The First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, Michigan (UUAA) is looking for a full-time Congregational Administrator to help lead the administrative, financial, and facilities management needs of our dynamic, justice-oriented community. Located in Ann Arbor - a fun & vibrant college town, and home to the University of Michigan, among other top academic institutions - our community is the largest Unitarian Universalist congregation in the state of Michigan and a leading voice regionally and nationally in furthering the work of social justice.

Our successful candidate will be a critical member of our senior staff team/executive leadership team, helping manage and provide oversight for our community’s $1.1 million dollar operations. As this is a leadership role in a large and complex non-profit setting, applicants must be high level strategic and policy-oriented thinkers as well as skillful at detail-oriented financial and administrative management. UUAA prides itself in having a collaborative work culture, in a policy-based governance context, within an open and pluralistic spiritual-religious environment.

UUAA strives to embody diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) commitments in its employment practices, institutional culture, and its relationships within and outside our community. Applicants holding diverse identities and/or life experiences are warmly encouraged to apply.

Salary range: $70,000-80,000/annum plus benefits and reasonable moving expenses, if living outside the area/region. Start date: August 1, 2022.

Interested candidates should reach out to Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti, Senior Minister, for an initial phone/zoom conversation to explore the potential fit with our community’s spiritual-religious values and work culture. Subsequent to that, we will invite the submission of a letter of interest, CV, and references. This position will remain open until filled, with applications accepted on a rolling basis. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Position Description

Role

 The Congregational Administrator serves full-time as the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor’s (UUAA’s) staff lead on matters related to the institution’s financial operations, management of its buildings and grounds, its office operations, the policies and procedures pertaining to these, and the lay volunteers, and contractors that support such. This includes, but is not limited to, collaborative leadership of UUAA’s stewardship, planned giving, and capital campaigns; management of renters and rental policies/procedures; and, the supervision of office support volunteers, UUAA’s bookkeeper, and contractors, as needed and applicable.

 Supervision

The Congregational Administrator reports to the Senior Minister. 

Essential Functions

• Join in UUAA's collaborative, co-creative staff culture, as a critical member of the senior staff team, adding one's own creativity, joy, and gifts to that mix.
• Serve as the primary point of contact on the senior staff team, and as a critical public communicator and presence within the UUAA community, on matters related to congregational administration.
• Manage the following lay or professional staff members, as applicable/existent, including UUAA’s: Volunteer Office Manager; Building Manager; Bookkeeper; Office Volunteer Team; maintenance contractors; and, other positions and/or volunteers as mutually agreed and appropriate.
• Establish, recruit for, mentor/guide, and meet regularly with lay committees, including but not limited to UUAA’s: Stewardship Committee; Finance Committee; Buildings & Grounds Committee; and an Arts & Aesthetics Committee or Subcommittee.
• Provide leadership and oversight for UUAA’s emergency preparedness, physical security, and other related needs.
• Manage UUAA’s operational budget, ensuring that total expenses do not exceed the budget approved by UUAA’s Board.

Other Responsibilities

• Attend UUAA staff meetings and retreats/mini-retreats.
• Attend monthly Senior Staff or Executive Team meetings (as applicable).
• Attend regular one-on-one direct report meetings with the Senior Minister.
• Attend other meetings as needed, assigned, and available.
• Manage additional staff members or activities/programs as needed, assigned, and available.

Core Competencies 

• Vision Ownership: Demonstrates understanding and full support of the unfolding vision and values of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor. Is able to speak to these values with congregants, newcomers, and people in the wider community.  Uses these understandings in shaping ministry and work with congregational groups.
• Programmatic Leadership: Benchmarks best practices in the creation, revision, implementation, and oversight of congregational administration; works through divergent congregational needs productively, serving as a bridge-builder and effective communicator; meets with relevant congregational constituencies to learn more about their administrative and financial needs, desires, and wants. 
• Interpersonal Skills: Establishes good working relationships with those relevant to the completion of work, maintains a good working relationship with all levels of the congregation, and builds appropriate inter-personal rapport; considers the impact of their actions on others, uses diplomacy and tact; is approachable; avoids communication triangles. Models working productively with others, even when there is conflict or disagreement. 
• Team Building: Leads teams successfully through difficulties and challenges, including situations involving disagreement, differing needs, and/or diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) considerations within the team; creates strong morale; shares wins and successes; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging and pride in the team.
• Creativity and Innovation: Generates new ideas; makes new connections among existing ideas to create fresh approaches; takes acceptable risks in pursuit of innovation; learns from mistakes; has good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work. 
• Verbal & Written Communication: Is able to craft and deliver important congregational messaging - including messaging related to congregational finances, fundraising, and administrative and building policies - clearly, articulately and with appropriate emotion in a variety of settings; 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. 

Benefits

The provisions, procedures, and expectations related to benefits contained in the UUAA Employee Manual (2022) will apply.

 Termination, Resignation, or Retirement 

The provisions, procedures, and expectations related to termination, resignation, and retirement contained in the UUAA Employee Manual (2022) will apply.

Evaluation

A mid-year and annual evaluation of the roles and responsibilities described herein will occur, in accordance with the policies and processes described in the UUAA Employee Manual (2022), with lead evaluative responsibility held by the Senior Minister.

