conversations with each member of staff during March and April, with formal redundancy consultations in May and June. The new structure and roles were announced in July and introduced in August and September.
“This has been a hard time for everyone at Church House, but it is essential to live sustainably within the financial resources of the Church,” said Victoria, reflecting on the work achieved so far. “We are grateful for the grace, courage and patience staff have shown throughout this process.”