The Church of England has appointed Vanessa Morphet into the newly created position of Head of Social Impact Investment within the Mission and Public Affairs unit at Church House, Westminster, UK.
The new role has been created to establish the Church of England as a successful social impact investor, helping to shape the Church’s strategy and build relationships with key players.
FaithInvest Director of Membership Nana Francois welcomed the new appointment, saying: 'This is great news because it's an example of Impact Investment leadership within a faith leadership unit that mirrors the expertise in the investment-focused Church Commissioners and Responsible Investment units, and shows that the issue is not just being left to the professionals but is being actively embraced by the whole institution.
'We are also really pleased to see the clear mandate to partner with other organisations to further the mission for driving positive impact – a collaborative approach to scaling up positive investment, which is also FaithInvest's core mission.'
Vanessa’s appointment comes at a time when the Church of England is making £16 million available for a social investment portfolio, which will seek investments targeting deep positive impact primarily in the themes of financial inclusion, affordable and safe housing, and the environment.
This portfolio is intended to complement the work of the Archbishops’ Council, a charity set up to co-ordinate and further the work and mission of the Church of England.
Vanessa studied at Wadham College Oxford and went on to work in the financial services sector at Goldman Sachs, Arma Partners and Wellington Management. Vanessa then worked with venture philanthropy organisation, Impetus, before joining the UK Government within the Inclusive Economy Unit. She will take up the new role in early January 2021.