1.  Context

  1. About the parish

The parish of Great Horton is in the inner city of Bradford and is a place of considerable deprivation. It is ranked 11,534 out of 12,660 according to the CUF Index of Multiple Deprivation. However the parish is mixed, with half (where the church is situated) in the “most deprived” category and half of the parish being made up of semi-detached housing in a suburban style. About 35% of the population is Muslim, and there is a growing population of eastern Europeans.

  1. About St John’s Church

St John’s is an evangelical Anglican church with a membership of over 100 adults plus children. We have a vision for growth, not just in numbers, but also in our walk with the Lord and in our love and service for those around us in need. Although only about half the church members live in the parish, there is a high degree of good will in the church towards our community projects, and a good number of volunteers to support the work.

  1. The vision for the role

Serving the parish, and especially the poor, is part of our vocation as a parish church. We have a long history of engagement with our local community, especially through our large “St John’s Under Fives” project. This work has been running for about twenty eight years and has grown to the point where it incorporates a full-time nursery. The work involves over 30 people, eight of whom are paid staff. The church also offers a variety of other, smaller ways to serve the community, including a small food bank and hosting a lunch club. These other forms of work have recently been brought together under the new name of the “Red Letter Project”.

The role of Community Project Manager for St John’s is to lead these two projects forwards supported by and in partnership with the staff and volunteers. The projects are at very different stages in their life cycles, and the Community Project Manager will need to be able to manage their time so as to give due attention to both.

2.  General duties

  1. Promote the work of God’s Kingdom through the community work of St John’s
  2. Manage the teams which serve the community work of St John’s
  3. Represent St John’s Church at the Great Horton Partnership and network with other community groups as appropriate
  4. Research and apply for grant funding to support the work of the projects as necessary
  5. Attend meetings (e.g. Parochial Church Council) as appropriate to ensure good communication within the church structures and between the various users of the building
  6. It will be an advantage for the Community Project Manager to attend St John’s Church on Sunday mornings for worship, but this may be negotiable.

3.  Duties in relation to St John’s Under Fives.

  1. Oversee all aspects of the management of Under Fives.
  2. Ensure the Christian ethos of the project, providing pastoral support for both staff and families
  3. Recruit childcare staff and volunteers and act as Line Manager to the Under Fives leader
  4. Oversee all aspects of the Finances of Under Fives, including record keeping, budget preparation and fund raising.
  5. Develop new activities which encourage families to come to Under Fives
  6. Report quarterly to the Under Fives governors and to the PCC of the church.

4.  Duties in relation to the Red Letter Project

  1. Take responsibility for the day to day leadership of the Project
  2. Co-ordinate the volunteers involved in the project
  3. Research the needs of our parish community, with special reference to the poor and needy, and to building good relationships between people of different cultural backgrounds
  4. Build relationships with other organisations in Great Horton and wider so as to enable efficient working and partnership
  5. Help the RLP management team and PCC to discern the vision and direction of the RLP, and any specific projects we are called to establish
  6. Seek the resources (funding and staff) to establish and maintain such projects.
  7. Review and report progress regularly

5.  Implementing the future vision

The Community Project Manager will be responsible for implementing the existing vision in the short term, as well as helping to develop longer term vision. In this the CPM will need to work with the vicar and PCC as well as existing community project staff and volunteers.

This is a work in transition, but our vision is to fully integrate the Under Fives and Red Letter Project to create one new structure which is able to serve the community flexibly as appropriate. We expect this to involve the re-writing of constitutions, ensuring that processes and policies comply with requirements from official bodies such as Ofsted. It will also require the establishment and implementation of new financial policies and practices.

The vision for the Under Fives involves a significant expansion of our current provision. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to:

-  Increase in numbers catered for.

-  Provision of all year round child care (currently term time only)

-  Wrap around care available all day

-  Flexible drop-off and collection times