CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS LEAD INSPIRING IPSWICH (Part-time 17.5 hours pw) Job Description BACKGROUND In Ipswich we have embarked on an exciting new project to transform the reach of the Church of England in the town and to achieve ambitious goals of more people exploring faith and becoming Christian disciples. Through this work we aim to deliver the Diocesan vision of ‘Growing in God’ through ‘flourishing congregations making a difference’ in Ipswich, the county town of Suffolk. The Inspiring Ipswich project is a once in a generation opportunity. With significant support from the Church Commissioners and the Diocese, the project injects substantial resources into one deanery. Through this, by God’s grace, we aim to grow 25 new worshipping communities, provide fresh energy for the existing churches, and make meaningful contact with 10% of the population, with 5% having had the opportunity to explore faith and 1% having become members of a worshipping community. It is an audacious project and we are looking for people who have a big vision to help us achieve these aims. Through the six years of the project we expect Ipswich deanery to become increasingly mission-focused, strategic and financially sustainable, and to live its values of being inspirational, missional, relational and pastoral. The project will be led by the newly appointed Archdeacon of Ipswich, The Ven. Rhiannon King, working closely with all the churches across the deanery and the project team. PURPOSE A priority for the project is communicating good news. It is through this communication that we will make contact and connect with our audience, namely people who struggle with faith or have no faith. The purpose of this role is to design and deliver attractive and engaging communications across Ipswich, and through these to share the good news with those who have not yet heard it. This role will also help us communicate internally, within and between churches across the town. Communicating with younger audiences is essential, and so an ability to create attractive visual content including video, will be key; as will building and managing our digital and social media presence. REPORTING TO The Archdeacon of Ipswich (in the first instance).
KEY CONNECTIONS •
Archdeacon of Ipswich
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Inspiring Ipswich Project Manager
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Diocesan Communications Manager
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Ipswich deanery church leaders, chaplains and communications champions (yet to be appointed)
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Pioneer Developers and Church planters.
KEY TASKS Design and production of creative content • • • • •
Create attractive online posters, flyers, e-newsletters and materials to promote the Inspiring Ipswich project. Produce short films / videos to inspire viewers (especially younger viewers), disseminate ideas and attract those not currently involved in the Church or interested in faith to explore and get involved. Write content for the website, e-newsletters, blogs, brochures and other materials. Through all content, capture and spread stories from across Ipswich, creating awareness and excitement for the life of church. Measure the impact of communication campaigns and activities to inform the evaluation and review of the project.
Build Inspiring Ipswich digital presence • • • • •
Develop, build and deliver a digital presence for Inspiring Ipswich that reaches our audiences, including website and social media profile. Design, set-up and maintain an Inspiring Ipswich website using existing Inspiring Ipswich branding. Develop social media content, focusing around story, location, human interest, impact, good design, quirkiness and comment. This material will not be designed for Christians but will be for people who struggle with faith or have no faith. Manage social media accounts, working to ensure the Inspiring Ipswich social media profile is of a high quality and reaching out to a younger audience. Use digital communications to help profile the work of all the churches across Ipswich and to advertise key events and courses.
Support churches within the deanery • • •
Where requested, work with other team members to support individual churches and chaplaincies in the deanery with their communications, in particular to improve their websites and social media profile. Help our 25 new worshipping communities (fresh expressions of church and church plants) as they emerge to set up their visual identity, website and social media, where invited. Promote use of digital media and communications as a ministry of evangelism and discipleship development.
As a member of the Inspiring Ipswich team • • •
Play a full part in the Inspiring Ipswich core team, sharing in leadership, prayer and seeking God’s guidance. Model the values of Inspiring Ipswich and ‘communicating good news and helping to make disciples.’ Represent Inspiring Ipswich at events where appropriate.
SUPPORT The post holder will become part of a new, dynamic, prayerful and supportive staff team of around ten people who will work collaboratively to support the existing and fledgling new churches in the town to deliver the goals of Inspiring Ipswich. The staff team will aim to model the values of audacity, tenacity, unity, humility and generosity, amongst others, in all it does. The project has six years of promised funding, is a major plank in the diocesan strategy and is a pilot project for the wider Church of England with the potential for many other deaneries and dioceses to learn from it. Comfortable offices in the heart of this up and coming town in Suffolk, just an hour from London will be the base for our work but a lot of the work will be ‘out and about’. See the accompanying ‘Explore Ipswich Visitor Guide’ for more information on Ipswich https://www.flipsnack.com/allaboutipswich/explore-ipswich-visitorguide.html We very much look forward to welcoming the successful candidate and helping them to respond to God’s call and to develop their gifts. Please see details of the Person Specification and General Information on the following pages.
