Discipleship Enabler

Overview

We want to see the capacity of disciples to act increased, leaders inspired to act on their faith in everyday life, and an ethos of active learning in every Christian community weaving faith into every aspect of our lives. There will also be a growing culture of storytelling to show what discipleship looks like very practically. All these elements will require systemic change in the diocese, as we move discipleship to the forefront of our planning, meetings, expectations, and aspirations.

This is a 12mnth Fixed Term Contract with the possibility to extend.

The role is 21hrs per week, to be worked over a minimum of 3 days.

This post is subject to an occupational requirement that the holder be a practising Christian under Part 1 of Schedule 9 to the Equality Act 2010.

Introduction

This is a new role created in the 2030 Vision team to work closely with the Bishop of London (Bishop Lead) and the Director of Ministry (Line Manager), to bring one of our four ‘2030 ambitions’ to life: growing ‘Confident Disciples’ across the London Diocese. This will be a journey of culture change as you lead the incorporation of growing as followers of Jesus throughout the diocese – the way we lead, our ways of working and relating, our communications, measurement of success and most importantly, our parish life, leadership, and communities. You will be passionate about personal discipleship and the practices that support it and be able to lead measurable culture change across different church traditions to inspire people on a journey from where they are today. As a natural and effective communicator, you will need to work with and resource other influencers in the 5 Episcopal Areas of London who have it as their ambition to grow a culture of confident disciples in their Area. You will work in support of our overall diocesan vision, ‘for every Londoner to encounter the love of God in Christ Jesus’.

Summary of outputs / outcomes for the Discipleship Programme over the next 5 years:

• Establish a culture change, leading to culture of everyday faith in churches, throughout the diocese.
• Offer quality online discipleship resources for everyday faith
• Enable leadership culture of everyday faith.
• Encourage & promote ongoing learning & development – inclusive measurement, comms, and events.
• Enhance and promote the involvement of laity – working with the People and Diversity Strategy.
• Grow in family discipleship – working with the Growing Younger team.

Main Responsibilities

The Programme Enabler is responsible for leading and managing the Discipleship programme from initial up through to successful delivery.

• Plan and design the programme confirming the outputs and outcomes to be delivered, alongside the appropriate lead and lag measures.
• Refine the programme’s governance framework, including the approach to effective planning, monitoring and delivery of the programme’s outcomes.
• With support from the 2030 Vision Programme Manager, implement the mechanisms by which discipleship lead and lag measures will be tracked.

Programme Management

• Day to day management of the programme, proactively monitoring overall progress and ensuring that individual projects and the overall programme deliver to the appropriate quality, time, and budget.
• Set up, run, and report to the Confident Disciples (CD) Steering committee for +Sarah – ensuring meetings are organised, and that agreed actions are enacted and implemented in the diocese
• Support and link the 5 Areas to best practice – particularly working with the Area Discipleship Champions / Directors of Ministry.
• Be the lead person linking with National Church Everyday Faith programme
• Manage and resolve any risks and issues that arise, initiating corrective action as appropriate.
• Effective co-ordination of all discipleship projects and their interdependencies, both within and external to the programme.
• Manage third party contributions to the programme (partners, other agencies, consultants etc).
• Report progress of the programme at regular intervals to the Programme Board and 2030 Vision team, including tracking the delivery of outputs and outcomes.

Resource Management

• Manage the programme budget, monitoring expenditure and costs against the outcomes to be realised as the programme progresses.

Change Management & Communications

• Lead the development and delivery of the discipleship communications strategy, being sure to engage with parishes as part of this.
• Feed comms, campaigns around discipleship – finding the stories, sharing the learnings, advertising, and linking Areas to courses
• Assess the influences, interests and attitudes of the key stakeholders and align the communication and engagement plan accordingly.
• Proactive day-to-day stakeholder engagement, building on positive feedback and identifying any barriers/resistance to change.
• With support from the 2030 Vision Programme Manager, track how well changes are being delivered and monitor the capacity of the organisation to cope with the level of change being introduced.

The Ideal Candidate

• A desire to serve the church in the Diocese of London and passionate about enabling and growing discipleship.
• Understanding of the organisational structure, breadth, and dynamics of the Church of England.
• Experience of enabling organisational change through programme management and embedding these changes firmly in an organisation.
• Strong leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to bring order to complex situations and find innovative ways of solving or pre-empting problems.
• Proven ability to lead large scale engagement programmes featuring a diverse range of stakeholders from different disciplines and with differing viewpoints.
• Good knowledge of techniques for planning, monitoring, and controlling programmes and projects, including risk and issue management.
• Change management skills and the ability to promote good practice, deal with conflict and address any barriers or resistance to change.
• Ability to think strategically and act pragmatically; able to produce plans and deliver results without losing sight of the strategic context.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to tailor words and pictures to different audiences and present credibly to senior leadership teams.
• Proven ability to network and lead large scale engagement programmes featuring a diverse range of stakeholders from different disciplines and with differing viewpoints.
• A person who shares our value and is a practising Christian.

Essentials

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Programme and project management certifications or substantial experience of managing programmes and projects in a complex environment.

About us

The LDF exists to support the mission of the Church of England in London. The principal activity of the London Diocesan Fund is to operationally and practically serve and support the parishes and people within the Diocese of London, enabling the vision that every Londoner will encounter the love of God in Jesus Christ.