The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will provide strategic and operational leadership across the Diocese, with a particular focus on the effective management of property, land, and other physical assets. The COO will ensure that Diocesan operations support the mission of the Church, are financially sustainable, and are compliant with legal and regulatory requirements. This role is pivotal in safeguarding and enhancing the Diocese's Mission and the supporting physical estate for current and future generations.
In addition to the statutory, legal, and governance responsibilities attached to the role, the Chief Operating Officer is responsible for all core business functions including finance, facilities (including IT), and HR.
About the Diocese of Northampton
The Catholic Diocese of Northampton covers the traditional counties of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, together with the town of Slough, a Unitary Authority within Berkshire.
The Diocese is involved in many areas of life: in parishes, schools, hospitals, prisons, religious communities; working with people with disabilities, and with the young and the old; promoting the value of family and marriage; caring for the poor, homeless, and those on the margins of society.
Stretching from the Thames in the south to the East Midlands in the north, it is one of the larger English dioceses. It comprises 69 principal parishes, 26 satellite churches, chapels of ease, and additional Mass centres in private schools and other institutions. The diocese is served by 48 active diocesan priests, assisted by 12 priests from other dioceses and 18 from religious orders.
The diocese oversees 29 primary/infant/junior schools, 6 secondary schools, a 4-19 VA through-school, and private institutions, educating approximately 20,700 pupils.
The Diocese is a registered charity (The Northampton Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust) and a registered company. The COO will serve as the Honorary Secretary to this corporation. It also has a trading subsidiary, RCDN Property Services Ltd, which manages school projects. The governance structure includes Trustees' Property, Investment, and Health and Safety Committees.
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