Official Job Announcement
Program Director for the Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative
The Pastoral Development Ministry Team of the Ministry Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is currently accepting online applications for the full-time position of Program Director for the Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative.
The successful Program Director will lead a transformative program aimed at enhancing pastors’ preaching skills and understanding. The Program Director will be directly accountable to the Pastoral Development Ministry Team Leader. The Program Director may work at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Denominational Center (Cordova, Tennessee), or remotely. This position requires willingness and ability to travel (including weekends). The Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative is funded by a five-year grant from the Lilly Endowment.
The Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative will strengthen preaching in a variety of ways, including:
- Helping preachers reach and engage increasingly diverse audiences both within and beyond congregations.
- Hosting educational opportunities for preachers to learn and share best practices for effective communication.
- Supporting pastors and lay leaders as they preach about issues of growing importance to younger generations.
- Helping pastors and others in ministry acknowledge and navigate polarization within congregations and communities in their preaching.
- Helping congregations develop feedback groups to provide preachers with ongoing insights about how their sermons are being received.
- Inviting young people into experiences of preaching that may help them discern potential callings to ministry.
- Helping preachers communicate effectively with audiences through digital technologies and new media.
- Developing and curating resources about effective preaching.
DEADLINE TO APPLY: Completed online applications, including a resume, an updated Personal Information Form, and three signed letters of recommendation must be received no later than Noon (Central Standard Time), Monday, November 27, 2023.
If you are interested in learning more or applying, please utilize the following documents:
In addition to the job description, the following competencies are important:
- Strong organizational and project management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities effectively.
- Deep understanding of preaching, homiletics, and the challenges faced by pastors.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Demonstrates ability to manage budgets and resources efficiently.
- Commitment to inclusivity and promoting diversity in program participation.
- Visionary thinking and the ability to inspire and motivate others.
- Demonstrates experience in program evaluation and data-driven decision-making.
- Familiarity with technology tools and resources relevant to preaching and education.
SALARY AND BENEFITS: The Ministry Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church offers health, dental, life, and disability insurance plans, a retirement plan, and PTO (personal time off). The experience-based salary will be determined prior to employment and will be set forth in a memorandum confirming employment. A modest moving allowance may be available if the successful candidate works primarily from the Denominational Center.
All application packages should be submitted online. To apply,
APPLICATION: Complete and submit an online application. If your browser or PDF software does not display a “SUBMIT” button at the bottom of the application, save the completed, signed PDF and email it to applications@cumberland.org with the subject line “Application: Program Director for the Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative.”
RESUME and PERSONAL INFORMATION FORM: Email your current resume and Personal Information Form to applications@cumberland.org with the subject line “Resume and PIF: Program Director for the Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative;” failure to properly identify your email in these ways may delay, or even jeopardize your application process. A blank Word document of the Personal Information Form can be found here.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: In addition to the three references provided on the online application, applicants will ensure signed letters of recommendation from three additional people are submitted directly from the authors of the letters to applications@cumberland.org prior to the deadline. Letters of recommendation should not be sent via the applicant. Email subject lines should include “LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION for Name of the applicant/Program Director for the Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative.” Signed letters should describe the applicant’s professionalism, leadership, and effective project management experience. Current Denominational Center staff members and elected Ministry Council members may not provide letters of recommendation.
Individuals who submit an incomplete application package prior to the deadline will be sent one email (receipt acknowledgement requested) to inform them of missing information, noting that the process must be completed by the deadline for the application to be considered. Application packages that are incomplete after the deadline will not be considered.
Initial phone interviews will be conducted with applicants that the Interview Panel considers to be qualified candidates. Following these interviews, individuals whom the panel desires to interview in person may come to the Denominational Center or other location for a second interview. Ideally, the successful candidate will begin work in January 2024, following satisfactory completion of a background check.
9 October 2023