Since January 2023, she has served at the Anglican Communion Office in London as "Bishop for Episcopal Ministry".

Previously, she was a lecturer in the Old Testament and biblical theology at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and then associate professor of Bible and Ministry at Duke Divinity School, Duke University, North Carolina;[2] From 2013 until 2016,[3] she had served as Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury;[4] she was then Bishop of Dorking, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Guildford, 2016–2023.

[6][9] She took a gap year before university, and spent some time at a Christian mission in Transkei, South Africa.

[8] From 1995 to 2001, she was part of the ministry team of Clare College, Cambridge: she served as chaplain from 1995 to 1998 and as dean from 1998 to 2001.

[5] From 2005 to 2012, she was an associate professor of Bible and Ministry at Duke Divinity School and director of its Anglican Episcopal House of Studies.

[8][10] On 24 March 2016, Wells was announced as the next Bishop of Dorking, a suffragan bishopric in the Diocese of Guildford.

According to Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, this new role was designed to "foster a collaborative, engaged, enriched fellowship among the bishops of the Anglican Communion, inspiring ever greater companionship, learning and interchange between provinces.