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.