Research assistant jobs

Starting Salary: £34,629 - £37,868 (pro rata) This is the full-time amount, and the salary will be prorated based on the hours of the post.

Contract: Permanent

Location: Working from home.

The successful candidate must be able to travel widely around the area covered

Hours: Part time 3 days per week (21 hours per week)

Job Profile

CAFOD’s work in the Catholic community of England and Wales is to inspire and resource Catholics to participate in the Church’s mission to overcome poverty and injustice in partnership with CAFOD.

The main purpose of this role is to inspire and increase the participation in CAFOD’s work of Catholic parishes, schools and the broader Catholic community within the Plymouth Diocese. CPCs are accountable for delivering CAFOD’s annual participation plans locally across England and Wales. As well as growing the number of parishes and schools participating to address global poverty and express solidarity with our global family, we aim to increase the breadth of their engagement, participation.

This will be accomplished partly by the recruitment and support of a team of committed, inspired and well-resourced volunteers working in parish and school communities to enable and equip Catholics to give, act and pray. The work will also involve meeting important church-based stakeholders, advisers and networks within the diocese to build fruitful and positive relationships.

The post reports to the Community Participation Manager for Wales & West Region (The dioceses of Lancaster, Liverpool, Salford, Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Cardiff-Menevia, Clifton, Birmingham, and Plymouth)

The Community Participation Coordinator (CPC) is part of a regional team working across a group of dioceses and whilst having a primary focus on one diocese, is responsible for the results of the regional team plans in relation parishioner and school participation and volunteer recruitment and retention.

The role will be home based, although the post holder will be mobile and flexible to meet volunteers, clergy and other stakeholders and contribute at events as required.

The role requires a willingness to be adaptable to support the work of the regional team, deploying skills, knowledge and at times activity in other parts of the regional team area. This is likely to require some additional travel (which would be reimbursed by CAFOD). The post also requires weekend and evening work for which time off in lieu (toil) can be claimed.

Key Responsibilities

Delivering participation plans

• Share accountability for delivery of annual participation plans for the region (a group of dioceses) with a primary focus on one diocese, and for fundraising, education, campaigns, and other targets, as delineated by the participation plan for the region. It is usually anticipated that the role will have an 80% focus on parish communities and a 20% focus on school communities
• Contribute to the development and delivery of a regional plan across a number of dioceses in support of the annual participation plans and appropriate for local contexts
• Achieve targets for increasing parishioner and children & young people participation primarily through recruitment and retention of volunteers and working with clergy, religious, diocesan and parish advisers and administrators etc.
• Monitor and share information around community participation and recruitment, activity, development and retention of volunteers
• Closely monitor parish participation activity

Managing volunteers

• Be the local volunteer manager in a specific diocese or dioceses
• Hold the relationship with, and coordinate the work of, a number of volunteers in order to achieve the annual participation plan in the region
• Contribute to increasing the number and activity of parish and school volunteers and volunteer co-ordinators in line with the regional team plan
• Contribute to the development of volunteering opportunities and volunteer leadership
• Match the offers, skills, experiences and expectations of volunteers with opportunities and needs in relation to CAFOD’s plans for parishioners and children & young people
• Ensure each volunteer is appropriately inducted, briefed, trained and resourced
• Increase and ensure volunteer retention through induction, support, affirmation and effective management of the volunteer throughout their involvement with CAFOD
• Organise and promote volunteer meetings and training opportunities to be delivered either by national programme teams or self or members of her/his regional team
• Ensure volunteer records are accurate and up to date on the database.

Managing relationships

• Build and maintain key relationships, including with priests, advisers, school staff and others within a diocese as determined in the regional plan. Be point of contact with the local Bishop.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with diocesan communications officers and press and be a point of contact for local broadcast and print media, to increase opportunities for Catholics to hear about CAFOD’s work, working with and through media volunteers where possible.

All staff are expected:

• To attend and contribute to regular Team, Group and CAFOD-wide meetings and briefings
• To participate in training and other activities as requested by the line manager
• To work as a supportive member of the team, providing cover for and training of other team members and volunteers as required
• To be accountable for the achievement of objectives set by the line manager

Safeguarding for Children and Vulnerable Adults

CAFOD recognises the personal dignity and rights of children and vulnerable adults, towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care and respect. CAFOD, and all its staff and volunteers, undertake to do all in our power to create a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse. CAFOD is committed to acting at all times in the best interests of children and vulnerable adults, seeing these interests as paramount. Any candidate offered a job with CAFOD will be expected to adhere to CAFOD’s Safeguarding policy and sign CAFOD’s Code of Behaviour as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents. This post involves responsibility for people who will have contact with children, young people and vulnerable adults and applicants will be subject to specific checks related to safeguarding issues. The post holder is required to present or obtain a Disclosure from the DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service).

Person Specification

Understanding our context

• A Understanding Catholic identity: detailed and sympathetic knowledge of the life, culture and structure of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and an ability to work effectively within it; especially an understanding of parish community life
• B Understanding CAFOD: understand, demonstrate and actively support CAFOD’s vision, mission and values and what we aim to achieve.
• C Understanding international development: have an understanding of the nature and causes of world poverty and how it affects different individuals, groups and communities

Working together

• D Managing ourselves:  Strong interpersonal skills including an ability to develop personal relationships quickly and to inspire and convince others.  Ability to be self-motivated and able to work in isolation at times.
• E Working with others: builds positive and fruitful partnerships particularly with volunteers; works effectively as part of a regional team to ensure sharing of good practice and shared workload; being willing and able to help other team members and be helped to achieve delivery of a regional team plan 
• F Communicating: can communicate strongly CAFOD’s vision for community participation and volunteer partnership; share knowledge and information across CAFOD
• G Looking outwards: Collaborates with partners, supporters and donors to achieve the best balance between their objectives and CAFOD’s Mission

Making change happen

• H Managing resources: confident with analysing and using data for planning, monitoring and reporting:  Proven planning, time-management and organisational skills
• I Achieving results: Ability and willingness to focus on achieving results, especially for the delivery of shared regional plans for community participation and income growth
• J Managing our performance: Ability and willingness to work to targets and achieve results
• K Taking the lead: Motivates others to get things done

Job-specific competencies

• A demonstrable commitment to volunteering and understanding of its potential as a force for change
• Experience of managing multiple stakeholders and relationships to successfully achieve objectives eg with clergy, stakeholders and a wide variety of volunteers.
• Experience of managing volunteers, including recruitment, retention, deployment and celebration.

Please click here for a full list of CAFOD’s Staff Benefits

Come and join us and help make a real difference in the lives of the world’s poorest communities.

CAFOD is an equal opportunities employer. Recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of, and consent to, these recruitment procedures.