PERSON SPECIFICATION Note: In accordance with the Equality Act 2010 it is a genuine occupational requirement that the post holder is a practicing Christian as the post holder will be required to represent the Christian faith in relation to the mission of the project. Qualifications/Knowledge and Experience ESSENTIAL
DESIRABLE
Qualifications/Knowledge and Experience •
Strong understanding and experience of digital marketing channels of website content, social media and email marketing.
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Copy-writing skills.
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Experience in graphic design and/or film-making, making use of professional software.
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Evidence of some theological study.
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Evidence of producing creative designs for key messages and creating short, compelling pieces of film (in possession of a portfolio of previous work).
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Experience of working in a consulting or support role to identify the support needs of others and work.
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Experience of engaging key stakeholders to create effective digital campaigns for external audiences.
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Experience of working in churches or the voluntary sector.
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Experience in copy-editing and producing publications for print and electronic marketing materials.
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Good knowledge of Christian faith and an understanding of the breadth of Christian traditions and how to work well with each.
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Experience of designing missional campaigns
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Understanding of analytics to measure impact of online campaigns.
Skills and Abilities /Aptitudes •
Creative flair and an exceptional ability to produce eye-catching design.
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Able to brief and manage external providers where necessary.
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Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written.
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Excellent interpersonal skills to develop good working relationships with a broad range of people of different ages and backgrounds.
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Excellent organisation skills and ability to manage and prioritise a variety of demands.
Work-Related Personal Qualities •
Person of prayer, committed to personal discipleship and growth.
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Comfortable working within a start-up project and new team, helping to establish processes, ways of working, and relationships with new team members.
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A passion for mission and church growth
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Creative and outward looking, with the ability to communicate strong, clear messages about Christian faith and values in a way that engages a secular, and sometimes sceptical, target audience.
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Personally approachable, enthusiastic, friendly and hospitable.
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Keen team player and collaborator.
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Sympathetic to the beliefs and aims of the Church of England.
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Ability to work flexibly to cover events on some evenings and weekends.
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Ability to meet tight deadlines and stay within budget.
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Active member of a church
FULL-TIME OPPORTUNITY For candidates wishing for a full-time post, it may be possible to combine this post with our sister project, Growing in God in the Countryside, who are also looking for a Communications colleague, though the brief is different in some respects. This would mean that this post would be located for half the week in Ipswich and for half the week at Otley College nearby, taking advantage of some shared resources. Their details can be found on the Diocesan website alongside this post.
GENERAL INFORMATION About Us The Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich has 445 parishes, 18 deaneries with 478 churches and around 115 stipendiary clergy. It serves approximately 631,000 people living in a geographical area of more than 1,400 square miles. The Deanery of Ipswich has 19 Parishes with 24 churches and 15 benefices. The population is approximately 150,000. The Diocesan Board of Finance serves and supports our parishes and schools offering the people of Suffolk the opportunity to encounter God and grow in Christian faith. We strive to do this in line with our Values of Respect, Transparency, Quality and Support.
Salary Pension provision Length of contract Hours of work Holidays Probation Period Notice period Place of work Other
The post is pro rata at Band D Point 1-2 of the St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocesan Board of Finance Salary Scales currently £12,230 £12,814 (FTE £24,462 – £25,629) dependent on experience If eligible, Membership of the Church of England Pension Builder 2014 Scheme following completion of probation period. Permanent contract with committed funding for 6 years 17.5 hours per week (0.5FTE) worked flexibly Monday to Friday. TOIL (time off in lieu) is applicable for evening and weekend working to be agreed with line manager. 25 days paid leave in addition to the usual public holidays plus Discretionary days (at Easter and Christmas) Pro rata for part-time Three months during which time progress is regularly reviewed and the period may be extended During probation 2 weeks and thereafter 1 month This is a new project and the permanent base is currently being negotiated but this will be in a central Ipswich location. Use of own personal transport and insurance for business use. Expenses for mileage will be met by the diocese
NOTES: The current main duties and responsibilities of this post are outlined in the job description. The list is not meant to be exhaustive. The need for flexibility, shared accountability and team working is required. The post-holder is expected to carry out other related duties that are within the employees’ skills and abilities, commensurate with the post’s banding and whenever reasonably instructed. For an informal conversation please contact: The Archdeacon of Ipswich, The Ven. Rhiannon King Telephone: 07595 880584 |
[email protected] Application packs available from: Diocese of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Website http://www.cofesuffolk.org/inspiring-ipswich Applications marked ‘Confidential Application’ to be sent to: HR Manager at
[email protected] or by post to Diocesan Office, St Nicholas Centre, 4 Cutler Street, Ipswich IP1 1UQ. Please note: Applications will only be accepted on our DBF application forms. Please do not apply directly from online jobsites or send CVs. Alongside their application forms applicants will be expected to send in a link to a range of short films/web pages and posters/flyers to demonstrate their abilities. Closing Date for Applications: Tuesday 28 May 2019, 5pm. Interview Date: Monday 10 June 2019.
