Cathedral Clerk of Works

Clerk of Works

Worcester Cathedral is a magnificent sight as it rises majestically above the River Severn.
Worcester has been the seat of a bishopric since the Seventh Century, and the Cathedral was served by monks until the Reformation. St Oswald and St Wulfstan were among the bishops. Since the Eighteenth Century, the Cathedral has been famous for its part in the annual Three Choirs Festival, the oldest choral festival in existence.

Today the Cathedral is the centre of a vibrant community of clergy and laypeople, offering their praises of God each day, serving the city and diocese of Worcester and attracting visitors from all over the world.

The Cathedral community is diverse with over 70 staff and 200 volunteers. We are rightly proud of the tremendous heritage, and number of partners we work with across the
Cathedral, to provide a warm welcome to our visitors to learn more about the history of the building, attend our many events and activities and to experience the spiritual opportunities of the Cathedral.

The Cathedral’s building and grounds are extensive and complex, occupying an iconic location in the heart of Worcester. The so-called ‘green line’ that defines the precinct of the
Cathedral includes a number of distinctive landscapes, made up of College Yard and the Old Palace to the north and east, College Green to the south, and the riverside gardens and old monastic ruins to the west.

Together these different aspects of the Cathedral’s estate create a very attractive and diverse landscape, providing a setting for the Cathedral, a park-like place with promenade walkways and views, a greenspace at the heart of the city, a home for those that live on the estate and a busy working environment for Cathedral Staff and parts of The Kings School.

The entire precinct is also a scheduled monument and almost all the buildings within it are listed, including several that are Grade I or II*, adding further complexity to the task of managing the estate.

The plan below shows the ‘red line’ that forms the outline of the Cathedral under the Care of Cathedrals Measure 2011 and the ‘green line’ that defines the extent of the Cathedral precinct. The plan also shows ownership and current responsibilities.

The governance of the Cathedral is the responsibility of the Chapter, which comprises residentiary canons and lay canons with professional expertise and is chaired by the Dean.
The Chapter is responsible for the strategy, oversight and financial sustainability and meets monthly.

A Senior Management Team (SMT) takes responsibility for the operational management of the Cathedral, including clergy who have executive management roles and senior lay staff.
The staff team are led by the Chief Operating Officer (COO) who work collaboratively to ensure the smooth running of the Cathedral, its precinct and wider estate.

The property and fabric-related issues are complex and involve a wide range of staff. They are brought every 2-3 months through the Estates Management meeting, that is chaired by the Dean and enables key internal managers, the Cathedral Architect, the Precinct Architect and the Cathedral Archaeologist to monitor progress on the various priorities and work that needs to be progressed. The Clerk of Works will play a vital role in that meeting and the task of coordinating work across teams that supports it.

This role will be a key part of the Cathedral staff team and the Clerk of Works will be part of the Cathedral’s Senior Management Team. This role will work closely with the Cathedral’s
Works Team (stonemasons) and Service Team and will line manage the Works Manager /
Mastermason and Service Manager. The Clerk of Works will be line-managed by the Chief
Operating Officer and work collaboratively across a number of teams.

**Clerk of Works**
Full-time (37.5 hours per week), £40,000 per annum

With the Cathedral’s building and grounds being historically significant, nationally important and complex, this role is key to ensuring that the Cathedral’s estate is well-maintained and safe for visitors, residents and those who work and volunteer at the Cathedral. The focus of this role can therefore be split into three main areas of focus.

The first of these is the management of the programme of cyclical and reactive maintenance across the cathedral estate. We have a great team of staff, working across a number of disciplines, that this role will interact with, including our Stonemasons, the Service Team and Vergers, as well as external consultants, The King’s School and our external property managers, Fisher German. The postholder will need to build excellent, collaborative relationships.

The second is to ensure that the highest levels of health and safety practice are adhered to across the estate. The importance of this aspect of the role has also been highlighted by the increasing regulation required by external bodies, including on matters such as health and safety at work, prop