Church of the Redeemer

Chestnut Hill, MA

Position Specification

 

Title:                                         Executive Assistant to the Rector

Organization:                            Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill, MA

Reports To:                              The Reverend Dorsey W. M. McConnell

Parish Background:      

The Church of the Redeemer is one of the largest parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, one of the first and largest of Episcopal dioceses in this country.  It is a family parish, noted for its traditional worship services and cathedral-style music, active church school, youth, fellowship and outreach programs and gothic architecture and beautiful grounds.  Many parish families come from nearby communities in Newton and Brookline.   

 

The parish is composed mainly of traditional two-parent families, with a number of multi-generational families in the parish.  Most of its senior members are long-time parishioners.  However, its parishioners span a full spectrum of ages and situations and its diversity and complexity is increasing.  The educational level of the parishioners is high and a significant number hold advanced degrees and professional positions.  

 

Parish efforts focus on three strategic trajectories: worship, family ministry and outreach partnerships.  Spiritual development for all ages is at the core of the parish mission which is to “bring people to Christ, and to bring Christ to all people, through worship, fellowship, education and service.”  Sunday morning worship services from September through the beginning of June are at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m..  Regular weekday services consist of Wednesday Morning Prayer and Healing.  Additional services include the liturgies of Holy Week, Evensong, Nine Lessons and Carols (Advent), and Compline.  In the summer, one Sunday morning service is held at 9 a.m..  Throughout the year Bible studies, Christian education, confirmation, special Lenten and Advent education and supper series and other classes are held.  The parish also is host to many weddings, baptisms, funerals and memorial services.     

 

The parish also is the center for many volunteer activities, committees and services that support the rest of the mission and trajectories and ensure parish functioning.  The vestry, the volunteer lay leadership arm of the parish, consists of the rector, senior and junior wardens, clerk, treasurer, assistant treasurer and twelve regular members who are elected for four year terms and meet monthly.  Vestry members serve as liaisons to many of the standing church committees, which include Youth, Worship, Music, Buildings, Grounds, Stewardship, Finance Policy, Fellowship, Outreach, Christmas Market, and Church School.  The Head of the Altar Guild and the President of the Church Service League (CSL), a parish-wide women’s group that has a long history of service, also serve as ex-officio members of the vestry. The CSL’s fundraising efforts support both the Fellowship Committee and the Outreach Committee efforts.  Included among these efforts is an annual Christmas Market and Auction, a two-day fundraising event that involves more volunteers than any other single activity of the parish.  Service that is external to the church includes providing financial grants and volunteer services to various groups in the Boston area that help the disadvantaged and others facing hardship.  The parish also has a partnership with St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Boston, one of a small number of mission churches in the diocese where the parish helps to support after school programs, their food pantry, summer day camp programs and a variety of other volunteer projects as well as participation by members of that parish in mission trips with members of the Redeemer.

 

The parish also hosts a number of secular activities that provide services for the neighborhood.  For example, the parish serves as a voting location, is home to a nursery school and music lessons, holds professional concerts for the public and serves as a recording space. 

 

The parish and its activities are led by the Rector, the Rev. Dorsey W.M. McConnell with assistance from its newly named Curate, the Rev. Marc G. Eames and overseen by the wardens, vestry and committees. Their work and the work of the parish, affiliated clergy and vestry is supported by an Organist & Choirmaster, a Youth Choir Director, Church School Director, Facilities Manager, and Financial Administrator. 

 

Overview and Duties:

The increasing number, diversity and complexity of parish programs and relationships necessitates that the parish upgrades the role formerly held by a Parish Administrator.  The person, who fills the new role of Executive Assistant to the Rector, will be an essential member of the parish staff and the parish point person for all facets of parish administration and program operations.  The role has a direct reporting relationship to the Rector and indirect but ongoing with the wardens.  The successful role incumbent will work with members of the staff, clergy, wardens and lay volunteers to ensure the smooth and effective functioning of the parish.  The principle responsibilities of the role include but are not limited to:

 

·        Ensuring effective and secure church office operations and daily parish administrative and clerical functions including collecting information, keeping parish records up to date, writing and publishing all bulletins and communications, ordering of supplies, maintaining the look/feel of the office and common spaces and bulletin boards, and ensuring proper maintenance of equipment, etc. 

·        Overseeing and coordinating all clergy, committee and staff schedules and calendars and maintaining the calendar so that the events, time and space reflect parish priorities.  Includes attending committee meetings as necessary to keep abreast of parish activities and committee and staff needs and coordinating/facilitating communications and reminders among committees, volunteers and staff.    

·        Following up on requests and inquiries, keeping people up to date about, communicating and distributing helpful information, correcting problems and making self available and accessible to serve the needs of the parish.

·        Collaborating and supporting the efforts of Vestry, staff, committees and members on matters of parish life and where administrative and office operations assistance will be of value, including reporting activities such as the Parochial and Annual Reports.   

·        Engaging and interacting with the Diocese, Commonwealth and Community on communications and administrative matters that involve the parish and its grounds.

·        Recommending and facilitating improvements that will increase the effectiveness of parish operations and administration. 

·        Reaching out to, welcoming, nurturing and assisting new and current members, prospective members, staff, committee chairs, committee members, guests and those in greater need to ensure their needs are met in a timely and confidential manner.

·        Determining the need for, budget, hire, train and manage clerical assistance, when needed.

Critical Competencies: 

·        Initiative: Proactively identifies problems, obstacles or opportunities and takes action in light of those to address current or future problems or opportunities.

·        Integrity: Communicates intentions, ideas and feelings openly and directly, welcomes openness and honesty, even in difficult negotiations with other parties; admits own mistakes and takes action to correct them.

·        Concern for Detail:  Monitors and checks work or information, data and projects for accuracy and completion, discovers weaknesses or missing data and seeks out information to keep order.

·        Good judgment: gathers information and arrives at conclusions appropriate to the situation.

·        Interpersonal Understanding:  Accurately hears and understands the unspoken or partly expressed thoughts, feelings and concerns of others.

·        Confidentiality:  Respects the privacy of individuals and keeps their sensitive and personal information confidential.

·        Service Orientation: possesses a desire to help or serve others, to meet their needs.

·        Information Seeking: Goes beyond the obvious to seek needed information.

·        Respect for others: Makes a personal effort to treat all people fairly and holds others in high regard, giving them support, the benefit of the doubt and opportunities to be successful.

·        Relationship Building: Builds or maintains friendly, reciprocal and warm relationship or networks of contacts with people.

·        Flexibility: Adapts to and works effectively within a variety of situations and with various individuals or groups. 

·        Self Control: Keeps one’s emotions under control, responds calmly and restrains negative actions if provoked, when faced with opposition or hostility from others or when working under conditions of stress.

·        Teamwork: Works cooperatively with others to get things done.

Important Skills/ Abilities 

• Excellent organizational, written and oral communications skills.
• Full competency with Microsoft Office a must. Willingness to learn ACS (church software) and other parish administrative software.
• Website construction and familiarity with budgeting desirable.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule including occasional evenings and weekends as necessary.
   

If interested in this position, please email your resume with a cover letter to the Rector, the Rev. Dorsey W. M. McConnell, at dmcconnell@redeemerchestnuthill.org .