Ben Smith Email & Phone Number

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Responsibility for a number of processes relating to the management of land held by the Church of England and the buildings built upon it. Matters concerning the fabric of consecrated churches and licenced places of public worship, including their use, maintenance, development and, occasionally, closure, are a major aspect of the role. Birmingham Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) Secretary• Act as the sole officer to the Birmingham DAC, coordinating DAC advice for all faculty applications requesting permission for works to church buildings in the Diocese of Birmingham.CofE Birmingham Environment Programme Manager• Responsible for developing and maintaining the initial programme strategy and plans for the CofEB Environmental Programme, producing governance documents clarifying the scope and objectives of the programme and each project within it. Current projects include working towards the target to achieve net zero carbon across the CofEB by 2030 and achieving a Silver Eco-Diocese Award.Birmingham Diocesan Trustees (BDT) Secretary• Act as Secretary to the BDT, which holds land and property on behalf of Parochial Church Councils (PCCs), who are not allowed by law to hold property in their own right. The BDT acts as custodian trustee and its consent is required for the sale, purchase or lease of any property.• The BDT is constituted by both clergy and laity with expertise in the law and procedures relating to charities and the CofE and ensures that a PCC is acting in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 for any property transaction.

Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

This position was created in partnership with Historic England to support the long-term sustainable future of historic Anglican church buildings. There are 180 church buildings in the Diocese of Birmingham and 58% of these are listed buildings.Grant Funding• Helped identify sources of grant funding for projects involving repairs or developments to church buildings. Provided close assistance in developing and writing large-scale grant applications to organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund.• Assisted parishes in gaining over £1 million in grant funding in 2016. My support and advice to parishes led to 22 churches in the Peterborough Diocese receiving grants of up to £100,000 from the ‘Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund’ in 2016. This was significantly the highest number of grants awarded for any English diocese, and more than double the national average. The success rate of applicants to this grant scheme in the diocese was 50%, compared with a national average of 27%.Strategic Work• Liaised with Historic England to identify all places of worship at risk throughout the diocese and then work to reduce the number of churches at risk. Created a church building fabric condition database covering all Anglican church buildings in the area.Change Management• Worked closely with the DAC to support parishes developing alteration projects to historic church buildings.• Supported many churches in writing detailed Statements of Significance and Need setting out the significance of the church building and justification for proposed alterations. Wrote a 20,000 word Conservation Management Plan for a grade I listed church developing a major reordering scheme.Improving capacity and knowledge• Worked to improve knowledge and capacity among church volunteers. Developed and delivered Church Buildings Maintenance workshops for church volunteers and produced website resources.

Northampton, United Kingdom

This positions was created in partnership with Historic England to support the long-term sustainable future of historic Anglican church buildings. There are 370 church buildings in the Diocese of Peterborough and over 90% of these are listed buildings. The duties of the role were the same as my role as Historic Places of Worship Support Officer in Birmingham.

Northampton, United Kingdom

Administered over 30 grant cases of up to £250,000 for historic buildings and areas in the East Midlands, processing the payments of repair grants for places of worship and historic buildings as well as building relationships with grantees and local authorities.Provided initial and detailed assessments of applications for the ‘Historic Buildings, Monuments and Designed Landscapes’ grant scheme. Co-ordinated English Heritage specialist advice for the Heritage Lottery Fund’s ‘Grants for Places of Worship’ scheme Logged statutory cases including applications for Planning permission and Listed Building Consent onto the organisation database, collating all significant information and providing an initial assessment of the case to be passed onto the relevant buildings or ancient monuments inspector.Acted as the first point of contact via telephone, providing advice and answering queries from members of the public about the statutory process and the grants provided by English Heritage.Proficient in the use of several bespoke databases, acted as office Superuser for the Heritage At Risk database.

Rugby

Processed the data entry of applications from social workers for registration and renewal on the social care register register, requiring excellent concentration and attention to detail. Also worked on the payments team, handing and filing payments upon receipt and subsequently entering the details onto the in-house computer system in a timely fashion.Worked successfully as part of a team, taking minutes from meetings and briefings whenever required. Also liaise with other teams, improving cross-team understanding.

Reggio Calabria Area, Italy

This programme works to strengthen ties between EU nations by funding graduates to work abroad and improve their language skills. It provided me with 2 weeks language schooling in the South of Italy, followed by 10 weeks full-time work with ‘Titan Tour’ travel agency. Gained experience of working and living within a foreign culture where I developed my communication skills and improved my grasp of the Italian language.The work involved translating a tour booklet from Italian into English for possible future clients from English speaking countries, as well as creating itineraries and cost estimates for future tours. Answered the reception telephone when required, speaking in Italian, which helped to improve my ability to adapt to new challenges.

Master Of Arts (Ma), Art History And Theory

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), Architecture (Design Studies), 2.1

Education record