Training and Learning Coordinator - West Midlands Racial Justice Initiative in Birmingham

Location: Hybrid, travel across the region

Reports to: Director

Working days and hours: 21 hours per week

Role Status: Fixed Term to 31.12.27

Purpose: The key purposes of this post are to:

• Work collaboratively with the 6 participating dioceses, the Regional Racial Justice Board, and the Regional Racial Justice Team to ensure that there is consistency in approach to quality training and learning which can be effectively analysed for impact and development.
• Lead on creating a training and learning framework that links robust training and learning needs analyses across the region and ensures that delivery is sustainable within the current capacity in dioceses to lead on training and learning in their individual contexts.
• Ensure a wide supportive and collaborative approach to training and learning, in ways that will reach multiple audiences; building networks of diocesan/their community partnerships and networks that will add value to the WMRRJI resources and help build capacity.
• Bring together and build a regional coordination of resources, and personnel, to encourage and support a creative and innovative network.
• Build key links with national and other regional RRI’s to ensure a wider strategic approach to training and learning, avoid duplication, and share best practice.

Role contextual information: Our role holder will be able to:

• Understand and work collaboratively with the depth, breadth and complexity of working across the region and in that context create appropriate and effective training and learning development mechanisms which are able to share experience and shared learning.
• Create and track progress against a comprehensive training and learning framework; and dioceses reality.
• Build relationships and connections, able to spot opportunities, build confidence and capacity, and offer support and advice.
• Write reports that communicate appropriately to recipients.
• Have a strategic approach to training and learning, with an eye to long term embedding of racial justice in different contexts.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Coordination & Strategic Oversight: Developing and implementing a strategic training framework aligned with the RRJB's racial justice objectives. Ensuring consistency in training content across dioceses, maintaining overarching analysis of effective evaluation and analysis, quality control and ensuring that all training meets a high standard of effectiveness and theological integrity.
• Responsible for building strong positive and collaborative approaches to training and learning across the region: Facilitating collaboration between dioceses and the networks/partnerships they are part of, to create strong and supportive network(s) share best practices, pool resources, and coordinate training delivery. Establishing excellent stakeholder management, working relationships within the national teams.
• Responsible for regular accurate reporting with detailed analyses: Developing practical mechanisms with diocesan colleagues for engaging with their audiences across the region to give feedback and contribution to their learning and training experiences and how this can be supported further. Creating and updating mechanisms for tracking progress. Establishing systems for sharing information across the participating dioceses and to the national audience/stakeholders.
• Linking with national resourcing and strategic plans: Building effective working and connecting with the national team; the resources that are available or in developmental stages and to support opportunities to test out/trial pilot activities that can offer constructive feedback.
• Responsible for building strong working relationships with team colleagues: Identifying with colleagues where training and learning interventions would support their particular roles (e.g. children and young people’s development; linked to grants for local activities and initiatives and lead on developments).
• Responsible for promoting a can do/problem solving approach in the Team/Project: Ensuring effective analyses of trends and issues that can impact the wider project/initiatives from a training and learning and make recommendations on key observations.
• Responsible for effective reporting on training and learning: Ensuring accurate and timely reporting for project management and Board conversations and decisions, and which focus on evidence and outcomes from training and learning aimed at different audiences in our churches and worshipping communities.

General responsibilities:

• Safeguarding training
• Data and GDPR training
• Health and Safety

General Requirements: Due to the nature of this post, the post-holder will need to work within the underrepresented GMH / UKME communities of the six dioceses, understanding the contexts which individuals of a GMH / UKME background serve in their Christian discipleship, mission and ministry and any barriers which they may face, therefore there is a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) under the Equality Act 2010 that the post holder is of a GMH / UKME background and a practicing Christian, and able to be supportive of the Church of England, able/willing to work within and navigate its frameworks.

Person Specification: We are looking for someone who:

• Is passionate about seeing people from UKME/GMH backgrounds realise their full potential in God’s mission and the Church’s ministry.
• Has a heart for enabling people to learn and grow in confidence.
• Is analytical, and can produce clear and well-structured evidence based reporting and communicating with people at all levels.
• Has the ability to listen, communicate and be a natural networker who can create meaningful relationships with people across a variety of levels.
• Is an effective team worker, following the Director’s reasonable directions regarding duties that support other roles and the overall aims of the Initiative even though it may be in another colleague's specialism.
• Has the ability to travel the length and breadth of the six dioceses of the project.
• Able to work flexibly, a Team player, and able to attend occasional evening and weekend activities for which Time off in Lieu will be given.

Additional information:

• Pension provision – Church of England’s Church Worker Pension Scheme – 12% employer contribution
• Annual leave 25 ordinary leave days, plus all bank/public holidays and 3 days between Christmas and the New Year (7.2 weeks) pro rated for part time employees
• The employing body is the Birmingham Diocesan Board of Finance