Walsingham House Manager

Manager for Walsingham House at Abbotswick

Job Description

Job Title: Walsingham House Manager

Vicariate: Youth Ministry

Employer: Diocese of Brentwood

Location: Walsingham House at Abbotswick, with travel to retreat locations and BCYS events, as needed.

Responsible to: Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry

Accountable to: Episcopal Vicar for Youth Ministry

Salary: £30 - 32K depending on prior experience (ideally this would be a “live in” role, with a one bedroom flat provided, but it is not essential).

Hours: 35 hours/week, including significant evening and weekend work

Contract: 3 year fixed term contract

Start date: January 2027, earlier if contracts allow.

Job Purpose

To ensure the smooth and efficient running of Walsingham House at Abbotswick, as an inspiring, faith-filled retreat house welcoming over 5,000 young people each year, and as a centre of excellence where young adults are accompanied and formed in leadership within the Catholic Church, in the spirit of Christus Vivit.

Specific responsibilities include leading retreats, and leading and training the volunteer community. The post holder also has overall responsibility for Safeguarding and (together with the Site Manager) Health and Safety.

Staffing structure and support in the role

The Retreat Manager will be supported by the Programme Leader who will live on site. Together, they look after the volunteer community, training and leading them in the delivery of retreats, and forming and supporting them as a young community.

The Director for Youth Ministry has an office on site, and is on hand for support and help. She is the line manager for the Walsingham House Manager. Further support is provided by the Chaplain to Walsingham House, the staff of the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service, the Episcopal Vicar for Youth Ministry, as well as the Vicariate Administrator. Continued Professional Development is important, and this is arranged in conjunction with the Director of Youth Ministry.

Background to the role

Walsingham House at Abbotswick is a retreat house for young people and adults, set in the heart of the Diocese of Brentwood. We are in a beautiful, tranquil, rural location, three miles from Brentwood and with 14 acres of our own grounds. During school term time a team of volunteers aged 18-23 offer retreats to young people from schools and parishes within Brentwood Diocese, working with up to five thousand young people (aged 10-18) every year. In the late summer and early autumn, adult parish groups sometimes use the house, with hospitality provided by the staff and volunteer team.

The Walsingham House team live on site as a community, sharing prayer, meals and social time, and exist to evangelise; to help young people encounter Christ, to understand the Gospel more deeply, and to celebrate their Catholic faith. We hope to offer a warm welcome, a place of reflection, prayer, catechesis, kindness, challenge, and above all, time to ever more deeply meet and know Christ as “brother, saviour and friend” (St John Paul II).

The Diocese of Brentwood is a lively and varied Diocese, including all of Essex, and five London Boroughs, with 19 secondary schools and a very diverse population. We work with young people from densely populated urban environments, and those who live in very rural settings, and this means there is a great variety within our retreats. Our Bishop, Rt Rev Alan Williams SM, is committed to Youth Ministry, and is very supportive of our work.

Walsingham House (formerly located at Chingford, then Canvey Island) has rich history of providing retreat opportunities for young people. Retreat provision is an integral part of the mission of the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service (BCYS). Walsingham House sits within the Diocese of Brentwood’s Vicariate for Youth Ministry, which also draws together work with School Chaplains, Parish Partnership Youth Co-ordinators, Parish Catechists and University Chaplains. The Vicariate also works closely with Caritas Diocese of Brentwood, with a focus on supporting social justice ministry within the Diocese.

The Vicariate enjoys an excellent relationship with agencies such as SVP, CAFOD, HCPT and the Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society and we are also closely associated with the work of CYMFed, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, supporting events such as Flame and other national initiatives.

The closing date for applications is midday on Friday 23rd October 2026.

Key tasks

Retreat Programmes

Together with the Programme Leader, to design inspiring and faith-filled day retreat and residential retreat programmes, including the creation of high quality resources for young people aged 10-18, from school and parish groups.

(Note: For schools, retreat programmes are designed with attentiveness to the CSI criteria, and the requirements of the RE Curriculum Directory and the Prayer and Liturgy Directory).

