St Andrew s Church, Oakington Children and Families Outreach Worker How to apply Complete the application form, criminal record declaration form and optional equality monitoring form available from the church s website http://www.standrewsoakington.co.uk/vacancies/ CVs will not be accepted. The forms should be emailed to recruitment@standrewsoakington.co.uk by the closing date given on the website. To find out more about this post contact Celine Pinter by phone on 07541 997 299 or by email to recruitment@standrewsoakington.co.uk Potential applicants are also welcome to attend one or more of our church services, events or groups to help them decide if the post is suitable for them please contact Celine for details. Such visits are optional and will not form part of the formal selection process. Shortlisted candidates will attend an initial interview. The selection process for those candidates progressing to the next stage will also include a practical activity which will involve designing and delivering sessions for children at Oakington Primary School and at the church. There will also be opportunities to meet our children s work volunteers and the Head of Oakington School. Please note that the applicant offered the post will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service with lists check prior to appointment and regularly thereafter. Overview of job role The St Andrew s Church has at its heart a desire to see people of all ages coming to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Developing our work with children and families is a key part of this and as such we are seeking to appoint a Children and Families Outreach Worker (CFOW) to begin work as soon as possible in this brand new post to help support this important area of ministry. We belong to a church that is for all ages. Our desire is to tell all the children and young families in our parish and the surrounding area about Jesus Christ, that they may be encouraged to join our church family or other churches
in the area. We re unapologetic about wishing to see children, young people and their parents/carers give their life to following Jesus. We believe that a CFOW will be the catalyst for this, not simply to make young Christians, but to make lifelong disciples. Where? The parish of Oakington and Westwick is situated three miles North of Cambridge in the East Anglian Region and comprises the villages of Oakington and the much smaller Westwick with a combined population of around 1,600. Although we may be described as being rural we are certainly not isolated. There are good transport links and the beautiful City of Cambridge is only a 10 minute drive away or is easily accessible on the Guided Bus-way which passes through our village. Our Church family and its activities St Andrew s is part of the Church of England Diocese of Ely. We are an evangelical church of about 100 in the congregation drawn mostly from Oakington and its surrounding villages. The church is led by the Reverend James Alexander and a committed and an active team of volunteers. Reverend Dr Bill Isaacs-Sodeye supports James in pastoral work and teaching. There is also the Parochial Church Council which is responsible for the the church s financial and business affairs and plant. St Andrew s presents a range of styles of services and other meetings, from traditional to informal. At their heart is an emphasis on salvation by grace, expository preaching from the Bible, prayer, anointed praise & worship and the leading of the Holy Spirit in all that we do. Our mission is Jesus-centeredness. On Sundays there are usually two services (early morning and evening) run on traditional lines, plus during most weeks during school terms, an All-age service (10.15 am), with a freer (and at times, charismatic) style of praise and worship. For part of the All-age service, the children s groups King s Club (for 3-11 year olds) and The Corner Lot (for teens) have their own sessions in the church hall. Once a month the All-age Service is held at Oakington Church of England School and is led by the All-age Service team. The school, via the support of the Head Teacher, takes an active involvement in the activities of the Church and the school children and Head lead parts of the monthly service. The aim is to give opportunity for the children and their families to meet with Jesus in a setting where they may feel more comfortable than in a church building. The Corner Lot (for teens) also has its own regular social and fund-raising activities. Little Steps takes place every Thursday morning in the church hall for pre-school children accompanied by a parent or carer. Around 20 children from the village attend. The session begins with free play and ends with a short bible story and song or activity linked to a biblical theme. The church runs many activities and groups, including home groups (bi-monthly), prayer groups, bell-ringing, men s breakfasts, and produces a magazine (monthly) which is
