CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY

JOB DESCRIPTION

Post:Church Relations Officer

Responsible to:Church Relations Team Manager

Division:Fundraising for Mission

Grade:E

Hours:28 – 35 hours per week (4 or 5 days)

Introduction

Church Mission Society (CMS) is a community of people set free to follow God’s call in mission. Our vision is to see all God’s people engaged in God’s mission, bringing challenge, change, hope and freedom to the world. Our focus is to see both individual disciples and communities of disciples set free to play their part in the mission of God. Our common commitment is: to participate in mission, to learn from mission and to pray for mission.

CMS was founded in 1799 by William Wilberforce and others including John Newton. Since then, thanks to the generous and prayerful contributions of God’s people, we have helped support over 10,000 CMS people in mission in Africa, Asia, South America, Europe and the Middle East. CMS is also committed to equipping the Church in Britain for mission today.

As an acknowledged Community of the Church of England we are governed by four values; we seek to be people who are pioneering, evangelistic, relational, and faithful. In the office we seek to live these out by being innovative, gracious, collaborative and faithful.

To find out much more about the work of our community please visit:

JOB CONTEXT

Since CMS believes that all of God’s people are called to mission, it is specifically the task and responsibility of the Church Relations team to engage the UK church in the cause of mission and foster relationships that inspire and challenge: to increase awareness and understanding of mission and facilitate fruitful partnership.CMS offers a range of ways for churches to engage with global mission, includingopportunities to establish formal links with individual people in mission, to receive a CMS speaker, and prayer and fundraising resources.

PURPOSE OF JOB

The Church Relations Officer(CRO) will support the Church Relations Team (CRT) in maximising church engagement, with the aim of building long term relationships, and enabling effective fundraising.S/he will assist in resourcing people in mission for service;nurturing new and existing church relationships; promoting a speaking programme acrosschurches, and developing resources to facilitate the UK church’s understanding of and engagement with mission.

PRIMARY RELATIONSHIPS

The role is responsible to the Church Relations Team Manager and the CRO will work closelywith and support the Church Relations Advisers (CRAs), with whom s/he will shareallocated parts of a church caseload. S/he will also liaise regularly with the wider Fundraising teamand other colleagues within CMS whose functions have a direct bearing on his/her responsibilities, particularly within the Church and Community Mission, International Mission and Finance directorates.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Resourcing People in Mission

  • In conjunction with the Church Relations Team Manager and the Church Relations Advisers (CRAs), the post holder will undertake a range of administrative tasks associated with resourcing people in mission for service, within an assigned caseload, including:
  • Sending people in mission profiles for promotion to churches within agreed geographical parameters and in consultation with colleagues
  • Administeringchurch relationships (links) once achieved; including
  • resourcing appropriate church contacts with relevant materials
  • maintaining church records to accurately reflect relationship status
  • co-ordinating CRT processes around the annual rhythm of people in mission leave to facilitate administrative responsiveness and timely team communication with people in mission
  • co-ordinating information updates to churches ahead of people in mission church visits
  • updating the CMS website relating to people in mission church visits
  • responding to church resource requests
  • following up ‘missing gifts’ from churches as required
  • Participating in key meetings relating to the recruitment and resourcing of people in mission
  • Coordinating the process required for maintaining relationships with churches following people in mission changes or departure

