A Place to be Real Together

Deputy Centre Manager

Timeline

Closing Date for applications: 11 May 2024

Starting Date: We hope our new Deputy Centre Manager will be able to join us ideally on 1st July 2024.

If you are shortlisted, we will ask you to volunteer with us for at least a weekend, before any subsequent assessment day and formal interview. As well as an introduction to the work, this allows you and the Othona team to get to know each other. 

How To Apply 

First, read the brief job description below. Do you think living and working with us in this role might suit you?

If so, read For All Applicants: The Three Keys and this background information before downloading the more detailed job description.

See below for how to make an application.

Deputy Centre Manager

Use your energy and drive to support our very experienced centre manager/warden to further develop the business and renew the buildings and facilities of our Christian retreat centre in Dorset.

At our centre we provide fun and restorative times for individuals and families.

You will live on the Dorset coast, overlooking The Chesil beach and Lyme Bay, in a 2 bedroom flat, with all meals and household bills provided. 

Salary £16,520.00, 20% employer’s contributory pension, 28 days leave including bank holidays and statutory days.

The centre is staffed by a small resident community who live by a simple rhythm of life described by our founder Rev. Norman Motley as “work, worship, study and play”. The ethos is one of great inclusivity, respecting all faiths and involving many people who may share our values but have no connection with the Christian churches

The Othona Community has a 59 year history on this site and there was a Christian Contemplative Community living here before that.

The role is that of a deputy for the centre manager/warden with special responsibilities for facilities management and business development. If you have experience in systems and processes with the ability to produce simple documentation then your skills will be most beneficial.

The first stage of the selection process will involve one long weekend living on site alongside staff and guests. The second stage, at a later date, will be a whole day of assessment and a formal interview.

Application is by email to Clare Gough: chair@othona.org with a CV and a letter detailing why you have applied for the post. Two references from your most recent employment or equivalent will be taken. You will require an enhanced DBS check with barring (children’s list) before commencing employment.

Closing date for applications is 11th May 2024. The assessment day with formal interviews will be Satruday 8th June and the expected start date will be 1st July 2024 or as soon as possible after that..

Download Job description.

 

All Core Members

The following are all essential to the running of the centre and will be carried out by a combination of long and short term core members and local volunteers. They offer variety and sometimes the opportunity to use (or develop) special skills or pursue a personal interest.

Common Tasks

The following tasks are shared between core members, often on a rota basis:
  • cooking
  • contributing to chapel gatherings (with support/training as appropriate)
  • cleaning
  • hosting (event liaison with facilitators and visitors)
  • dealing with rubbish and recycling

Other tasks relating to the running of the Centre may arise, which by agreement the core member may wish to pursue in addition to their lead role.

The core members are at the heart of this Othona centre. They need to be committed to the work of the community, its ethos and values. Core members work actively to live these out in their everyday life, and to further them. The competences below provide good examples of what this means in practice. The programme explains what Othona is about. Our policy statements show how Othona seeks to realise these values in the way it manages people, its policies of equal opportunities and the green policies for house and grounds, and in its open Christianity.

The heart of Othona is people – core colleagues, visitors and all those who we interact with. People come because they know they will be welcomed, accepted and valued for who they are. Our role is not to be therapists or counsellors, but we do need to be interested in people and willing to listen and share. We also need to be aware of our own responses and feelings, and especially of the impact of our own behaviour on other people.

Othona core members live and work together, and are hosts to an ever-changing number of visitors. Core members have to be flexible, able to adapt to varied and changing circumstances and people.

The main purpose of Othona is to provide visitors with a taste of life in community. The core members need to be able to live and work together co-operatively, and provide support (and challenge). This is important not only to carry out our work but equally so we can enjoy our life together, relax and have fun.

Othona West Dorset offers an experience of Christian community of a very open sort – rooted in the Christian heritage, open to the widening future. This is an approach to spirituality where you may experience the fellowship of the spirit in everyday life. Although core members do not have to be Christian, and may be of any faith tradition or none, we expect that they will respect the importance of the Christian tradition and the values that are at the heart of Othona. They adopt a 'Rule of Life' as a framework for shared life, and participate actively in the spiritual aspects of community life including chapel services.