Casual Verger
Application Pack
[Type here] www.chch www.chch.ox.ac.uk/cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral Christ Church (Aedes Christi or simply ‘the House’) is a Royal Foundation dating from 1546. Yet it traces its history back not only to Wolsey’s Cardinal College in the early sixteenth century but to the Augustinian Priory that preceded it, and indeed to the eighth-century figure of St Frideswide, whose restored shrine has become once again a place of pilgrimage in the Latin Chapel today. Cathedral, College, and School together make up a complex and unique institution committed to education, learning and religion, under the Dean, the Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy. The Visitor is Her Majesty the Queen.
Christ Church’s Statutes delegate management of the Cathedral and the Cathedral School to the Dean and Canons, known as Chapter. The Dean, the Sub Dean, four professorial Canons, the Diocesan Canon Precentor and the Archdeacon of Oxford constitute the Cathedral Chapter. Most also sit on the Governing Body (along with the Official Students of Christ Church and College officers). Four of their number also actively serve on the Board of Governors of Christ Church Cathedral School (along with the Headmaster, Richard Murray, and other Governors). Under the leadership of the Sub Dean and the Cathedral Registrar, the Cathedral employs full-time vergers, musicians and administration staff, the; as well as gratefully enjoying a significant offering of volunteer ministry.
The College has over 600 undergraduate and graduate students from all walks of life, both from the UK and overseas, along with a thriving academic faculty and an extensive staff. The Cathedral School, founded by Henry VIII to provide boy Choristers and a Schoolmaster, is located in 3 Brewer Street, opposite Christ Church. It not only continues to educate the boys of the Cathedral Choir but, through its nursery, pre-prep and prep departments, offers wider provision for over 150 boys from age 3 to 13.
Christ Church is also one of the major Oxford tourist attractions, with around 450,000 visitors a year drawn not only by its architecture, history, and international academic reputation but also its connections to Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter.
Chapter operates based upon an understanding of the Cathedral as serving four primary roles: as Mother Church of the Diocese; as a focus of civic celebration; as College Chapel; and as a focus of congregational worship and mission.
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Job Description
Job Title: Casual Verger
Responsible to: Dean’s Verger
Works Closely with: The Clergy, the Volunteer & Visitor Officer
Liaises with: Volunteers, the Music Department
Purpose and Overview:
The Vergers, working collaboratively together in the Operations team, play a vital part in ensuring the highest standards of delivery to the Cathedral as a house of worship, learning, the arts, and hospitality.
There has been a worshipping community on this site for over a thousand years and today, the Cathedral is a unique institution as both the mother church of the Diocese of Oxford, and college chapel as set up by Cardinal Wolsey in the 16th Century. The Cathedral is also a global landmark destination in its own right for half a million visitors per year from all over the world in addition to hosting an increasing number of other events. The Cathedral site is a venue for worship, services, concerts, exhibitions, talks, dinners, recordings, performances, charity fundraisers, conferences, lectures and many other activities. The Operations Department is central to the smooth working life of this busy Cathedral.
Under strategic direction from the Operations Manager and leadership from the Deans Verger, this role is to assist with the Cathedral’s key operational outputs:
- Preparation and running of all events/services - Welcome - Duty management - Health & Safety - Liaison - Logistics.
The Cathedral is open every day through the year from early morning to late evening and Operational presence is maintained at all times. The Operations team are available to work flexibly throughout any given week throughout the year. Covering Sundays, Bank Holidays, Festival days (e.g. Diocesan Services, Christmas and Easter) as duty Verger on rotation, our Casual Verger will assist the team in delivering the Cathedral’s regular and important occasions.
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The expanding range of events at the Cathedral require the operations team to provide: flexibility, complete reliability, excellent communication, collaborative ‘hands on’ working, and a ‘can do’ attitude.
Stamina, energy, the willingness to work flexibly, an ability sometimes to work unsupervised and collaboratively, the ability to upskill, show initiative and be a self- starter are essential qualities for anyone working in the Operations Department at Christ Church.
Key relationships:
The Casual Verger provides relief to the full-time members of the Operations department for whom the Operations Manager has overall responsibility. All Vergers report directly to the Dean’s Verger and have key relationships with the volunteers, clergy, musicians, and communications teams. The Operations Team supports the ministry of the Cathedral through delivering the operational objectives.
This role offers the opportunity to work with and influence multiple internal and external stakeholders in a unique setting.
Key responsibilities:
Preparation and Running of all services The post-holder will:
1. Be on duty, under the direction of the Dean’s Verger, and in accordance with the operations rota.
2. In rotation, participate in and run all standard services unsupervised and assist at special services.
3. Assist colleagues where required. Ensure the smooth, consistent and accurate running of services, and ‘put away/hand over’ afterwards.
4. Under the direction of the Dean’s Verger, assist with actioning briefing, minutes, and rubric notes for the smooth running of services.
5. When on duty, assist with wardrobe management ensuring that correct robes and linens are prepared for clergy including seasonal changes.
