About the Workplace

The parishes of Vifolka and Östra Tollstad are one of the five areas of work within the Folkungabygden parish. Together, the parishes encompass seven churches and approximately 4,650 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 sharing life, faith, and worship, ensuring that the gospel is present for individuals as they are.

Here you can read more about Vifolka parish (#)

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 to continue existing as an independent parish, while closely collaborating with Vifolka parish, for example through shared staff.

Here you can read more about Östra Tollstad parish (#)

The Role of Parish Shepherd

As the parish shepherd for Vifolka and Östra Tollstad, you have local responsibility for parish life, as well as finances and personnel, which includes both leadership and workplace environment tasks. You serve as both a leader and priest in a well-organized parish, supported by a competent team of employees and many dedicated volunteers. You also have colleagues in the parish's other congregations and administration to support you in your role. You are part of the parish's management group along with other parish shepherds, the head pastor, 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 a priest who is ordained and has several years of experience in parish work in the role of a priest. Previous experience in a leadership position, such as parish shepherd or head pastor, 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 finance, as well as being accustomed to using IT systems as support in your work. A B driver's license and access to a personal vehicle are required for the position.

As a person, you are responsible and structured, with the ability to steer the operations with clarity and foresight. You have the ability to see the big picture and make decisions both large and small. You are confident in yourself, attentive, and receptive to new ideas. Furthermore, you have the commitment to develop both yourself and your employees. We see our future parish shepherd as 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, upon receiving the position, the opportunity to attend training in areas such as finance, systematic work environment management, and leadership. All our employees are entitled to wellness benefits and professional development.

Start date to be agreed upon.

We warmly welcome your application by April 6, 2025. 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 primarily located in Mjölby, but parish work is conducted locally in our five areas of work, each led by its own parish shepherd 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 town, commuter towns, and smaller urban areas. Together, they strengthen each other. We are enriched with no less than 32 churches from different eras. Some of the oldest treasures date back to 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 engaged volunteers and elected representatives.

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

Focus Areas and Vision

In the 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 across 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.