distributed to every house in the village. We regularly run the evangelistic courses ALPHA and Christianity Explored, which have seen a small number of people come to faith in Jesus over recent years. On a daily basis (Monday-Friday) there is opportunity for anyone to receive counsel and prayer in the church hall, led by Rev. Dr Bill Issacs. Additionally the church hall is used for community activities on a regular basis. We aim to be a caring and welcoming church family, ranging in age from 0 to 90+. We would like to see St Andrew s and the wider church family grow not just in the numbers of children and young families, but in spiritual maturity. The CFOW position is a new post and is very much a pioneering role, hence the need for the post-holder to be a motivated self-starter who is willing and able to be led by the Holy Spirit. We re very excited about the potential for this new venture. Oakington Church of England Primary School The school, led by Head Teacher, Mrs Sally Daggianti, takes children aged from 4 to 11. With around 120 pupils, it has a strong Christian ethos and close links to St Andrew s Church and other Christian organisations. Support and training for the CFOW The CFOW will be accountable to Rev. James Alexander. The CFOW will report to the Families Work Steering Group (a small group of St Andrew s church members), who will meet with the CFOW regularly to give supervision, set objectives, and provide encouragement, guidance and support. Prayer and spiritual support will be provided by designated members of our church family. Advice for and management of any safeguarding of children issues that may arise will be provided by St Andrew s volunteer safeguarding officer (escalated to specialist personnel in Ely Diocese as appropriate) or the Head of Oakington School. The CFOW will be linked to a mentor with expertise in children and family ministry/pastoral work. Training will be provided where possible, depending on the needs of the post-holder. Terms and conditions The post will be from 22.5 to 37.5 hours per week, depending on the preferences of the post-holder. It will be for a fixed-term period of 3 years, subject to a probationary period of 6 months. There is the potential for employment for further years, following review. The salary is 23,400 per annum for the full-time, 37.5 hours per week post with an hourly rate of 12.00. This equates to 14,040 per annum for a 22.5 hours per week post.
The holiday entitlement is 5 weeks per year (equates to 25 days per year for a full-time post) plus any bank/public holidays. The working pattern will be flexible. Overtime will not normally be paid, but additional hours would be compensated for by taking time in lieu. It is expected that the post-holder would lead/attend clubs and events in the church or school that could be held on any day of the week (Monday to Sunday), any time between the hours of 8 am and 8.30 pm. The church clubs that are currently in place are Little Steps on Thursday mornings and children s clubs during the Sunday morning service. At present there are no regular weekly church-led groups taking place at the school. It is envisaged that new clubs and activities will be developed by the post-holder to take place on days and at times which would best suit the target audience. In addition, the post-holder will be encouraged to take an active part in village life (eg involvement in the village fete etc.) in order to build relationships. Attendance on at least 3 Sunday All-age services per month at St Andrew s Church is preferred. Should the post-holder be carrying out activities related to the role during a service, these will be treated as part of working hours. The post-holder will be based most of the time at Oakington and partly in their own home (if they wish). There is a small room in the church hall that can be used as a mobile office, and for meetings and pastoral work. The CFOW will also spend time at Oakington Primary School on a variety of activities, for example pastoral work, assemblies, and running lunch time and after-school clubs, and possibly school holiday clubs. The necessary IT equipment to set up a mobile office will be provided and an allowance given for home internet usage. A mobile phone will be provided and work calls funded. A travel allowance will be paid for work beyond the post-holder s normal travel to work radius. As per statutory requirements, from November 2017 the post-holder will be enrolled on our auto-enrolment pension scheme, but would be free to opt-out.
More information about St Andrew s and the villages of Oakington & Westwick Church website www.standrewsoakington.co.uk. Healing Love of Christ Ministry - Rev. Dr. Bill Isaacs-Sodeye http://www.healingloveofchrist.org/aboutbillbridget.htm Oakington Primary School http://www.oakingtonschool.org.uk Oakington & Westwick Parish Council http://www.oakingtonandwestwick-pc.org.uk Oakington & Westwick Neighbours https://oakingtonandwestwick.com/villagecalendar/