Together Creating Communities (TCC)

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Lead Citizen Organiser
(one year in first instance)

Job Specification

Background and purpose of the job

This is a new post which is created following a review of TCC’s successful 15 year work as a Broadbased Community Organisation,working with grassroots faith and community groups in North Wales.

The key role will be to lead, and further develop TCC as a broadbased organisation and to maximise its impact in the fields of voice, advocacy and engagement with service providers, policy makers and power-holders. S/he will help develop the capacity and skills of the members of socially and economically disadvantaged communities in such ways that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society.

Key tasks:

Developing TCC

• Having a strong commitment to TCC’s vision and developing it further.
• Recruiting faith-based and community groups as members of the TCC.
• Raising the funds to sustain the Organisation and for particular pieces of work and working to develop the dues base of TCC.
• Strengthening a Community Organising culture of learning through action and reflection.
• Initiating & leading community actions and bringing them to a successful conclusion
• Sustaining the TCC network.
• Leading and training others to lead productive meetings and showing commitment to evaluation at all stages.
• Developing TCC’s capacity to use modern media and IT to achieve its aims.

Networking and relationship building

• Identifyingand developingthe leadership potential of local people.
• Working closely with the network of organisations already existing to promote the needs of marginalised people.
• Initiating and building relationships with key public figures, service providers and power holders.
• Working with other stakeholders in voluntary, public and private spheres.
• Undertaking regular weekly one-to-ones meetings with leaders, stakeholders and power holder and developing such a culture with the members and leaders in TCC.

Training and capacity building

• Planning and delivering regular TCC training programmes, leading local workshops , residential training and seminars around the work of empowerment, broadbased community organising and citizen voice.
• Developing, with local people, issues which arise in their communities into focused and well-targeted pieces of public action which will develop their skills and ability to act.
• Designing, planning and delivering high quality public assemblies and other events with teams of local people.
• Taking responsibility for personal professional development and for enabling that of staff where appropriate.

Management responsibilities:

• Managing and providing clear leadership toall staff, employed and voluntary.
• Overseeing and ensuring compliance with all legal and administrative requirements.
• Overseeing IT systems.
• Ensuring that the Organisation has, and implements, all necessary policies on equal opportunities, bilingualism, sustainability, human rights, health and safety etc.

Contributing to the broader programme

• Attending local and regional staff training and development programmes as necessary.
• Occasionally working with other Citizen Organisations to support particular events.
• Seeking to recruit and mentor new and potential Citizen Organisers.
• Undertaking any other duties appropriate to the salary level as may be allocated from time to time.
• Identifying new partnerships and consolidating existing partnerships, eg Church Action on Poverty, to develop community organising further.

Policy and research

• Developing a detailed and critical awareness of the ways in which people in the area suffer injustice and marginalisation.
• Keeping abreast of economic developments, public policy, social trends, and local and national power relations.

Accountability/reporting arrangements

• You will be employed by Together Creating Communities and will be :
• Accountable to the Trustees.
• Responsible for managing all staff, employed and voluntary.
• Responsible for Strategy Group meetings and for reporting to it.

Terms and conditions

• 37 hours per week (some unsocial hours inevitable)
• Salary to be paid on the scale £28,000-30,000
• Starting at 20 days holiday per annum (plus statutory bank holidays)
• A pension contribution
• 6 month probationary period
• Need to have own car – travelling expenses paid
• One year contract in the first instance.

Person specification

Glossary of Terms:

1. Voice/Citizen Voice – enabling a group of individuals who come together in an organisation through faith, community involvement in action, to be heard by power holders in both public and private spheres.
2. One to one conversation : meeting with an individual to establish an understanding of potential mutual interests in order to work together on achieving a goal.
3. Action – a process of research, planning and delivery to solve an issue raised and approved as an action by the member groups.
4. Faith Groups/community groups – already existing groups who are meet regularly and who are the potential member groups of TCC
5. Citizen Organiser/ community organiser-

• builds an organisation which enables people to take action on their own behalf
• works with and develops new local leaders, facilitating coalitions and assisting in the development of campaigns.

Application Procedure

Submit the application form and a letter of no more than 2 sides of A4 telling us why you are the person TCC needs by email to:

or by post to:

Very Revd Christopher Potter
The Deanery
Upper Denbigh Road
St. Asaph
Denbighshire LL17 0RL

Applications will be accepted until midday on Friday 10th June 2011.

Successful applicants will be expected to attend TCC’s AGM on Wednesday 22nd June at 7.30pm in The Catrin Finch Centre, GlyndŵrUniversity, Wrexham and interviews will be held on Thursday 23rd June. Overnight accommodation will be arranged where necessary.

If you wish to have an informal conversation before applying, please ring Nia Higginbotham (trustee) on 01492 877026.

Charity no: 1086434 Company no: 4033853

Lead Citizen Organiser

Application Form

CONFIDENTIAL

Personal Details

Education and Training

Present or most recent post

Details of previous employment (list in reverse chronological order)

3. EDUCATION

Details of others interests and experience you wish to be to be taken into consideration:

Please give the names of two people who are able to comment on your suitability for this post.

Wherever possible one of these should be a present or recent employer.

Are you, to your knowledge, related to any trustee of TCC? YES/NO

If yes, please state the person(s) and relationship(s):

You will be required before appointment to disclose any conviction, caution or binding over, including ‘spent convictions’, under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exemptions) Order 1975. Disclosure will be required only if, following interview, it is considered that you are the most suitable applicant for the post. You will require appropriate clearances to work with children and vulnerable people.

STATEMENT

To the best of my knowledge and belief the information contained in this form is accurate.

Signature Date

Please feel free to add extra pages or lines to the form to ensure we have all the information we require.

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