Children’s, Youth & Families’ Pastor

Role Overview:

St Dionis is a vibrant community in the heart of Fulham and children and young people are central to our identity as a church. We want every child and young person we encounter to know that they belong, are fully known and loved by God, and to grow in relationship with each other and Jesus.

We are seeking a Children’s, Youth and Families’ Pastor to lead this important ministry. This role is perfect for someone with strong organisational and practical skills who is passionate about discipling children and young people.

St. Dionis is working with Dauntless Consultancy to find the right candidate for this role. All initial communications about the post should go to DC via the contact details below.

Please note that St. Dionis is also looking to appoint an Interim worker to part of this vacancy who has availability to start in January 2025 working just core hours of Sundays and Thursday evenings. If you are interested in the interim role, please contact [email protected] for application information.

Contract:

• Permanent (subject to successful completion of probation).

Time Commitment:

• Flexible. We are willing to consider applications from candidates seeking part or full time hours.
• At a minimum, candidates must be available for twenty four hours per week which include full days on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.

Remuneration:

• £35,000 FTE Starting Salary (enhancements may be offered depending on skills and experience)
• Depending on the hours arrangement agreed, the successful applicant will be enrolled in the St Dionis pension scheme.
• Paid leave will be allocated on an accruals basis in line with the hours per week arrangement negotiated. St Dionis will require leave to be taken during school holidays where possible.

Core Responsibilities:

Note these will vary depending on the contract hours negotiated

• Promotion of a culture of discipleship amongst children and young people where they encounter the living God, feed on his Word and are empowered by his Spirit;
• Pastoral and administrative oversight of the children and young people (0-18s) who attend St Dionis;
• Working collaboratively with the pastoral team to deliver creative and engaging worship for everyone (all-age) services;
• Planning effective curricula and sessions which communicate the truths of the Gospel and a Christian lifestyle in a relevant way, alongside keeping registers, writing evaluation reports and contributing to risk assessments and other planning/strategic documents as required;
• Actively encouraging, developing and nurturing relationships with children and young people, parents/carers and leaders within the church family and the wider community which are supportive and accepting;
• Delivery of midweek youth group (Thursday evenings) and one to one/small group mentoring sessions for young people;
• Actively developing and building strong relationships with local schools and colleges, delivering assemblies and exploring the potential for lunchtime clubs and other ministries;
• Oversight and support of a team of passionate and committed volunteers, including creating rotas and recruiting new team members when required;
• Full, pre-prepared engagement in team meetings to ensure vision and best practice is shared and built upon across the ministry of the church;
• Staying informed on legislation, local and national issues and examples of best practice in the field;
• Coordination of and participation in occasional overnight/residential trips and activities both in UK and overseas;
• Collaborating with the Safeguarding Officer to ensure all activities comply with safeguarding policies, including coordinating DBS checks for volunteers;
• Working in a flexible and co-operative manner, undertaking all such reasonable tasks as may be requested by the leadership of St Dionis even where these fall outside usual areas of responsibility.

Personal Qualities Required for this Post:

We prioritise gifting and spiritual maturity for the role over educational qualifications whilst recognising a solid skill base is also required.

• There is a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) for the candidate to be an active, practicing Christian from a Trinitarian denomination. The Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003 Section 7.2 applies. We would like to speak to candidates who would describe themselves as followers of Jesus Christ and are able to demonstrate a commitment to live a life under His authority and direction and a willingness to learn from Him with a humble and open spirit, cultivating a life of prayer and discernment.
• Previous experience of children’s and/or youthwork in a paid or voluntary context with positive outcomes.
• Well organised and proactive, able to take initiative and organise day to day tasks whilst being willing to submit to guidance from colleagues and leaders.
• Good communication skills, i.e., able to present facts, concepts and ideas lucidly and engagingly in verbal, written and visual form to children, young people and adults.
• Working knowledge of ICT and ability to set up projectors, research topics online, create presentations, etc.; experience using Churchsuite and ProPresenter desirable.
• A self-motivated and enthusiastic person, i.e., able to “get on with the job” while working independently as well as when collaborating with others in a small dynamic team.
• Good educational background, i.e., A-levels or equivalent.
• Flexibility, i.e., able to fit in with a wide variety of people and changing situations and the maturity to recognise that working for a church is both physically and emotionally demanding.

Appointment Process:

• CV and covering letter which details what excites you to apply for the role and what hours arrangement you would like to apply for to be submitted to [email protected]
• Suitable applicants will then be sent a short application form to complete prior to formal shortlisting. Due to the time sensitive nature of the recruitment, we may offer promising candidates an interview before the post’s initial advertising window closes on 17th January 2025;
• References will be taken up before formal interview offers are made unless specifically requested otherwise by the candidate;
• The shortlisting process will be decided depending on the reported skills/experience of the candidates and references received;
• The interview will involve observation of candidates in a children’s/youthwork setting, a presentation and panel questions;
• The successful candidate will be invited to take up their post as early as possible, subject to satisfactory receipt of any outstanding references and Enhanced DBS certification.

Please note this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Applicants must be prepared to disclose any convictions they may have and any orders which have been made against them.

Ready to apply?

Send your CV and a Covering Letter to [email protected]

Any questions about the post?

Please contact [email protected]