Diocesan CMD Adviser (0.5FTE)

As a diocesan family, we are renewing our commitment to our vision and goals. We are putting fresh energy into Living Christ’s Story, and delivering strategic programmes focused on our aims: becoming more like Christ; reaching those we currently don’t; growing churches of missionary disciples; and transforming our finances and structures.

One of the elements of the Living Christ’s Story Strategy is to develop a culture of lifelong learning as the expectation for all lay and ordained ministers because it lies at the heart of being a disciple. As a Diocese, we have been able in the last two years to build up initial formation work for lay and ordained ministers and now have the opportunity to build up our lifelong learning offer for those in later stages of ministry. The role will focus on:

1. In recognition of the need for lay and ordained ministers in the Diocese to be enablers of change, we wish to develop our core programme of continuing ministerial development which will empower and equip those ministers to imagine a different church for a different context. The Adviser will have the opportunity to shape this programme which is expected to be aligned around some emerging themes of:

• Growing trust in a time of change – being a non-anxious presence
• Enabling the ministry of others especially helping clergy to be enablers of lay ministers by treasure-seeking gifts, in managing volunteers and in good supervision practice
• Imagining the church of the future in terms of growing a church of missionary disciples which is younger and more diverse and where mixed ecology is the norm.

It is hoped that this will be a rolling programme which, over time, would be delivered to all licensed lay and ordained ministers. Elements of it may be delivered specifically to already established learning communities. The hope is to develop ongoing pathways of learning for those with wider leadership and oversight responsibilities.

1. Developing and overseeing the rolling out of a three-year cycle of CMD: This will need to be done in the light of one other core CMD offer – the Transformative Education for Justice Programme to be overseen by a Racial Justice Enabler. The offer will need to align with the formation framework and with other diocesan wide formational opportunities. There will also be a small amount of work to oversee the CMD grants process.

As the role is half-time and the expectation is that the post-holder will be ordained, there may be opportunities for candidates who wish to do so, to add this role to a half-time parish appointment. This appointment would not be formally connected to the role and the two appointments would therefore be independent of each other. Informal conversations are welcome.