Schedule

The Congregational Administrator is an ‘exempt’ professional. In recognition that this position is time intensive with daily varying hours, the Congregational Administrator and the Senior Minister will discuss the broad parameters of their schedules, understanding that the work is multifaceted, unpredictable, highly relational, and subject to unforeseen activities and events. The Congregational Administrator is responsible for monitoring their time to ensure proper balance of work and time off. Typical office hours will include: Sundays, approximately 9am to 2pm, Mondays through Thursdays, approximately 10am-5pm, in addition to other hours which will be flexibly scheduled as needed. Please note: this position includes evening work hours, the schedule of which can vary, in order to meet and work with lay led committees/groups. The successful candidate can expect 1-2 evening meetings per week, typically lasting 1.5 to 2 hours each.

On Saturday, June 20th and Sunday, June 21st we bid a fond farewell to Reverend Lindasusan Ulrich, who has served UUAA and blessed us with her  sermons, singing and meditations for the last five years. She leaves us to become the settled minister at the Unitarian Society of New Haven, Connecticut! Our best wishes travel with Lindasusan, her wife Emily and son R.J.!

Rev. Lindasusan gave her farewell sermon at the service June 21, 2020.

Rev. Lindasusan encouraged us to always leave room for our creativity and sense of playfulness. She asks all of us to go forward with courage and kindness, to be a blessing to the World.

The June 21st service is available for viewing following this link.

At the end of the service, Senior Minister Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti, virtually presented Lindasusan with a hand made Lakota ceremonial drum as a farewell gift that recognizes her connection to sacred drumming.

Photos from the Farewell Car Parade on June 20th

We couldn't gather in the social hall for cake and music, but many UUAA congregants took part in a car parade to honor Rev. Lindasusan, Emily and RJ.

Service of Installation of Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti

On Sunday,April 7, 2019 at 4:00pm the members of the UUAA Congregation installed Reverend Manish Mishra-Marzetti as our thirteenth senior minister since our founding in 1865. A list of installation week end events is shown below.

Words of Installation

The following promises were spoken by the members of UUAA and by Rev. Manish during the Service of Installation:

UUAA Members: We, the Members of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, have called you as our community’s Senior Minister, with the charge to help shape and give life to our values, our hopes, and our dreams. We pledge to trust you, and the other leaders working alongside you. We promise to maintain a tone of love, respect, and supportiveness in all of the challenges we take on together. We expect you to always hold the best interests of the community, as a whole, in all that you do with us, and we promise to join you in that aspiration, even when it’s hard. We know that we will live into these promises imperfectly, and when we do, we welcome your loving support in reminding us of these commitments.

Rev. Manish: I am honored and delighted to have been called as our community’s senior spiritual leader, with the charge of helping shape and give life to our values, our hopes, and our dreams. I pledge to trust you, and the other leaders working alongside me. I promise to maintain a tone of love, respect, and supportiveness in all of the challenges we take on together. I honor the expectation of always holding the best interests of the community, as a whole, in all that I do with you, and I welcome and need you to join me in that aspiration, even when it’s hard. I know that I will live into these promises imperfectly, and when I do, I welcome your loving support in reminding me of these commitments.

UUAA Members: With great hope, love, and trust, we do hereby officially install you, Reverend Manish Mishra-Marzetti, as the thirteenth Senior Minister of our congregation. May we embark on this shared ministry as a united and loving community, energized to truly make a difference in our lives and in a world that needs us.

Photos

 Please use this link to view an album of sample photos from the service of installation

Installation Events

To mark this special occasion in our congregation's history, the week end included a variety of events.

Prof. Wes Napoline

Friday, April 5th

A special guest at Friday Fun Night-- Professor Wes Napoline, a Unitarian Universalist and research scientist in chemistry, presented a program on "The Intersection of Science and Spirituality."

Tret FureSaturday, April 6th

Tret Fure gave a concert. Tret is a contemporary singer-songwriter and has worked in the genre known as women's music. The concert was open to the community.

Sunday, April 7th

9:30 and 11:30 am - Sunday Services

Several special out of town guests joined us at our usual Sunday morning services at 9:30 and 11:30 am. The sermon was given by the Rev. Sam Teitel.

Rev. Nancy McDonald-Ladd     4:00 pm - Service of Installation

The members of theUUAA Congregation installed Rev. Manish as our thirteenth senior minister in our 154 year history.  

The installation sermon was given by the Rev. Nancy McDonald-Ladd, who many UUAA members saw when she preached the sermon at the Sunday morning worship service in the Columbus, Ohio at the 2016 General Assembly.  She is the author of the recently published book, After the Good News: Progressive Faith Beyond Optimism.

5:30 pm - Installation Reception

Elandria Williams and Barb Greve, UUA Co-ModeratorsAfter the installation service a packed and festive reception in the social hall included Indian and American foods, high spirits and much conversation between congregants and our special out of town guests.

Guests included

• Minister Emerita, Rev. Gail R. Geisenhainer
• Minister Emeritus, Rev. Kenneth W. Phifer
• Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom, who co-edited with Rev. Manish the book Justice on Earth.
  
  
• Elandria Williams, co-moderator of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the facilitator who is working with us in our year-long project on our congregations vision and mission.
  
  
• Mr. Barb Greve, co-moderator with Elandria Williams of the UUA.
  
  
• Gini and Rev. Wendy Von Courter.  Gini Von Courter is a former moderator of the UUA.