DIOCESE OF GLOUCESTER

JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION

Job Title / Church Buildings and Pastoral Team Assistant – with particular responsibility for Pastoral work
Salary Grade / Band 5 (£24,670 - £26,838)
5 days a week 15 month contract
Section/Team / Church Buildings and Pastoral Team (CBPT)
Reporting to / To be confirmed
Reporting to job holder / None
Date of issue / March 2017
Overall Purpose of Post
To take responsibility for all pastoral work within the diocese, working closely with the Bishops, Archdeacons and other senior clergy to ensure pastoral legislation is interpreted and implemented intelligently to the benefit of the mission and ministry of the Church of England. In addition, this role involves close working with and support of the wider Church Buildings and Pastoral Team to enable parishes to obtain the best possible guidance and support in the stewardship of their church buildings.
Context in which Diocesan Jobs are carried out
We want all our people to have good working experiences – and we seek to continually improve our working systems and arrangements. We welcome and encourage new ideas and suggestions about what we can do better
Responsibilities and Accountabilities / Nature and Scope of Role
1 / To support the work of the Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Group (DMPG) and ensure its decisions are carried out in an efficient, legally compliant and mission focussed manner. / This includes:
Acting as secretary to the DMPG, attending 6 meetings per year and preparing relevant agendas, minutes and reports., as well as attending Bishops Council meetings, when requested, to present reports from the DMPG.
Liaising regularly with the Chairman of the DMPG and the Archdeacons on the development of potential pastoral schemes in order to gain a good comprehension of the implications, context and mission benefits of such initiatives.
Assisting the Archdeacons with informal consultations which can include attendance at PCC meetings, working group, deanery meetings, and associated research tasks in preparation for attendance at these events.
Drafting and leading the procedures associated withpastoral proposals on behalf of the DMPG. Ensuring such proposals are prepared and administered in accordance with all relevant legislation including;
  • correct circulation and processing,
  • managing the production of interested party lists and consultation letters,
  • the collation of responses,
  • issuing of stage two consultation papers.
  • preparation of documentation for the Church Commissioners,
Advising interested parties on procedures.
Liaising with the Registrar, Archdeacons and their Secretaries on the administration of suspension of presentation procedures, including formal notification and consultation with PCCs.
Supporting the Diocesan Ecumenical Officer in work relating to the approval of LEP constitutions, and maintain records of Ecumenical Partnerships as appropriate.
Advising parishes and clergy on the preparation of Church Representation Rules schemes, including District Church Councils, Joint PCCs, and Team Councils.
2 / To support the work of the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) / This includes servicing 9 DAC meetings per year, preparing agendas, minutes, reports and letters as appropriate.
Check and registerall new faculty applications.appraising content and liaising with PCCs accordingly.
Compile completed faculty files after DAC recommendation reached, in order to send to to Registrar/Chancellor.
Process List B applications.
Keep the Faculty Register up to date.
Maintain records associated with quinquennial inspection reports, filing and recording new reports received, issuing reminders and providing annual summaries to the Archdeacons on overdue inspection reports.
3 / To take responsibility for updating CBPT sections of the website. / Monitor and update as appropriate all team information, papers and documents, in addition to signposting enquirers to relevant sections of the website where appropriate.
4 / Support the CBPT in the adoption of the new online faculty portal/ Provide support to the Turnkey Church Maintenance Partnership during the pilot phase. / Assist with preparation of data for prior upload, preparation of publicity material, assisting with parish training and be instrumental in implementing the portal to day to day DAC work. Act as point of contact for parishes, liaising with surveyor, fundraiser, project officer, contractors as necessary.
5 / Support the general work of the CBPT / To provide such support to the work of the team as required, including assisting in the organisation of any training events, taking ownership of both the DAC and PASTORAL inboxes and managing incoming emails appropriately.

Generic Responsibilities

6 / To receive incoming telephone calls, and deal with enquiries wherever possible ensuring that enquires are dealt with promptly and ensuring high quality customer service at all times.
7 / To assist with occasional Reception duties when required.
8 / To ensure that all health and safety instructions are followed and that care is taken to ensure safety for self and colleagues, reporting concerns immediately
9 / To undertake as requested other duties as may reasonably be expected

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Attributes / Essential / Desirable
General / Taking an independent, intelligent and analytical approach to your own work, whilst simultaneously being able to work sensitively in collaboration with a wide range of people.
To have an understanding of the Church of England and its aims.
Have the ability to learn quickly and recall complex information accurately.
Qualifications and Training / Proficient IT skills including familiarity with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access and Outlook. / Educated to degree level or equivalent.
Experience / Experience of workingefficiently to deadlines and multi-tasking tomanage a constantly changing workload.
Experience of being a co-operative member of a team, as well as being confident to work alone. / Experience of Pastoral Re-organisation work.
Experience of analyzing and interpreting legislation.
Experience of working with Church or charitable institutions.
Experience of supporting a committee.
Familiarity with updating websites.
Knowledge, skills and abilities / Ability to think independently, and analytically, producing a high standard of finished work. / A basic knowledge and enthusiasm for architectural history, or church buildings.
Particular skills in analysing and summarising statistical data for presentation.
Personal Qualities / Excellent communication skills, with an eye for detail.
Able to work flexibly within the requirements of the role and attend meetings outside office hours when necessary.
Being friendly and efficient.