JOB DESCRIPTION – DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

REPORTS TO:  Associate Minister

HOURS:           Full Time

START DATE:   August 1, 2019

SALARY:           $50,000 – $60,000, depending on experience

SUPERVISES:   Youth Programs Coordinator, Religious Education Administrative Assistant, Nursery Coordinator, and Early Childhood Coordinator

 

JOB SUMMARY:  The Director of Religious Education will lead the children’s religious education program, supervise the Religious Education staff, and work with lay leaders to coordinate healthy religious education programs for children and youth.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

  1. Collaborate with lay leaders and staff to articulate a mission and identity for family ministry and religious education programs for children and youth, connecting to the needs of the congregation’s children, youth, and families, Unitarian Universalist principles, and the mission and ends of the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee.
  2. Plan, organize, implement, and evaluate the Children’s Religious Education programs of the church, using internal and external resources, including Unitarian Universalist Association curricula and Milwaukee community engagement.
  3. Recruit, train, support, collaborate with, and manage Religious Education Volunteers.
  4. Develop and implement family ministry, supporting parents in their roles as their children’s primary religious educators.
  5. Working collaboratively with worship staff and lay worship associates, develop and implement multigenerational worship for Sunday worship services’ Time for All Ages, periodic full multigenerational Sunday worship services, and other circumstances as needed.
  6. Support, collaborate with, and supervise Religious Education staff.
  7. Support youth ministry, guide and collaborate with leaders, connect youth ministry into the overall mission and identity of Religious Education and the mission and ends of the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, and evaluate the outcomes of the program.
  8. Foster supportive, engaged, and joyful multigenerational and multiculturally-aware environments through programming and relationships within the congregation, in Milwaukee, and beyond. Participate in the First Church Anti-Racism team, and lead our children and youth programs towards anti-racism.
  9. Serve as a Staff Team member, helping to create a positive and welcoming church staff culture, and participating in staff meetings, retreats, and other appropriate cross-staff events.
  10. Seek to grow participation in the Religious Education program at First Church, in both depth and breadth.
  11. Ensure the safety of the children and youth in our program; and coordinate the development and implementation of First Church Safe Congregations policy and procedures.
  12. Provide a pastoral presence to children, youth, parents and volunteers, connecting them to our pastoral care resources when appropriate.
  13. Pursue professional development opportunities.

CORE COMPETENCIES

  1. Spiritual Maturity: Shows strong personal depth and spiritual grounding; demonstrates integrity in word and deed; responds with a constancy of purpose; is seen by others as trustworthy and authentic; nurtures a rich spiritual life; seeks the wisdom and guidance of appropriate mentors; is able to articulate a clear and consistent theology.
  2. Unitarian Universalist Faith Development and Teaching Methodology: Understands the stages of human and faith development for children and adolescents and applies that knowledge to Unitarian Universalist religious education programs and activities; knows Unitarian Universalism and its teaching resources for youth and children; selects teaching curricula, topics, and stories that are relevant, provocative, and contribute to a deeper identity and understanding of Unitarian Universalism, our theology, and its application in our community of practice; evaluates various curricula on their application a variety of teaching tools and methodologies; uses those tools and methodologies to engage diverse audiences and learning styles, build connections among them, support teachers, and enhance the classroom experience; facilitates learning experiences for the congregation, especially its children and youth.
  3. Spiritual Formation: Demonstrates an understanding of spiritual formation as a journey or process; invites children and youth into reflection about their process of spiritual formation; teaches a variety of spiritual practices to lead children and youth in their spiritual development; creates classroom and multigenerational environments that foster spiritual deepening.
  4. Multicultural Competency and Anti-Racist Commitment: Understands the elements of a Status Quo Congregation, a Multiculturally-Aware Congregation and an Anti-Racist Congregation; understands cross-cultural competency as a process moving towards anti-racism; knows the developmental learning work for individuals and groups to move to the next place in their journey towards anti-racism; invites individuals and leads groups towards that next place.
  5. 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 their actions on others; uses diplomacy and tact; is approachable; avoids communication triangles.
  6. Supervising Work: Is good at establishing clear expectations and setting clear direction; sets stretching objectives; distributes the workload appropriately; provides regular and ongoing feedback about performance; proactively deals with substandard performance; engages disciplinary processes in a timely manner.
  7. Leadership Development: Encourages others to discover and engage their giftedness and skills in service to the larger community; calls out the best in others; supports others in the development of their skills and abilities; actively seeks to engage others more directly in the leadership life of the congregation; thinks strategically about the continual need for a next generation of leaders and works to build the leadership base.
  8. Team Building: Weaves new people into teams; leads the team successfully through difficulties and challenges, including conflict, and power differences within the team; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates feeling of belonging and pride in the team.
  9. Volunteer Management: 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.
  10. Change Management: Seeks organizational innovation with a purpose; leads others into innovative activity; creates a prudent risk-taking environment; embraces life-long learning for oneself and for others; accepts the mistakes of others and turns them into learning opportunities; identifies alternatives to status quo and advocates system changes when barriers to change are identified.
  11. Process Management: Good at figuring out the processes necessary to get things done; knows how to organize people and activities; understands how to separate and combine tasks into efficient work flow; knows what to measure and how to measure it; can see opportunities for synergy and integration; can simplify complex processes and create policy for repetitive processes.
  12. Pastoral Care/Counseling: Demonstrates the ministry of presence; creates a spirit of openness that invites those who are spiritually or emotionally troubled to confide in them; demonstrates appropriate pastoral care boundaries, recognizing their own limitations as a care provider; respects confidences; appropriately refers congregants to ministers and our pastoral care system when appropriate.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Five years of leading Religious Education in Unitarian Universalist congregations
  • Five years of teaching experience
  • Commitment to Unitarian Universalist principles
  • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
  • Experience in multicultural education and culturally-responsive practices in the classroom, and commitment to anti-racism
  • Knowledge of human development and classroom management
  • Mission-focused
  • Interpersonal skills; ability to relate well with a wide range of children, youth, and adults
  • Flexible team player, preferably with a good sense of humor, able to work collaboratively with teams of lay leaders and other staff members
  • Ability to support and supervise staff members and volunteers
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
  • Ability to manage a budget
  • Knowledge of personal computer software, including word processing & basic familiarity with database capability
  • Ability to work a flexible work week, including most Sundays and some evenings

 PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

  • Must be able to work on a computer at least 50% of the time.
  • Must be able to operate a computer and other office equipment.
  • Must be able to frequently communicate with staff and lay leaders, exchanging information accurately.

 TO APPLY BY MARCH 1, 2019 DEADLINE: Please send cover letter and resume, including three references, via email to: Jennifer.nordstrom@uumilwaukee.org with “Director of Religious Education Application” in the subject line of the email. Deadline to apply is March 1, 2019; applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.