Church Relationships

  • As part of the core brief of CRT, the CRO will support the CRT manager and CRAs in an ongoing programme of developing and maintaining existing church relationships for prayer, partnership and sustainable income. Tasks to include:
  • Maintaining church records on the CMS database to ensure information is as accurate as possible and reflecting recent activity
  • Responding to church information and resource requests
  • Liaising with CRT and Finance colleagues to ensure church gifts are allocated correctly and efficiently and sending acknowledgments as required
  • Welcoming new ministers and church advocates (correspondence and information)
  • Researching content for and distributing quarterly communications to Church Advocates
  • Assisting in the ongoing development of key church resources
  • As part of the overall CMS church engagement task, the post holder will support the CRT manager and CRAsin showcasing the range of CMS’s work to UK churches for new support, committed and ongoing relationship and effective fundraising. Tasks to include:
  • Contacting groups of churches by phone or email according to agreed CRT priorities in a given period to promote specific CMS offers
  • Following up church responses in a bespoke way, in liaison with CRAs, to establish church need and mission interest and nurture ongoing support
  • In conjunction with CRT team colleagues, the CRO will work to promote and develop the revitalised speaker and workshop programme within CMS, to increaseawareness of and engagement with mission in general and CMS in particular. Tasks to include:
  • Coordinating phone/website enquiries and bookings
  • Promoting the programme, by telephone or email, to assigned groups of churches from the CMS database
  • Liaising with speakers and churches respectively regarding the details of a workshop/speaking engagement, including servicing the speaker with appropriate CMS promotional materials
  • Co-ordinating the receipt and acknowledgement of associated gifts and updating database records as required
  • Co-ordinating, on an ad hoc basis, the practical and logistical details of people in mission visits

General

  • The post holder will participate in all the day to day activities associated with fostering efficient and effective relationships with churches and maintaining solid collaboration with Fundraising and CMS colleagues overall, including:
  • Maintaining, updating and sending church related resources as required
  • Responding to email correspondence and telephone calls in a timely and appropriate manner
  • Responding to ad hoc information requests in a timely and efficient manner
  • Responding to other tasks commensurate with the role, as required by the CRT manager

Person specification – Church Relations Officer

Essential / Desirable
Qualifications / Educated to A level, ideally degree level / Degree Level
Experience / Fundraising and/or marketing experience
Awareness of broad differences in church styles, traditions and etiquettes
At least three years’ experience of building and maintaining excellent ‘customer’ relationships
Administrative experience
Database experience / Understanding of ThankQCRM
Experience of working in a fundraising department
Skills/Ability / Excellent interpersonal skills
Good written and oral communication skills
Able to use own initiative
Able to organise own workload
Able to set and meet goals and deadlines
Able to administrate and complete tasks thoroughly
Strong IT skills / Ability to develop aspects of the database through working with others
Knowledge/
Understanding / Knowledge of churches across the UK / Knowledge of CMS
Knowledge of the worldwide church
Knowledge of other faiths
Disposition / Enthusiastic, confident, self-starter
Good team member
Comfortable telephone manner
Cheerful, friendly and persuasive
A goal motivated person
Other / Practising and committed Christian committed to the aims and values of CMS
Willing to attend evening or weekend meetings if required
Compliance with our safeguarding policy and subject to pre-employment checks; signed self-declaration and basic disclosure may be requested / Full clean driving licence

TERMS OF APPOINTMENT

Church Relations Officer

Conditions, including but not limited to the below:

  1. The appointment is subject to satisfactory references and a probationary period of six months.
  1. Salary: The post is within Grade E of the CMS salary scale, starting at £26,540 [full time or £21, 232(4 days)] per annum. Salaries are reviewed annually at the beginning of February.
  1. Expenses: Expenses incurred in connection with work in accordance with the regulations in force will be paid.
  1. Pension:There is a group personal pension scheme applicable to your employment and you are entitled to participate in this scheme subject to the rules of the scheme in force from time to time. You will be automatically enrolled into the scheme however; there is an opt-out option available. CMS contribution is 10% of the pensionable salary. Employee contribution in not compulsory, however, CMS will match your contribution up to an additional 5% of pensionable salary should you contribute up to 5%. The life assurance scheme provides a death in service benefit of four times the basic pay.

Those eligible for pension rights under the Clergy Pensions Measures administered by the Church of England Pensions Board may continue to qualify for those rights.

  1. Work Base: This is an Oxford-based post and this will be your centre for the purpose of claiming travelling expenses if appropriate.
  1. Holiday Entitlement: Annual leave is 28 days, of which up to 3.5 are to be taken betweenChristmas and New Year, plus statutory bank holidays.
  1. Notice: Two-month's written notice on either side is required for the termination of the appointment after the probationary period.