Job Description
Tockwith Church Children’s and Youth Leader
2.1 The Jobholder reports to:
A designated Tockwith Church Warden (currently Mrs Angela Jenkins).
2.2 The Jobholder works closely with:
The Vicar, Revd Roy Shaw – especially in support of the interaction with the local primary school.
Mrs Karen Stobert in relation to Youth Club/Messy Church and annual Holiday Club.
Mrs Angela Jenkins as the churchwarden with responsibility for young people.
The Diocesan infrastructure and youth workers.
3.1 To co-ordinate, facilitate and develop existing and new ways through which Tockwith Church engages with young people.
3.2 To support the Vicar in the development of closer ties with Tockwith Church of England School, and become a future point of contact for the school and the church.
3.3 To support and promote the existing work done by the Tockwith church lay team focussed on younger children, in particular Messy Church and Holiday Club.
3.4 To proactively seek out young people in the community and get to know them in places where they meet or congregate. This will include the weekly Youth Club held in Church.
3.5 To provide opportunities for children and young people to explore and develop the Christian faith, building their sense of community at local, national and international levels.
3.6 To be a good role model for the Tockwith young people to emulate.
3.7 It may be necessary to take the young people on a residential weekend. Additional hours will be allocated as required.
The role will be reviewed annually to demonstrate what has been achieved within the parameters outlined. This will include:
4.1 The impact the role has made with young people in the parish and the church’s outreach activities, as well as the extent to which the jobholder’s activities are being supported by the majority of the congregation.
4.2 The extent to which the local school wishes to cooperate with, and appreciate the work being done by the jobholder in the school.
4.3 The launch of ‘Open the Book’ into Tockwith School as an ongoing feature within school assembly and collective worship.
5. Nature and Scope
5.1 This is an entirely new role for the parish and is accordingly high profile.
5.2 The jobholder is expected to make full use of the mentoring and counselling services of the person to whom they report who will guide them through the sensitivities of the role.
5.3 The jobholder is likely to combine this function with other paid activities associated with outreach to youth in the community. It is accordingly important for the jobholder to prioritise their activity to ensure that they can attend Tockwith Church functions as frequently as possible as well as maintaining regular contact with the school.
5.4 The jobholder will, from time to time, attend Church Council meetings to represent and express the views and opinions of the youth of the area.
5.5 It is desirable that the jobholder possesses or develops the ability to be part of the leadership team involved with children’s activities.
5.6 There are currently:
A youth club for 10 – 14 yearolds meeting weekly during term time.
A new Messy Church service which meets on the first Sunday of each month which needs encouragement and additional children/families to attend.
An annual Holiday Club.
These form a base for the role; the jobholder will work with the lay team to improve outreach and attendance.
5.7 Overall the jobholder will need to be an effective communicator, an enthusiast with a charismatic style – as comfortable in the company of children as they are with the company of adults.
5.8 The role will evolve in the course of time. It will be a continuous round of experiment and feedback. There are no known precedents in the area for a similar role on which to model.
5.9 The post-holder will be a committed Christian, able to articulate their faith. One measure of this commitment will be enabling young people to be involved in the worshipping life of the church.
5.10 The key part of the role is essentially living the Christian message and encouraging young people to emulate it.
5.11 Clearly not all children will be keen to accept the Christian message but they will not be excluded from activities.
5.12 Some sensitivity and diplomacy are required when dealing with existing youth organisations.
6. Qualification requirements
6.1 An occupational requirement exists for the post-holder to be a practicing Christian in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.
6.2 A satisfactory DBS Check.
6.3 Ideally a qualification BA(Hons) in Youth & Community work or equivalent JNC professionally validated course and/or relevant experience. However, those with enthusiasm and passion for this sector of work will also be considered.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER
Nothing herein should detract from the jobholder’s duty to encourage and motivate those working with or for them, or see to it that the work environment is safe. Likewise the activities of recording, targeting, monitoring, and controlling within the job function are regarded as inherently implied. Confidentiality, discretion, dedication and application are similarly regarded.
Whilst every effort has been made to express this job description as fully as possible, it in no way limits the job entirely to the above duties. It is the jobholder’s responsibility to take a common sense approach to the general duties reasonably required of any employee.
Updated: 17th September 2014