6. Report stock levels to the Dean’s Verger.
7. Set up and operate sound equipment as required for services and events.
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8. Brief service volunteers when leading services with any updates or special information such as seat reservations.
9. Ensure donation monies are recorded/stored according to the cash handling procedures.
10. Provide stewarding for congregations in the absence of appropriate volunteers.
11. Secure and maintain silverware after use.
12. Participate in the ceremonial aspects of services, carrying the Verge in procession.
13. Maintain and replenish all candle stands during the day.
14. OPTIONAL: After suitable training, undertake livestreaming of Cathedral services and events.
Welcome: The post-holder will:
1. Be a visible presence on the Cathedral floor when on duty, delivering outstanding warm welcome and ‘customer service’ to all worshippers and visitors equally, remembering that, according to the Cathedral tradition, everyone who enters the Cathedral is to be treated as Christ regardless of race, sexuality, gender identity, social status, age, ability, or faith and feels that they are welcome here.
2. Demonstrate, diplomacy, tact and calm at all times whilst ensuring that decorum is maintained within the Cathedral.
3. Be clean, well groomed, and smartly presented in the provided operations uniform wearing the cassock and gown during all services.
4. Brief all visiting clergy and choirs and, with direction from the Liturgy Assistant, meet, greet and brief all visiting choirs when on duty ensuring strong welcome.
5. Have a concern for the safeguarding, welfare, and working arrangements of colleagues, volunteers, worshippers and others in accordance with established Cathedral policies.
6. Escalate visitor issues to senior personnel for resolution if complaints are raised.
Duty Management: The post-holder will:
1. Work shifts dynamically/flexibly across the week according to the rota and duty manage the Cathedral venues including, Priory Rooms, and Chapter House supervising the building, personnel and security for all activity whilst on duty acting as House Manager during events.
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2. Under the direction of the Dean’s Verger and Operations Manager, on rotation, be responsible for the correct opening and closing of the Cathedral daily as a responsible Cathedral key/fob-holder.
3. Carry out a full sweep of the Cathedral at the start of each shift. Immediately action/escalate any areas of concern.
4. Report maintenance issues to the Operations Manager.
5. Under direction of the Deans Verger and Operations Manager, action weekly and daily diary matters.
6. Ensure items of lost property are stored and logged correctly according to the lost property policy.
H&S: The post-holder will:
1. Be familiar with and a champion of the Cathedral Health & Safety and safeguarding policies, ensuring that conditions of work and areas accessible to all are kept in compliance for visitors to the Cathedral (community, visitors and children) in line with Chapter policies and as witness of the Gospel message.
2. Work with the Operations Manager to ensure that the Cathedral is kept in a safe order, that appropriate action is taken to mitigate against accidents, ensuring that hazards are reported to the Operations Manager.
3. When on duty, be the ‘fire marshal’ responsible for leading the safe evacuation of the Cathedral, Chapter House and Priory Rooms according to the evacuation action plan; and the primary first aider. Training will be provided.
4. Lead, manage and respond correctly to all incidents.
5. Be responsible for ensuring that H&S issues are dealt with immediately.
If the successful applicant does not already have First Aid or Health and Safety qualifications, they will be required to undertake this training within the first six months.
The successful applicant will also be required to participate in Church of England safeguarding training at both ‘Basic Awareness’ and ‘Foundation’ levels online within the first ten working days.
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Liaison The post-holder will:
1. Liaise with the volunteer and visitor staff to ensure daily activities and welcome are carried out and that the Cathedral is ready to receive visitors.
2. Assist with briefing stewards and volunteers with information about services and events and particularly in relation to logistical operations and H&S considerations.
3. Liaise with College Porters and Custodians to facilitate access for daily visitors and special groups.
4. Be knowledgeable about or willing to find out about events taking place in the Cathedral according to the event sheet and able to escalate queries from event stakeholders.
Logistics: The post-holder will:
1. Oversee, as required, concerts, conferences and other miscellaneous extra events as event supervisor as directed by the Operations Manager, Dean’s Verger or Events Assistant.
2. Action and assist with the preparation of practical aspects of an event set up where required on the day including seating, staging, lighting, sound across the Cathedral site and restore everything to normal afterwards.
3. Assist with the set-up for large events, which means: liaising with external contractors including audio-visual equipment and staging; ensuring that relevant H&S practices are followed; and alerting the Operations Manager to any issues that need addressing.
4. Assist in the delivery of the Cathedral’s events programme of performing arts, conferences, hospitality, community engagement and exhibitions, coordinating and participating in the setting up and down of the Cathedral including 'backstage' facilities, green room according to the function sheet.
5. Facilitate access to the Cathedral according to the event sheets for ‘get in’/’get out’.
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Selection Criteria/Person Specification
Essentia Desirabl PERSON SPECIFICATION l e
CHARACTER
In sympathy with the ethos of the Church of England E
Ability to calmly manage the pressure of simultaneous events working as a self-starting, collaborative, honest, D trustworthy and reliable, team member with a positive attitude and attention to detail.