• To lead retreats at Walsingham House at Abbotswick. In addition to ensuring the excellent delivery of the retreat programme this includes:
• Contacting schools/parishes prior to retreat, to discuss their requirements/aims for the retreat.
• Liaison with staff and catechists.
• Liaison with other people responsible for delivery of the retreats – i.e. Programme Leader, kitchen staff, Site Manager etc.
• Responsibility for all aspects of Health and Safety and Safeguarding within the retreat, to ensure a safe environment for all.
• Oversee and assist in cleaning of the Main House after retreats.
• Evaluation of retreats, including seeking feedback from the school/parish.

Walsingham House Community

With support from the Programme Leader, to lead the Walsingham House volunteer community by example including:

• Leading times of prayer
• Developing the professional and personal skills of the volunteer team (e.g. presentation skills, communication skills, professional conduct)
• Meet monthly with volunteers to check-in and set goals, arrange continued professional development etc.
• Be part of a weekly Community Day comprising of:
• Mass with volunteers, including volunteers who assist in the garden
• a Walsingham House management meeting
• a Walsingham House community meeting
• Formation & training
• Retreat preparation
• Community Night prayer, dinner & social
• Recruiting a new volunteer team for the next academic year.

Training

Designing and running a timetable of training and teambuilding for the volunteer team. This training takes place in September, for 2-3 weeks before retreats begin, and includes retreat leadership skills, safeguarding, health & safety etc.

Booking the necessary specialists to deliver training, as appropriate, and also delivering some training in-house, using the Vicariate staff team.

With assistance from the Walsingham House Chaplain, create an ongoing and bespoke formation programme to help the volunteers and staff of Walsingham House grow in their understanding of their faith and skills throughout the academic year.

This ongoing programme must also include refresher training for key elements of Safeguarding and Health and Safety.

H&S & Maintenance

• Assisting the Site Manager to communicate with contractors where appropriate.

Management

• Attending termly meetings of the Youth Ministry Sub-Committee of the Board of Trustees.
• In advance of each meeting, compiling a report regarding key deliverables.
• Elements of this report are also fed back to the Diocesan Board of Trustees by the Director of Youth Ministry and the Episcopal Vicar for Youth Ministry.
• Assisting with bookings and creating a diary for the upcoming year of retreats and events alongside the Director for Youth Ministry and the Vicariate Administrator.

Hospitality events at Walsingham House at Abbotswick

Assisting the BCYS Events & Pilgrimages Co-ordinator and the Director for Youth Ministry to organise and host additional events at Walsingham House.

Supporting events of the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service (BCYS)

• Where possible attending BCYS events including Youth Mass, Youth Gather, the Rite of Acceptance etc. – and supporting the volunteer team to attend these events.
• Serving as a Senior Leader on the BCYS Summer Lourdes pilgrimage, as part of the Diocesan pilgrimage.

Personal Skills and Qualities

• A committed and practising Catholic. Essential
• Knowledgeable about the Catholic faith, and able to effectively communicate it to youngpeople aged 10-18. Essential
• At least five years proven experience in full time parish, school or residential youth ministry. Essential
• A thorough understanding of Catholic youth ministry, and the challenges faced by youngpeople today. Essential
• Excellent presentation and IT skills, including the ability to present to small and large groupsof young people. This includes groups as small as 10-20, and as large as 200+. Essential
• An understanding of what makes an effective retreat session, and the ability to creativelydesign and lead such sessions. Essential
• Excellent personal organisation and time management. Essential
• The ability to work evenings and weekends, on a regular basis in school term time. Essential
• A full, clean driving licence. Essential
• An understanding of basic Health and Safety, and Safeguarding (further training wil be givento the successful candidate, since the role includes key responsibilities in these areas). Essential
• Experience of leading a team. Essential
• A recognised qualification in Theology or Youth Ministry (or the willingness to undertake sucha qualification – funding is available to support further studies). Desirable
• Prior experience of living and working in community, and/or in a residential setting. Desirable
• Experience in delivering training to young adults. Desirable
• Knowledge of current social media platforms and a desire to learn about creation of contentfor online ministry (including graphic design, filming and video editing). Desirable

There is a Genuine Occupational Requirement for this role to be filled by a practising Catholic.

Any appointment is subject to references and an enhanced DBS.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions. Thank you for your interest in this role, and we look forward to meeting you.

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