Fabric Advisory Committee Member (FAC)

Across the Church of England, volunteers form a hugely valued and important resource serving in a range of roles, including helping to care for and protect the nation’s cathedrals – some of our most precious and significant buildings. We at Birmingham Cathedral would warmly welcome hearing from experienced professionals with an interest in cathedrals, and the time and specialist skills to serve on our voluntary Fabric Advisory Committee (FAC) that helps to shape the conservation and development of our cathedral building. Works on and around the Church of England's cathedrals are controlled by a statutory planning system, in which FACs play a leading role. Each cathedral has its own FAC: a committee of 6-10 expert members that provides the cathedral with advice on the care, conservation and development of the cathedral buildings, their setting and contents, and deals directly with some applications for works that, under the secular planning system, would require listed building consent. Birmingham Cathedral FAC is carefully constituted to contain expertise relevant to the cathedral’s conservation and development. The cathedral seeks to recruit a suitable candidate to join current cohort to fill a vacancy, for an initial five year term to April 2031. You can download more detailed information about the Care of Cathedrals Measure and the role of FACs at the Church of England website. Person Specification Serving on Birmingham Cathedral FAC offers a unique chance to form a special bond with one of England's great buildings and with the people who use and care for it day to day. These roles are voluntary but reasonable expenses will be paid. The commitment typically involves three meetings a year, plus time to read and respond to application documents and advice requests. We hope you will consider this opportunity even if you never previously imagined volunteering for the Church of England! We welcome applications from all walks of life and lived experience and are keen to hear from a diverse range of applicants. By diversity, we mean we want more skilled, experienced people who are also women; people of global majority heritage; LGBTQIA+; younger; with disabilities; and from all faith and social backgrounds. We believe that removing barriers to diversity and inclusion is a fundamental part of our becoming a “simpler, humbler, bolder” Anglican Church, and in our committees, we hope to achieve more robust decision making informed by diverse voices drawn from all the people and communities the cathedral serves. There is no requirement to be a Christian, but as cathedrals exist to proclaim the Christian faith, appointees must be able to work comfortably and in sympathy with the mission of the Dean and Chapter. How to apply Please refer to recruitment pack.