Responsible, reliable and accountable. E
Willingness to embrace change, keenness to attain new E skills, work with new equipment and processes
Comfortable around diverse stakeholders and able to work with equal courtesy, professionalism, and respect E regardless of a person’s age, gender, ethnicity, education or social status and inspire confidence.
Essentia Desirabl PERSON SPECIFICATION l e
SKILLS
A diligent, careful, approach to work. Able to take notes, retain and absorb new information, and action requests E in a timely manner.
An effective team player able to take instruction/direction, manage expectations, and to lead D when required
Ability to work with multiple diverse stakeholders in an E appropriate way
Ability to work dynamically, independently, efficiently, D and flexibly across multiple spaces
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Essentia Desirabl PERSON SPECIFICATION l e
KNOWLEDGE
Willingness to learn about Anglican liturgy or E demonstrable relevant experience.
Able to behave appropriately in hierarchical working relationships and in working with diverse groups of E stakeholders
Understanding of safeguarding issues and practices, its D importance and centrality
Basic understanding of safeguarding and willingness to E engage with required training (this then becomes E)
Basic understanding of Health & Safety policies and D procedures
Essentia Desirabl PERSON SPECIFICATION l e
EXPERIENCE
Experience of similar front-facing roles: customer services, guiding in a heritage, religious, educational or D tourism environment.
Working in / experience of live performing arts, event production/commissioning, or running the technical D aspects of live events,
Some experience of working with processes and D reporting structures.
Experience of working with internal/external stakeholder: volunteers, event promoters, students, D clergy.
Experience of duty management D
Experience of working with Livestreaming platforms D
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Essentia Desirabl PERSON SPECIFICATION l e
QUALIFICATION
A Level or equivalent in a related subject or studying for D higher level qualification.
Demonstrable relevant experience (See above). D
A good level of physical fitness E
High standard of IT literacy including the use of all standard IT software Including: Word, Excel, Power D Point, and a reasonable standard of written work
Experience of using Adobe suite and Artifax. D
Available and willing to work evenings, Bank Holidays and Sundays as necessary for events, openings, talks. E Able to work irregular hours.
First aid certificate D
Manual handling training D
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Further Particulars
Contract
The Casual Role will be a worker at Christ Church Cathedral.
Working Pattern
The Cathedral’s baseline opening hours are between 06:45 – 19:00 Monday to Sunday throughout the year. There is a wide variety of events which occur outside these times for which operational presence is maintained. The post-holder will be expected to work flexibly according to the rota Monday – Sunday including bank holidays on an ad hoc basis as and when there is work to be done. Casual shifts in the Cathedral vary in length but are subject to a minimum call time of 3 hours. The Rota is fixed in 2 monthly periods.
Remuneration
£12.32 per hour (£11 p/h plus 12.07% in lieu of annual leave).
Notice period
During the initial probationary period of 1 month, notice will be 1 week. Subject to satisfactory completion of probation, the notice period will be to the end of the confirmed ‘FINAL’ Rota. Failure to attend the remaining shifts in a rota period will incur forfeiture of wages from the current payroll period.
Other & Probation
The post-holder will need to have a strong sympathy with the aims and objectives of the Church of England. All offers will be subject to production of satisfactory references, proof of right to work in the UK, medical clearance if appropriate, and a probationary period of one month (open to extension).
Safeguarding
As part of the Gospel message Christ Church Cathedral believes in the unwavering commitment to the safeguarding of all people and the promotion of the wellbeing of staff, volunteers, children and visitors alike.
We expect all of our staff and volunteers to share and be champions of these commitments.
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Equality of Opportunity
Entry into employment with the College and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria which are related to the duties of each particular post and the relevant salary structure. In all cases, ability to perform the job will be the primary consideration.
No applicant or member of staff shall be discriminated against because of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation.
Candidates are requested to complete an Equal Opportunities form. This can be downloaded from the Christ Church vacancies page and returned to the below address:
www.chch.ox.ac.uk/vacancies
Mrs Bridget Guiste HR Assistant & Training Co-Ordinator Christ Church Oxford OX1 1DP
The contents of this form will not be disclosed to the selection panel.
Pre-Employment Screening
Please note that the appointment of the successful candidate will be subject to standard pre- employment screening, as applicable to the post. This appointment at Christ Church Cathedral is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check at enhanced level. Where applicable screening will include:
- eligibility to work in the UK; - qualifications; - references; - criminal record checks via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
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How to apply: There is no application form for this post. Applications should include:
1. A covering letter or statement explaining how you meet the selection criteria set out above 2. A full CV, with full contact details including email address, full postal address, and at least one telephone number; 3. Contact details of two referees (see below)
Applications should be sent by email to: [email protected]
Referees You should contact your referees before applying, to ensure they are aware of your application and the requirements for the post, and that they would be content to write a reference for you for this post if asked to do so.
In your application, please include for each referee their name, position, relationship to you, postal address, email address and contact telephone number, and whether you give permission for us to contact them.
The Cathedral will assume that they may approach your referees at any stage unless your application specifies otherwise.
Individuals who wish to have an informal discussion about the post are invited to contact the Operations Manager, Joseph Denby, [email protected]
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