Centre Manager

The Spear Centre Manager will work as part of the River Church staff team to oversee the delivery of Spear—an employability programme equipping and empowering unemployed 16-24 year-olds to overcome barriers to employment and turn their lives around by moving into sustainable work or further education.

The important stuff 

Salary: £25,213

Hours: Full-Time (4 days considered), Monday - Friday, 9.30am-5.30pm with some out-of-hours work needed for events such as our Spear Celebrations

Location: River Church Ipswich – we are an office-based organisation, situated with direct and fast links to London

Closing date: We are interviewing on a rolling basis and might close the application early if we find the right candidate

Application pack: Download our application pack for more information

River Church has wheelchair access. Please feel free to contact the church for any enquiries regarding accessibility.

Key Responsibilities

Oversight of the Spear Programme

Spear Foundation is a 4-week initial phase, consisting of 2 group sessions plus a 1:1 with each trainee per week, in which we coach young people around skills and mindsets to support them in returning to work or education, and equip them with the skills to stay there. ​

• Prepare and coach group and 1-1 sessions with the Spear Assistant Coach.
• Oversee all aspects of the programme coordination and delivery.
• Ensure the programme is delivered in line with agreed targets, and report to Resurgo and the church on enrolment, retention and completion of Spear Trainees, as well as their ongoing progress.

Partnership liaison and relationship management

• Build and implement a strategy for developing and maintaining relationships with local referral partners to build the profile of the Spear programme within Ipswich and ensure the young people who would benefit from the programme are able to access it.
• Steward relationships with young people after initial point of contact, to encourage enrolment and ensure a full cohort is enrolled for each programme.

Line management and training

• Manage the Spear Assistant Coach, using a coaching approach to invest in their growth and development.
• Work with and be managed by River Church staff locally, and by a Church Partnerships Manager from Resurgo on a national level, to ensure the flourishing of the Spear centre, its team and young people, and to ensure the fulfilment of our shared mission in Ipswich.
• Work with and report to Resurgo teams on KPIs, and use outcomes data to maximise the effectiveness of the programme.

Supporting River Church’s mission and ministry

• Establish strong relationships with key people at the church to ensure the engagement of church members and to build a network of supporters for the Spear programme.
• Work with the Head of Operations and the Fundraising Assistant to prepare grant funding applications for Spear Ipswich, and provide timely grant reporting.
• Attend and participate in the life of River Church, keeping the congregation updated on the Spear programme to ensure it is a seamless part of the church’s missional work.

Personal qualities we're looking for:

• An active Christian, able to personally represent the values and beliefs of Resurgo and River Church, and a commitment to grow and learn spiritually and as a Christian leader.
• Passion for social justice and for working as part of the church to transform communities, especially supporting young people in employment or education.
• A dynamic and engaging individual with an enthusiasm for and experience of group and 1-1 coaching and training.
• A creative, ambitious and self-motivated individual with the ability to prioritise workload, exercise initiative and work well under pressure.
• A strong leader with experience of line managing and developing others in a high support, high challenge style.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a confidence developing internal and external relationships, high emotional intelligence, and a sense of fun!