About the Workplace

The parishes of Vifolka and Östra Tollstad are one of the five work areas of the Folkungabygden parish. Together, the parishes encompass seven churches and approximately 4650 church members.

Vifolka is a young and growing parish in transition, operating in both the town of Mantorp and the surrounding countryside. The parish aims to be a place for growth in faith and community for people who share life, faith, and worship, ensuring that the gospel is present for individuals where they are and as they are.

Östra Tollstad parish is a small, genuine rural parish that is a natural part of the community and is based on voluntary engagement. The parish aims to be a living community and continue to exist as an independent parish, while closely collaborating with Vifolka parish through shared personnel.

The Role of Parish Shepherd

As the parish shepherd in the parishes of Vifolka and Östra Tollstad, you will have local responsibility for parish life as well as finances and personnel, which includes both leadership and workplace environment tasks. You will serve as both a leader and priest in a well-organized parish, supported by a competent team of employees and many dedicated volunteers. You will also have colleagues in the other parishes and administration of the parish as support in your role. You will be part of the parish's management team along with other parish shepherds, the parish priest, communicator, cemetery and property manager, administrative manager, process leader, and HR manager.

In your role, you will develop the spiritual environments of the parishes where faith, growth, guidance, and restoration are made possible. You recognize the value of and encourage voluntary work, promote baptism initiatives in Vifolka's growing parish, and support the lay-led activities of Östra Tollstad parish. Furthermore, you will closely collaborate with the parish council, where you are one of the participants, and maintain good ecumenical contacts with Equmeniakyrkan and Elimkyrkan.

Your Profile

We are looking for an ordained priest with several years of experience in parish work as a priest. Previous experience in a leadership position, such as parish shepherd or parish priest, is an advantage. You have good knowledge and understanding of the various areas of work within a parish and the functions that operate within them. We would like you to have knowledge of budgeting and finances and be accustomed to using IT systems as support in your work. A B driver's license and access to a private car are required for the position.

As a person, you are responsible and structured, with the ability to manage the operations with clarity and foresight. You have the ability to see the bigger picture and make decisions both large and small. You are confident in yourself, attentive, and receptive to new ideas. Furthermore, you are engaged in developing both yourself and your employees. We see that our future parish shepherd is outgoing and a good communicator who is present in the parishes and works to create good dialogue and relationships with staff, parish councils, volunteers, parishioners, the community, authorities, and more.

We will offer you, as the successful candidate, the opportunity to attend training in areas such as finance, systematic workplace environment work, and leadership. All our employees have the right to wellness and professional development.

Start date according to agreement. We warmly welcome your application by 2025-04-06. Selection and interviews may occur continuously during the application period.

About Folkungabygden Parish

Folkungabygden parish was established in 2014 and has about 25,000 members in seven parishes in the municipalities of Mjölby, Boxholm, and Ödeshög in the Diocese of Linköping. The parish's support functions and administration are mainly located in Mjölby, but parish work is conducted locally in our five work areas led by their respective parish shepherds and about ten employees at each location: Mjölby, Boxholm, Ödeshög, Skänninge-Väderstad, and Mantorp-Vifolka-Östra Tollstad.

Each parish in the parish is characterized by its local traditions and conditions – urban, rural, industrial towns, commuting areas, and smaller towns. Together, they strengthen each other. We are enriched with no less than 32 churches from various epochs. Some of the oldest treasures are from the 12th century, and the newest church space is Mariasalen in Mantorp, which was inaugurated in 2016. The greatest asset is the over 100 employees and all the dedicated volunteers and elected representatives.

Our seven parishes are located in three municipalities in Östergötland, Diocese of Linköping.

Focus Areas and Vision

In our work with our new parish instruction, we have chosen four focus areas:

Worship as the pulse of the parish
Growing as disciples
Making a difference in the world
The church as a bridge between generations

Our vision is:

”Folkungabygden parish is a house with many rooms, which can become a home for all. In our parishes, we create environments where faith, growth, guidance, and restoration are made possible.”

Please submit your application with a resume, references, and other documents via the application portal.