This role serves as Compassion's primary point of contact for local churches, focusing on enhancing their capacity, ownership, and resources to minister effectively to children and youth within their own communities. As the key liaison, this facilitator is tasked with cultivating strong, respectful, and trust-based relationships with church partners that foster mutual growth and support church ministry. This individual is accountable for managing partner relationships through the core Partner Management process, improving church outcomes, and applying a developmental approach to all aspects of the partnership. At this professional level, the incumbent typically operates independently on moderately complex projects or objectives, often collaborating with other specialists. Mentoring other facilitators may also be part of the responsibilities.
Responsibilities
- Maintain a personal commitment to faith in Jesus Christ. Consistently demonstrate Christ-like character and witness in all interactions, both internal and external, and uphold Compassion's ministry through prayer.
- Act as an advocate to raise awareness of children's needs. Understand and uphold Christ's mandate for child protection, prioritizing safeguarding considerations in all decisions, tasks, and activities. Adhere strictly to Compassion’s Statement of Commitment to Child Protection and Code of Conduct. Report any concerns regarding child abuse, neglect, or exploitation through Compassion's internal reporting mechanisms and actively support responses to incidents.
- Exhibit a personal dedication to serving, respecting, and empowering the church in alignment with Compassion’s ministry philosophies.
- Church Maturation – Strengthen church ownership and capacity by applying a developmental mindset and utilizing the Partnership Management core process.
- Facilitate collaborative reflection with church partners on youth and church outcomes, and jointly develop plans to enhance capacity and maturity.
- Guide the development and implementation of church-led strategies that leverage each church's strengths, encouraging the active participation of parents, caregivers, children, and youth in all ministry facets, including program design and local resource mobilization. Coordinate with other Church Facing Team (CFT) members to help churches identify and engage key influencers for child and youth development, such as parents, schools, and peers.
- Collaborate with pastors and church staff to identify critical capacity development needs. Serve as Compassion's principal liaison with church partners, securing support from other CFT members and financial resources in a manner consistent with a developmental approach and Partnership Principles.
- Assist churches in mobilizing local resources and facilitate resource sharing among neighboring churches. Help churches identify and utilize local assets, services, and relationships, while also exploring opportunities to maximize their own resources to support ministry to children and youth. Foster relationships and alliances to expand the ministry impact of partner churches.
- Program Cycle – Support church partners through all stages of the Program Cycle.
- Needs Assessment – Mobilize CFT members to gather and organize information that informs church partners about the needs of the children and youth they serve. Facilitate the church partner's process of collecting local data on child and youth needs and integrating it with external information.
- Planning – Lead church partners in planning their Child and Youth (CY) ministry initiatives.
- Support church partners in developing effective plans by assisting them in identifying and prioritizing CY needs, and selecting interventions to address these needs and challenges.
- Encourage partner churches to involve other church ministry leaders, parents/caregivers, youth, and other key stakeholders in identifying needs, planning, and implementing CY interventions.
- Assist churches in developing an annual plan and budget for implementing their selected program interventions.
- Implementation – Collaborate with other CFT members to support church partners as they execute their chosen interventions and monitor progress towards successful implementation.
- Evaluation – Partner with other CFT members to guide church partners through a learning and reflection process on the effectiveness of interventions, which will inform future planning cycles.
- Coordination of CFT – Oversee the coordination of CFT support for each church partner.
- Utilize the Facilitation Workplan to coordinate CFT support for each church based on its level of ownership, capacity, and resources (maturity), local context, church priorities, needs identified by CFT members, and National Office priorities.
- Develop and customize Facilitation Workplans for each church, ensuring objectives and activities align with individual church needs.
- Contribute to the CFT's understanding of each church's specific needs. Review reports and supporting documentation from CFT members, along with feedback from the church partner, to gain insight into the church's unique challenges and provide appropriate support.
- Document, in conjunction with all other CFT members, the support provided to church partners and follow up on identified issues.
- Cluster Operations – Manage a group of churches, demonstrating responsiveness to the local context and the specific needs of each individual church within the cluster.
- Promote and facilitate cluster-level activities and resource sharing.
- Proactively foster relationships and connections within the cluster.
- Encourage collaboration and initiatives at the cluster level among local churches to enhance ministry to children, facilitate peer-to-peer learning, and address other community and family needs.
- Ensure the timely renewal of partnership agreements between Compassion and church partners. May consult with a more senior facilitator for guidance.
- Child Protection – Facilitate the adoption of child protection standards by church partners and support the implementation of church-owned, contextualized child protection practices. Connect churches with relevant evidence-based resources and internal/external support to develop approaches for preventing abuse and promoting safe, healthy relationships between adults and children/youth.
- Ensure the timely reporting of all child protection allegations through Compassion's internal reporting processes, taking direct responsibility for reporting if necessary. In collaboration with child protection specialists and other leadership, engage in necessary support activities to ensure Compassion and the church partner complete internal investigations comprehensively and efficiently. Mobilize Compassion and community support for follow-up actions as required.
- Meet objectives for the Partnership Management strategic process in coordination with other cross-functional team members. Oversee the implementation of local process improvements and self-development initiatives based on metrics and feedback from the church.
- Fulfill Compassion's commitments to the church and deliver on programmatic and sponsor engagement deliverables. Collaborate with local cross-functional specialists and those in Program Support or Business Support responsible for Compassion's role in these deliverables to ensure quality and completion.
- Apply expertise in mobilization and facilitation practices to identify felt needs within church partners and consult with cross-functional specialists to select and implement innovative solutions.
- May provide expertise to other professionals and support staff within the partnership discipline.
Faith
- Possess a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Culture
- Be accountable for supporting, upholding, and engaging in Compassion’s core “Cultural Behaviors” in all internal and external communications and relationships.
Education
- Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field.
Experience
- Three years of relevant experience in this or a related field.
Licenses and Certifications
*Equivalent education, training, and/or certification may substitute for the experience and education listed above.
Working Environment
Office – Standard Office Environment
Physical Demands
Ability to sit, stand, and/or walk for up to 8 hours per day.
Travel Requirements
May require travel up to 50% of the normal work schedule.