Overview

As a Partnership Facilitator I- you will be an entry-level professional serving as a liaison to the local church and assisting in strengthening local ownership, capacity, and resources of local church partners to minister to children and youth in their own context. You will be responsible for nurturing relationships with church partners that are characterized by mutual respect, trust, and service that builds up church ministry. You will learn how to facilitate relationships through the Partner Management core process, for improving achievement of church outcomes, and for bringing a developmental mindset to all other aspects of the partnership. At this level, you will still be learning and assisting with facilitating church partnerships for your assigned location and will generally work under the guidance of your supervisor or a more experienced facilitator.

What will you do?

• Maintain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Be a consistent witness for Jesus Christ, maintain a courteous, Christ-like attitude in dealing with people within and outside of Compassion, and faithfully uphold Compassion’s ministry in prayer.
• Act as an advocate to raise the awareness of the needs of children. Understand Christ’s mandate to protect children. Commit to and prioritizes child protection considerations in all decision-making, tasks and activities across the ministry. Abide by all behavioral expectations in Compassion’s Statement of Commitment to Child Protection and Code of Conduct. Report any concerns of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children through Compassion’s internal reporting process and appropriately supports responses to incidents if they occur.
• Demonstrate a personal commitment to serve, respect, and empower the church according to principles outlined in Compassion’s ministry philosophies.
• Church Maturation – Support church ownership and capacity through a developmental mindset and the Partnership Management core process.
• Support partnerships with church partners to deliver on plans for child and youth ministry and how to best grow in capacity and maturity.
• Assist with the implementation of church owned strategies that build on each church”s strengths to engage participation of parents and caregivers, children and youth in all aspects of the ministry, including program design, local resource mobilization, decision making, etc. Work with other CFT members to help churches to engage the change makers who influence change in children and youth, such as parents, schools, peers, etc.
• Serve as Compassion’s liaison with church partners by engaging the support of other Church Facing Team (CFT) members and financial resources in ways that are consistent with a developmental mindset and the Partnership Principles.
• Support church local resource mobilization and sharing of resources among nearby churches. Point church partners to local resources, services and relationships, as well as opportunities to help maximize their own resources to support the ministry to children and youth.
• Program Cycle – Based on the guidance of a more senior facilitator, assists the church partner throughout all phases of the Program Cycle
• Conduce Needs Assessments – Mobilize other CFT members to provide information to the church partners about the needs of children and youth they serve. Assist the church partner in gathering local information about child and youth needs and synthesizing external data.
• Planning – Support church partner planning of their Child and Youth (CY) ministry.
• Assist the church partner, alongside other CFT members, to develop a plan by helping them to identify and prioritize youth needs as well as to select interventions that will address the prioritized needs and challenges.
• Help local church partners to partner with other church ministry leaders, parents/caregivers, youth and other key stakeholders in identifying needs, planning and implementing CY interventions.
• Support the church, with support from other CFT members, to develop an annual plan and budget for their chosen program interventions.
• Implementation – Coordinates and mobilizes other CFT members to support church partners as they carry out their chosen interventions and monitor progress toward successful implementation.
• Evaluation – Assist other CFT members in supporting the church partner through a learning and reflection process on effectiveness of the interventions to inform planning in the next cycle.
• Coordination of CFT – Coordinate Church Facing Team (CFT) support to each church partner.
• Utilize the Facilitation Workplan, partners with other members of the CFT to support each church partner based on the church’s level of ownership, capacity and resources (maturity), the local context, needs identified by CFT members and National office priorities
• As directed, creates Facilitation Workplans address individual church needs.
• Understand Church”s needs and provides appropriate support for the church partner based on the expressed unique needs and challenges of the church.
• Document, alongside all other CFT members, the support they provide to the church partners. Work alongside a more senior level facilitator to follow-up on issues identified.
• Cluster operation – Coordinate a low complexity and / or small cluster of churches while demonstrating responsiveness to the local context and needs of each individual church within the cluster.
• Proactively seeks to foster relationships and connection within the cluster.
• As directed, provide support to cluster-based collaboration and initiatives between local churches for the purpose of improving ministry to children, peer-to-peer learning, and addressing other needs in the families and the community.
• Monitor the renewal of partnership agreements between Compassion and the Church partner for the region. Escalate to a more senior level facilitator for follow-up on agreements nearing expiration.
• Child Protection – Support church partner implementation of child protection standards. May assist with the implementation of church owned and contextualized child protection practices. Compiles relevant evidence-based resources and internal and external supports to aid churches in developing approaches for preventing abuse and promoting safe, healthy relationships with children and youth by the adults in their spheres of influence.
• Supports timely reporting of all child protection allegations through Compassion’s internal reporting processes, including taking direct responsibility for reporting if necessary. In collaboration with child protection specialists and other office leadership, engages in necessary support work to ensure Compassion and the church partner comprehensively and efficiently complete internal investigations in a timely manner. Mobilizes Compassion and community support for follow up actions as needed.
• Accountable to the Partnership Management strategic process objectives in coordination with other cross-functional members. As directed, supports the implementation of local process improvements based on metrics and feedback from the church.
• Fulfill Compassion commitments to the church, including programmatic and sponsor engagement deliverables, as directed.
• Draw upon a growing knowledge in mobilization and facilitation practices to identify felt needs at church partners and consult with more senior specialists and facilitators to select and apply creative solutions as directed.

What do you bring?

• Bachelor’s degree
• One to two years of work experience in a professional setting
• Prior experience working with youth preferred
• Currently based in Mombasa or Kwale (preferred) If not, must be willing to relocate to the region
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Ability to travel up to 50% of schedule

Why work here?

• The mission: Join a team that is motivated to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.
• Spiritual growth: Participate in regular chapel services, prayer groups, and department devotionals.