Children's, Youth and Families Pastor

Role Overview:

The churches of UBSMS in leafy rural Hertfordshire are united in name and the desire to welcome every person, young and older, into our wonderful community minded church families. Our hope is to help everyone discover who Jesus is, and then to grow in understanding and faith.

We have beautiful church buildings, a large and committed worshipping choir, various styles of worship, partnerships with two excellent Church of England Schools, and a clear Bible based ministry.

We are seeking a part time Children’s, Youth and Families’ Pastor to lead in our outreach and discipleship to this key demographic across the towns and villages our benefice serve. This role is perfect for someone with strong communication, organisational and practical skills who is passionate about discipling children and young people.

UBSMS is working with Dauntless Consultancy to find the right candidate for this role and Dauntless will be the employing body once the candidate is appointed. All initial communications about the post should go to DC via the contact details below.

Contract:

• Permanent (subject to successful completion of probation; likely initial contract offered will be for 12 months with option to extend depending on ministry needs/performance).

Time Commitment:

• Candidates must be available for 8 hours per week which includes Wednesday and Thursday afternoons/early evening and at least two Sunday mornings a month. There is a possibility for the role to grow in future where additional funding is secured and with the right candidate in post.
• During school holidays, hours will become flexible according to need (e.g., to support our Summer Holiday Bible Club, you may be ‘off’ for four weeks of the Summer to accrue enough hours to work throughout a full week when the club is on; to support our Christmas activities, you may be ‘off’ for the week after Christmas in order to be present at services the week before) but this will not affect your overall leave entitlement.

Remuneration:

• Starting Salary of £30,896 FTE (£16.05ph)
• Our starting salary is in line with JNC negotiated settlement for 2024/25; a JNC recognised qualification is however not required for the role
• Depending on the hours arrangement agreed, the successful applicant will be enrolled in the Dauntless Consultancy Ltd pension scheme.
• Paid leave will be allocated on an accruals basis in line with the hours per week arrangement negotiated. UBSMS will require leave to be taken during school holidays where possible.

Core Responsibilities:

Note these will vary depending on the contract negotiated

• Promotion of a culture of discipleship amongst children and young people where they encounter the living God, feed on his Word and are empowered by his Spirit;
• Pastoral and administrative oversight of the children and young people (0-18s) who attend UBSMS activities;
• Working collaboratively with the leadership team to deliver creative and engaging worship for everyone (all-age) services;

• Planning effective curricula and sessions which communicate the truths of the Gospel and a Christian lifestyle in a relevant way, alongside keeping registers, writing evaluation reports and contributing to risk assessments and other planning/strategic documents as required;
• Actively encouraging, developing and nurturing relationships with children and young people, parents/carers and leaders within the church family and the wider community which are supportive and accepting;
• Delivery of family café and youth group (Wednesday), after school group (Thursday) and church service based activities (Sunday) along with other ministries as time/skills allow (could include parent/carer and toddler group on Fridays, etc.);
• Actively developing and building strong relationships with local schools with potential to deliver assemblies and exploring the potential for lunchtime clubs and other ministries;
• Oversight and support of a team of passionate and committed volunteers, including creating rotas and recruiting new team members when required;
• Full, pre-prepared engagement in team meetings to ensure vision and best practice is shared and built upon across the ministry of the church;
• Staying informed on legislation, local and national issues and examples of best practice in the field;
• Coordination of and participation in occasional overnight/residential trips and activities both in UK and overseas;
• Collaborating with the Safeguarding Officer to ensure all activities comply with safeguarding policies, including coordinating DBS checks for volunteers;
• Working in a flexible and co-operative manner, undertaking all such reasonable tasks as may be requested by the leadership of UBSMS even where these fall outside usual areas of responsibility.

Personal Qualities Required for this Post:

We prioritise gifting and spiritual maturity for the role over educational qualifications whilst recognising a solid skill base is also required.

• There is a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) for the candidate to be an active, practicing Christian from a Trinitarian denomination. The Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003 Section 7.2 applies. We would like to speak to candidates who would describe themselves as followers of Jesus Christ and are able to demonstrate a commitment to live a life under His authority and direction and a willingness to learn from Him with a humble and open spirit, cultivating a life of prayer and discernment.
• Previous experience of children’s and/or youthwork in a paid or voluntary context with positive outcomes.
• Well organised and proactive, able to take initiative and organise day to day tasks whilst being willing to submit to guidance from colleagues and leaders.
• Good communication skills, i.e., able to present facts, concepts and ideas lucidly and engagingly in verbal, written and visual form to children, young people and adults.
• Working knowledge of ICT and ability to set up projectors, research topics online, create presentations, etc.
• A self-motivated and enthusiastic person, i.e., able to "get on with the job" while working independently as well as when collaborating with others in a small dynamic team.
• Good educational background, i.e., A-levels or equivalent.
• Flexibility, i.e., able to fit in with a wide variety of people and changing situations and the maturity to recognise that working for a church is both physically and emotionally demanding.
• It is essential due to the geography of the area that candidates hold a full UK Driving License and have access to their own vehicle.

Appointment Process:

• CV and covering letter which details what excites you to apply for the role and what hours arrangement you would like to apply for to be submitted to luke@dauntlessconsultancy.co.uk
• Suitable applicants will then be sent a short application form to complete prior to formal shortlisting. This must be returned by 25th April in order for application to be considered.
• References will be taken up before formal interview offers are made unless specifically requested otherwise by the candidate;
• The shortlisting process will be decided depending on the reported skills/experience of the candidates and references received;
• The interview will involve observation of candidates delivering activities in a children’s/youthwork setting, a presentation and panel questions and will take place on 7th May 2025;
• The successful candidate will be invited to take up their post as early as possible subject to satisfactory receipt of any outstanding references and Enhanced DBS certification. Our target start date is 2nd June 2025 but we can be flexible with this for the right candidate.

Please note this post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Applicants must be prepared to disclose any convictions they may have and any orders which have been made against them.

Please note that this role is not suitable for persons applying to work from outside the UK and requiring a Visa due to small number of hours per week available.

Ready to apply?

Send your CV and a Covering Letter to luke@dauntlessconsultancy.co.uk

Any questions about the post?

Please contact luke@dauntlessconsultancy.co.uk