St Luke’s is part of the Diocese of Blackburn which represents the Church of England in most of Lancashire and part of Wigan Metropolitan Borough. The diocese covers an area of 878 square miles with a population of 1.3 million. Across the wider diocese there are 281 Churches, with around 250 vicars and 230 licensed lay ministers.

The team at St Luke’s is focused on working with Jason Gardner (Vicar) and Rachel Gardner (Youth Resourcing Lead) to bring about a new chapter for St Luke’s and the local community.

Job purpose: To oversee and ensure the smooth running of all operational aspects of St Luke’s Resourcing Church. This will include administration, finance reporting and budgeting, management of volunteers, governance activities and line management of administrative staff.

General requirements:

• Support the Leadership Team with all aspects of Church operations and administration
• Oversee the governance of all activities being undertaken at St Luke’s including health and safety, fire safety, insurance, safeguarding, building faculties etc
• Manage the church calendar and church hall bookings including tracking the number of people attending events
• Track St Luke’s progress against the outcomes required by the Diocese of Blackburn and the Strategic Development Fund
• Organise paperwork and reports as required for meetings both within the parish and as part of the Diocese of Blackburn governance arrangements

Finance and budgeting:

• Day to day management of St Luke’s finances including budgets, forecasts, payment of bills, tracking of bank accounts and reporting. Ensuring that expenditure is coded correctly in the spending software, Soldo, and is reconciled on the Xero accountancy software.
• Keep the Leadership Team and Parish Treasurer updated on all finance matters such that they can report as appropriate to the Parochial Church Council
• Work with the Treasurer to prepare the annual accounts for independent examination prior to the Parish Annual General Meeting
• Work with all members of the team to ensure they are keeping the financial systems and processes up to date i.e. tracking of receipts for purchases and monitoring individual budget lines
• Work with the payroll administrator to ensure the team payroll is managed and staff are paid in line with their contracts

People including volunteers:

• Work with the Leadership Team to ensure that all members of the team (both employed and volunteers) have the necessary equipment to complete their roles
• Ensure that all members of the team are adhering to the church policies and procedures as required by their roles including completion of DBS checks and tracking training needs
• Line management of administrative staff including carrying out performance reviews, one to ones and training
• Ensure that all the employee policies and procedures are in place and communicated to all staff.
• To manage the training and development of all St Luke’s employees

Administration and reporting

• Working with both the team at St Luke’s and the Diocese of Blackburn to ensure that reporting is completed in line with the requirements set by the internal Diocese governance and the Church Commissioners
• Manage the administration of all activities being undertaken at St Luke’s including the associated finances, catering needs, hall bookings, facilities and safeguarding requirements
• Monitor the church emails and respond as necessary. Maintain the church website and ‘A Church Near You’ to ensure the information is up to date and accurate. Work with others in the St Luke’s team to keep social media channels current and relevant.
• Manage church correspondence including preparation of newsletters, communications etc. and maintain the church membership database ensuring it is GDPR compliant

Project Management

• To project manage the buildings and premises of St Luke`s
• To update the relevant people on any projects which are being undertaken.
• To ensure the project timescales and deadlines are achieved and to report relevant up dates.
• Manage contracts and relationships with suppliers.

Training and qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent work experience
• Experience of managing finances and HR processes

Skills and competencies

• Excellent leadership and organisation skills able to meet deadlines and manage own workload
• Ability to manage and organise the facilities within the St Luke’s building and oversee the functions of the team including diary management
• Ability to use Microsoft Office applications including word, excel, outlook and powerpoint
• Knowledge of Churchsuite, accounting and HR software
• Proven track record of planning, implementing and completing projects including recording/reporting against progess with key milestones
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and sensitivity of personal and financial information
• An understanding of Church of England structures

Personal Attributes

• Interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to deal with people in a variety of situations
• Ability to lead and motivate others and comfortable working with a wide-range of people both lay and ordained
• Hardworking and self-motivated with an ability to use initiative to make things happen
• An active Christian faith
• An eye for detail

St Luke’s is an Anglican parish church in the Bank Top area of Blackburn. The church is currently holding its Sunday gatherings at St Wilfrid’s Academy in Blackburn whilst it renovates the church building.

A strong relationship has been built with the local high school, St Wilfrid’s Academy, this has laid the ground for a renewed vision for reaching and discipling young people within the Blackburn area. As a Youth Resourcing Church, the location of St Luke’s, at the heart of the Diocese of Blackburn, is essential for having an impact right across the diocese.

The vision of St Luke’s is threefold. It wants to be:

• A thriving multi-generational church, empowering people of all ages to reach and disciple emerging generations from amongst those who have no or little existing contact with the Christian faith.
• An equipping Church providing new vision and resourcing for churches across the diocese to reach and disciple young people.

A multiplying church with an established network of church planters across east Lancashire.

Terms and conditions:

The role holder will be employed by St Luke’s Church, Blackburn. The detailed terms and conditions will be contained in the Contract of Employment.

Salary – £30,197.71 per annum

Hours – 40 hours/week (Monday to Thursday and then 1 day at the weekend which could include Sunday. Some flexibility required).

Pension – There will be a pension scheme available.

Probationary period - The role will be subject to completion of a satisfactory 6-month probationary period, with the first review at 3 months; appraisal’s will take place annually thereafter.

Annual leave - Annual paid holiday entitlement is 25 days pro-rata (exclusive of bank holidays). Leave should be arranged in advance with incumbent vicar.

DBS – An Enhanced DBS check is required for this role.

Safeguarding – St Luke’s church is committed to Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. All post holders and volunteers are expected to share this commitment and undertake the Diocesan Safeguarding training course.

Diversity - St Luke`s believes that diversity enables us to thrive and develop and is committed to race equality, welcoming applications from UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds

References – Appointment to the role will be subject to receipt of two satisfactory references.

Right to Work checks – The successful candidate will need to provide documents to show their eligibility to work in the UK.

Occupational Health check – An occupational health check/survey will be sent to you before your role is confirmed.

How to apply:

Thank you for taking the time to read this job advert, the St Luke’s team hope you are now planning to apply to join them.

To apply for this role, please send a CV and covering letter explaining why you have applied and what skills and experience you will bring to the role to Jason Gardner (jason@welcometostlukes.org).

The deadline for applications is 3^rd April 2023 with interviews planned for the 19 April. All interviews will take place at St Luke`s.

If you would like an informal conversation about this post, please contact Jason on 07816 775916 or jason@welcometostlukes.org.