Faith-Based Jobs in South East

About the Role

The Kennet and Test Valley Methodist Circuit in North West Hampshire and West Berkshire offers a warm welcome to  visitors at any one of our six Churches where we worship in a variety of different styles. Our mission is to proclaim and reflect the love of God in all that we do.

We are looking for someone who has a passion and expertise for delivering care home ministry. The main focus of this role will be to work with us to continue developing a sustainable care home ministry. We have a desire to further extend our outreach into other care homes in the area from which it is anticipated there will be missional and development opportunities. There may also be further pastoral opportunities within the Newbury area.

This role is an important part of promoting our mission to Hungerford, Newbury & Thatcham and as such has a genuine occupational requirement that the post‑holder is a practising Christian (as outlined by 2010 Equality Act, Section 9).

About You

You should have a nationally recognised biblical, theological or practical mission qualification or equivalent experience evidenced for the role.

You should have the ability to demonstrate an awareness of pastoral issues affecting older people and the kinds of support that could be appropriate and an understanding of the Church’s work with mission amongst older people.

You should have proven experience of working in a pastoral context within a church or community groups in a paid or voluntary capacity in previous roles. This is an essential criteria.

You should have excellent people skills, good organisational ability and be adept at creative thinking.

Our Culture, Values and Benefits

Thank you for considering joining our inclusive and welcoming circuit that strives to proclaim and reflect the love of God in all that we do. We value and support all who join our team through a positive work‑life balance augmented by generous annual leave and TOIL. We offer an occupational pension scheme to which you will be auto‑enrolled and to which we will also contribute.

We are an inclusive and affirming group of churches. We welcome all people regardless of their sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, background or disability. We are registered for same-sex marriage and celebrate our diversity in Christ

It is important that you are able to demonstrate an ability to relate effectively to a wide spectrum of people from a diverse range of backgrounds and needs.

You must be supportive of the ethos and values of the Methodist Church and be able to act as a positive ambassador for the Circuit.

This role will require a satisfactory Enhanced DBS disclosure & the completion of the Advanced Safeguarding training course of the Methodist Church.

The nature of this role necessitates being available for end of life spiritual care and therefore may require occasional out of hours work.

N.B. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive sufficient applications. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Closing date: 30th April 2024

Interview Date: 21st May 2024

Job Title: Local Lay Pastor

Location of job: Hybrid role - Andover Methodist Church with opportunities for some home working

Job Type: Full-time (38 hours per week)

Contract Type: Permanent with initial funding for 3 years and subject to a 3‑month probationary period

Salary: £23,712 per annum

About the Role

Andover Methodist Church is a welcoming church in the centre of Andover. Our vision is to change Andover by being a community of love, of hope and of justice - Love like Jesus, Justice living like Jesus, Hope because of Jesus.

We are looking for someone who has a passion and expertise for establishing positive and productive relationships with families and a commitment to their participation in the life of the church. The main focus of this role will be to work with us to develop our pastoral care and work programme for children and families within the church. We have a desire to further extend our outreach into the local schools and community.

This role is an important part of promoting our vision to Andover and as such has a genuine occupational requirement that the post‑holder is a practising Christian (as outlined by 2010 Equality Act, Section 9).

This role will require a satisfactory Enhanced DBS disclosure & the completion of the Advanced Safeguarding training course of the Methodist Church.

The nature of this role necessitates flexible working hours, including evenings and weekends.

About You

You should have a nationally recognised qualification in Children’s, Youth or Community work or equivalent experience evidenced for the role.

You should have the ability to demonstrate an understanding of the Church’s work with families, especially knowledge of Safeguarding and child protection procedures.

You should have proven experience of working with children and families in a paid or voluntary capacity in previous roles. This is an essential criteria.

You should have excellent people skills (both adult and youth), good organisational ability and be adept at creative thinking.

You should have a professional and positive approach, with a commitment to professional development and self‑improvement. Undertaking Core Skills Family Ministries Training will be an early opportunity to demonstrate this.

It is important that you are able to demonstrate awareness of, and sensitivity to, issues of equality, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to working with families from a diverse range of backgrounds and needs.

Our Culture, Values and Benefits

Thank you for considering joining our inclusive and welcoming church that strives to be a community of love, of hope and of justice. We value and support all who join our team through a positive work‑life balance augmented by generous annual leave and TOIL. We offer an occupational pension scheme to which you will be auto‑enrolled and to which we will also contribute.

We are an inclusive and affirming church. We welcome all people regardless of their sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, background or disability. We are registered for same-sex marriage and celebrate our diversity in Christ.

N.B. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive sufficient applications. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Closing date: 30th April 2024

Interview Date: 23rd May 2024

The Diocese of Guildford has an exciting part-time opportunity for a Community Project Lead to manage our parish-based community project, Hear Here. As a member of the Mission Enabler Team, you will have the opportunity to work flexibly with enthusiastic colleagues across the wider Church House.

The Hear Here Project is a collaboration between the Diocese, Parishes, NHS Audiology Departments and Sight for Surrey to assist those who wear an NHS-issued hearing aid with any technical issues at clinics run by trained hearing champions. The clinics work to reduce social isolation through the maintenance of hearing devices, conversation, and friendship.

Key Responsibilities include:

· Manage a team of volunteers to ensure clinics run consistently, safely, and according to required standards.

· Delivery of training in partnership with NHS trusts and development of complementary missional training.

· Build and maintain excellent working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

· Administer and oversee project governance

· Raise the profile of Hear Here to increase the number of clinics

· Actively seek new funding streams for the project.

· Oversee collection and analysis of data to enable accurate and timely reporting

Please refer to the attached Job Description for the full details of the responsibilities of the Project Lead (Hear Here). 

The ideal candidate will:

· Have experience in leading, developing and managing volunteer teams.

· Have experience in leading and facilitating training.

· Strong planning, organisational and administrative skills.

· Have a familiarity with the Church of England, its organisation and governance structures.

· Experience of writing successful funding bids.

· Experience in working in the health or social care sector.

· Good understanding of safeguarding practices.

· A willingness to work flexibly, including occasionally at weekends, where required to facilitate training days.

The successful candidate will need to hold a UK driving licence and have their own vehicle as the position requires travel around the diocese from time to time.

Benefits of the role include:

· Competitive salary within the Charity Sector

· Hybrid working

· A 15% non-contributory pension/life assurance provision

· 25 days (pro rata) annual leave per year, plus bank holidays

· An employee assistance programme

· Learning and development opportunities

· Attractive open-plan office and surroundings at Church House Guildford with free parking

How to apply

Interested candidates are invited to send a detailed covering letter, along with your CV, outlining how you meet the essential and desirable criteria in the person specification as detailed in the job description. Applications without a cover letter cannot be considered.

We will shortlist and interview on a rolling basis as applications are received and we reserve the right to close the vacancy early.

The Diocese of Guildford take our responsibility for the safeguarding of children and adults seriously. Our recruitment processes reflect this commitment.

We believe that diversity is a strength. We actively welcome and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and identities, particularly those who identify as female, younger, of a UK Minority Ethnic/Global Majority Heritage, or disabled, as its essential that we reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.