Parish Executive Director

Parish Executive Director: Recruitment Profile, June 2019
Download a PDF of the full profile at: stmonica.net/executivedirector

Parish Mission: To form loving disciples who will transform the world.

Summary: The Parish Executive Director (PED) will be an accomplished, strategic, and visionary leader, providing primary day-to-day administration and oversight responsibility for parish staff, ministry programs, finance, operations, and volunteers. In decisions and direction, the PED will operate (1) consistent with the mission and goals of St. Monica and the Catholic Church, and (2) in fiscally sound manner. Reporting to Pastor, this position is responsible for the following key areas: leadership, personnel, finance, stewardship, operations.

The PED will use principles of servant leadership to create and maintain a parish culture that is transparent, collaborative and responsible, and consistently supports the parish mission,
“To form loving disciples who will transform the world.”

Of primary importance, the PED will be a key leader during a very significant transition for the parish community. The current pastor, a dedicated and dynamic leader who has deep ties with the parish and broader community, may soon retire. The PED will be pivotal to ensure a stable and forward-looking environment for the parish during this transition, celebrating and recognizing all that current pastor has accomplished and given to St. Monica, facilitating the current pastor’s retirement process, and welcoming and onboarding the new pastor.

The PED and the President of Schools work collaboratively as equal partners and report directly to the pastor. The PED will also consult with the Finance Council and the Parish Council, comprised of termed lay leaders serving in advisory capacities. The PED will supervise all lay parish employees, except three positions which report directly to the pastor.

St. Monica is unable to offer any assistance in relocation, or unique accommodations for extended commute. Candidates should research and consider the cost-of-living in Southern California as well as associated commute.

Leadership

The PED assumes day-to-day leadership and oversight responsibility for the parish and staff by maintaining a vibrant and mission-driven parish culture, stewarding a collaborative strategic vision, serving as the parish stakeholder within our schools and the broader civic community, and ensuring compliance with canonical, archdiocesan, and other applicable regulations.

Parish Culture

• Models a commitment to the parish’s mission and vision, specifically to minister to current parishioners, foster outreach to new parishioners and serve those in the broader community.
• Expresses a life of faith, worship and service, with a strong sense of mission and vocation.
• Understands and refines an organizational structure that is clear and collaborative, which is committed to personnel deployment and assignments based on insightful discernment of individuals’ skills and talents, developing those skills, and providing growth opportunities both within the parish and beyond.
• Maintains a consistent on-site presence not only within the established work-week, but also Catholic holidays, special events, and especially 1–2 Sundays each month.

Strategy & Vision: Working closely with the Pastor, Schools President and the various bodies of parish leadership (Finance & Parish Councils) this role will collaboratively lead the creation or refining of parish vision statement and plan. The PED should have proven experience managing evolution and change.

Parish Stakeholder: The PED advocates for parish interests in decision-making processes with the schools. This includes policies and procedures for shared use of facilities, common concerns, and the administration of meeting schedules, staff activities, and community programs. Additionally, The PED represents the parish and fosters relationships within in the civic community (City of Santa Monica, Chamber of Commerce, faith-based coalitions) and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Regulations & Compliance

• Working closely with the Pastor, the PED is responsible for recognizing issues of Canon Law, understanding, implementing, and adhering to regulations of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (e.g. Administrative Handbook), guidelines for Safe Environment (Virtus), and municipal, state, and federal laws relating to personnel, and non-profit organizations.
• Preserves a secure system and physical storage of records both on- and off-site in the following categories: Canonical, Virtus, personnel, and other documents according to the Archdiocesan record retention schedule.

Personnel

The recruitment, sustaining and development of parish personnel and—perhaps more importantly—volunteers is vitally important to the success of our parish. The PED must possess an unwavering commitment to and advanced skill in human resources.

Recruitment & Development

• Develops job descriptions and an organization chart that clearly delineate each position’s roles and responsibilities, ensuring proper interviews, classification, and labor practices.
• Provides comprehensive orientation, onboarding, and identifies opportunities for training and continuing education.
• Through a consistent and regular supervision and review process, provide all employees with timely and constructive feedback about their work.

Healthy Working Environment

• Establishes a culture that is fair, just, and consistent based on mutual respect and support throughout all levels of the staff community.
• Continues to develop and inspire a strong, performance-based culture that is collaborative and where communication is open and transparent at all levels.
• Addresses conflicts and disputes swiftly and commits to equitable reconciliation process.
• Develops clear, consistent and frequent internal communication practices to ensure all staff is aware of issues and plans that impact their work areas, the parish as a whole, and invites staff feedback and ideas.
• Models a healthy work-life balance and supports staff in doing so as well.

Finance

The PED must be committed to achieving financial sustainability, embracing dynamic challenges to budgeting and revenues, and a strategic approach in planning our resources. The PED ensures timely and accurate reporting to the Pastor, Finance Council, and staff as appropriate; prepares and submit the annual financial report to the Archdiocese.

