DIRECTOR OF FAMILY MINISTRIES

Open Position Posted: November 16, 2022

Reports To: Minister

Status: Half-time Hourly (20 hours)

Start Date: negotiable

Application Deadline: December 16, 2022

 

JOB SUMMARY

The Director of Family Ministries provides dynamic, relevant, and innovative leadership to grow Chalice UUC Sunday morning religious education (RE) programs for children and youth and to develop new ministries to meet the faith formation needs of families in the 21st century.

 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

This position has five major areas of responsibility including Program Leadership, Building Multigenerational Community, Program Management, Volunteer Coordination and Staff Management, and Professional Development. Details of each follow.

 

Program Leadership includes but not limited to the following:

• Implements and oversees all aspects of year-round religious education programming for children, youth, and multigenerational families.
• Researches, selects and implements the use of appropriate curricula and other resources for a year-round religious education program for children and youth.
• When needed, teaches RE classes to children and youth participating in the Sunday program.
• Ensures the safety of children and youth through implementation of congregational safety policies and additional safety measures.
• Identifies and develops needed policies; ensures existing policies are current and followed.
• Evaluates effectiveness of program relative to goals.
• Enables the growth of the religious education program.
• Generates a sense of hospitality and accessibility to people of all ages; creates a welcoming and supportive environment for families and volunteers; assures accessibility of RE classes to all children, youth and volunteers regardless of ability.

 

Building Multigenerational Community includes but not limited to the following:

• Serve as an ambassador of the RE program on Sunday mornings and at major church events. This includes welcoming and orienting visiting families, marketing and public relations for RE programs, and cultivating relationships with current families.
• Works with the Senior Minister to ensure children, youth and families receive pastoral care.
• Works with the Senior Minister to integrate RE milestones into Sunday morning worship, for example: rites of passage and programs including Our Whole Lives (OWL), Coming of Age, Bridging Ceremonies, and welcoming youth into membership.
• Ensures the integration of children, youth, and families with other areas of congregational life, including worship.
• Finds opportunities to coordinate RE programming with other church programs, especially social justice.
• Works with families to offer social and support opportunities at Chalice.

 

Program Management includes but not limited to the following:

• General administrative tasks, including budget monitoring and development; and keeping registration and attendance records
• Ensures communication with the congregation (newsletter, etc.)
• Administers the “Chalice Parents and Grandparents” Facebook group, posts regularly, and encourages participation on the page

 

Volunteer Coordination and Staff Management includes but not limited to the following:

• Volunteer Coordination:
  • Leads and coordinates with the volunteers of the Family Ministries Team.
  • Recruits, equips, schedules and supervises volunteer staff (teachers, assistants, mentors, advisors).
• Staff Management:
  • Works with the minister to ensure hiring, training, and supervising childcare providers.
  • Coordinates and schedules childcare providers for Sunday mornings and, when asked, other congregational programs and events.
• Leading Volunteers and Staff:
  • Ensures required background checks are completed for all volunteers and staff.
  • Ensures all required safety trainings occur.
  • Provides direction, gains commitment, facilitates change and achieves results through the efficient, creative and responsible deployment of volunteers; engages people in their areas of giftedness and passion; creates a climate in which people want to do their best; motivates employees, volunteers and members; empowers others.

 

Professional Development includes but not limited to the following:

• Pursues credentialing with LREDA.
• Attends cluster and district meeting and events when appropriate.
• Reads material (books, blogs, newsletters, etc.) and attends webinars and classes relevant to liberal religious education.
• Stays connected with and informed about Chalice’s congregational life by reading the weekly enuus, monthly newsletter, and by watching recordings of at least two worship services monthly.

 

CORE COMPETENCIES

Professionalism

Communication: Is able to deliver a message clearly, articulately and with appropriate emotion in a variety of settings, including in writing; demonstrates communication styles appropriate to the situation at hand; adjusts the message, without losing the essence of the message, depending upon the circumstance and the listener or reader;

Follow Through: Consistently attends to the many small pieces which must be assembled into an organized whole; follows up on missing or out of balance items; resolves unanswered questions needed to address a problem; keeps the larger picture in mind while tending to details.

Personal Resilience: Can effectively cope with change and uncertainty; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty; is flexible.

Priority Setting: Spends his/her time and directs the time of others to what is important; quickly zones in on the critical issue, and ignores or minimizes distractions; can sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal; eliminates roadblocks; demonstrates focus.

Self-Development: Sets appropriate personal work objectives, measures own progress, identifies personal gaps in knowledge, understanding and skill; undertakes appropriate activities to develop needed skills; seeks regular feedback on performance; knows personal strengths and weaknesses, is sensitive to changing personal and organizational requirements and changes accordingly.

Leadership in Covenantal Community

Ethics and Values: Honors the core values and beliefs of the organization in his/her choice of behaviors; consistently embodies appropriate behavioral choices in both stressful and non-stressful situations; practices the behaviors he/she advocates to others.

Integrity and Trust: Is seen as trustworthy by others; practices direct, honest and transparent communication; keeps confidences; admits mistakes; doesn’t operate with hidden agendas; responds to situations with constancy and reliability.

Interpersonal Skills: Establishes good working relationships with all others who are relevant to the completion of work; works well with people at all levels of the congregation; builds appropriate rapport; considers the impact of his/her actions on others; uses diplomacy and tact; is approachable; avoids communication triangles.

Pastoral Care Support: Creates a spirit of openness that invites those who are spiritually or emotionally troubled to confide in her/him; demonstrates appropriate pastoral care boundaries; respects confidences; communicates with the minister about congregants’ pastoral care issues; encourages congregants to utilize the congregation’s pastoral care and conflict resolution resources, including utilizing the minister, lay chaplains, and the good relations committee.

Self-Differentiation: Demonstrates strong and appropriate personal boundaries in relationships; has a healthy appreciation of self, without being egotistical; is emotionally mature; can maintain a non-anxious presence in the midst of turmoil; not overly dependent upon outside affirmation; works to build a strong personal support system.

 

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will have:

• 3+ years of increasing responsibility in faith formation programs or experience in a related field.
• Strong ability to relate to adults and children and lead with enthusiasm.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree desired
• Knowledge of:
  • UU RE philosophy, teaching/learning theories and methodologies, and programming; RE Certification desired.
  • Family, organizational, and church systems.
  • Standard computer skills to include Microsoft Office, Dropbox, and Facebook.
• Skills in:
  • Supervising paid and volunteer staff.
  • Adapting curricula and developing creative programming.
  • Group facilitation.
  • Communicating and interacting with all ages and groups.
• Ability to:
  • Work collegially with Minister, staff team, lay leaders and parents.
  • Nurture spiritual development at all age levels.
  • Exercise leadership, including openness to change.

 

WAGES, BENEFITS, AND HOURS

This is a half-time (20 hours) hourly position that reports to the Minister. Pay is $21 – $25 an hour depending on qualifications. Chalice UUC offers 50% contribution towards health insurance premiums, 5% toward retirement (after one year), and has generous paid time- off policies.

Work hours are flexible, but need to include ten hours in the Chalice office at set times (office hours), in addition to Sunday mornings 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A criminal background check will be required.

 

How to Apply

Submit PDF version of the following via email to jobs.chaliceuu@gmail.com:

1. Cover letter
2. Your resume.
3. Three professional references. Include full name, address, phone, email and relationship.

A narrative description of your qualifications for each of the five areas under “essential functions.” Please limit your response to two pages.