• Supervises the Controller to provide impeccable fiscal management of parish’s finances with accountability, integrity, and transparency.
• Calculates shared costs between parish and two schools: personnel, operations, equipment, and resource utilization.
• In consultation with councils and staff, provides strategic direction through the budget preparation process, and submits to the Archdiocese.
• Ensures that parish financial practices are in accordance with GAAP standards for nonprofits, including current tax lax and underlying principles of Sarbanes–Oxley regulations as relevant in the parish setting.
• Conducts periodic review of internal controls, cash and asset management, and troubleshoots any unexpected deficits in a fair and just manner.

Stewardship

The PED supervises and works closely with the Director of Stewardship in the development and implementation of a creative, strategic approach to all aspects of fundraising.

• Sets and achieves strategic and mission-driven fundraising goals for regular offertory giving (including an annual stewardship renewal campaign), periodic designation-specific appeals (e.g. Together in Mission, Mission Co-op), capital campaigns (especially Jan 2020, Called to Renew), and other community and ministry-targeted fundraisers throughout the year.
• Leads collaboration with the schools to create development initiatives designed to meet the community’s fiscal requirements and to grow fundraising capacity and results.
• Ensures that the parish’s finances, assets and resources are used in a responsible and transparent way that reflects good stewardship, both within the parish and in the broader community.
• Models a commitment to invite, cultivate, nurture, recognize, and thank volunteers for their contributions of time, talent and treasure.

Administration

The PED serves to advise, empower and provide supervision to directors to ensure physical grounds and buildings are maintained, space and resources are efficiently utilized, and the parish rental program and retail establishment remains cost-effective.

Facilities

• Strategically anticipate, prioritize, and execute capital improvements that are consistent with good stewardship of parish resources and serve the parish mission.
• Grow the parish rental program of parish facilities, coordinated by the Assistant Operations Director, by supervising the administration of external user agreements, community-wide calendar, guests and other internal uses, and a strategic parking program of independent contractors and volunteers.

Marketing Communications & Information Technology

• Provides strategic and tactical oversight to Director of Marketing Communications to achieve internal and external messaging that is data-driven, comprehensive, consistent, high-quality, and multi-channel.
• Supervises Director of Technology to acquire, deploy, and maintain a technology infrastructure (hardware, software, networking) that is efficient, secure, and up-to-date.
• Empowers and enables maximum utilization by providing ongoing training of staff, lay leaders, and volunteers in technology skills and practices.

Retail, Holy Grounds Café & Bookstore: Provides guidance and oversight to Holy Grounds Manager ensuring cost-effective retail business practices, especially staff supervision, cash management, and legal compliance.

Operations

• In coordination with the Maintenance Director and Lead Custodian, the PED conducts a monthly walk-through and inspection of all parish facilities, identifying and addressing needs quickly and cost-effectively.
• Working with contracted security team of two and the leadership of the schools, establish and maintain a physically and emotionally safe environment for all persons on campus, by:
• Maximizing the physical and tangible security measures protecting the campus.
• Reviewing and refining Parish Disaster Plan: assigning roles, defining procedures, convening team meetings regularly, conducting drills, providing training, and curating appropriate documentation.
• Encouraging the development of shared responsibility within the community for reporting and responding to safety concerns.

Qualifications

Required

• Master’s degree in related field (e.g. MBA, MPA) or
  master’s degree accompanied by Parish Business Administration Certificate or equivalent.
• Ten years of relevant leadership and management experience in a nonprofit setting—preferably within a faith-based organization.
• Proven stamina to manage and multi-task across multiple, concurrent priorities and multiple events and programs without much downtime.
• Demonstrated success supervising diverse personnel in a fair, just, and consistent manner.
• Expert knowledge of current standard business software and the ability to quickly learn new, innovative applications, including CRM and general ledger accounting software. The parish currently uses Raiser’s Edge, Financial Edge, and Office365.
• Well-developed ability to fluctuate effectively between multiple platforms of engagement: liturgical, ministerial, pastoral, executive.
• Strong commitment to collaboration, employee growth and development, and creative solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully and efficiently delegate responsibility and authority.
• Proven success in financial management, especially budgets, analytic projections, and goals.

Helpful

• Experience and familiarity with Catholic institutions, including parishes, schools, and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, including understanding the role, scope and value of ministry in a parish community.
• Successful experience leading an organization through a period of significant change: providing stability, clarity, inclusion, and vision through the process.

Personal

• Strongly self-motivated, entrepreneurial, self-sufficient; can lead and perform effectively with minimal support.
• An unquestioned reputation for integrity and ethics; a strong character that will quickly gain the trust of others.
• Exemplary communication skills, with diplomacy and credibility across multiple internal and external channels.
• High level of self-awareness: unselfish, providing credit to others, and receding when appropriate.
• Confidence and willingness to make the best decision possible for the parish, even if means taking an unpopular position.

Compensation & Recruitment

Compensation will be commensurate with position, skills and experience.
Full benefits will be offered through the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Send letter of interest and resume to executivedirector@stmonica.net.
This position will remain open until filled.