Follen Community Church
Director of Community Engagement
Job Description
Reports to: Minister
Effective: August 15, 2015
Status: Full-time
Compensation and Benefits: Salary commensurate with experience. Healthcare benefits,
five weeks of vacation, flexible weekly schedule, and light summer hours.
Please apply no later than April 21, 2015 with resume and cover letter to:
[email protected].
Job Summary:
The Director of Community Engagement (DCE) will provide collaborative leadership,
community organizing, and support to the ministries of Follen Community Church, with
a focus on effective communication within and beyond the congregation, and on
volunteer development.
Essential Functions:
 Serves as the first face of Follen: creating a welcoming and hospitable Sunday
morning atmosphere, being present in worship, supervising ushers and hosts to
offer an immediate friendly connection, supporting and developing fellowship
hour volunteers, and finding ways to nurture newcomers’ engagement, both in
continued worship attendance and outside of Sunday morning. With an
entrepreneurial and positive spirit, seeks innovative and sustainable ways to
strengthen our outreach, welcoming, and hospitality.
 Manages, implements and strengthens Follen’s current communication modes,
including: follen.org; social media networks; the weekly email news; and the
order of service. Proactively engages with new communication methods as they
emerge and regularly evaluates the effectiveness of old strategies.
 Engages with the staff team, the Community and Hospitality Action Team (and its
sub teams, including Membership and Social Events), Social Justice Action Team
(and sub teams), the Covenant Groups program, and the Nominating Committee,
to help these teams evaluate their needs and develop how this job position can
best support their work within the frame of the larger congregation.
 Assists the lay leaders of major Follen fundraisers in planning and organizing
events and volunteers with a priority on supporting Stewardship; as well as
supporting leaders of the East Village Fair, Christmas tree sales, and Auction.
 Maintains organized informational database (currently on the PowerChurch
platform) on the interests and needs of Follen members and friends, and
proactively uses the information in the database to connect people in the
community with each other for personal support, friendship, volunteer
opportunities, and greater engagement in congregational life.
 Initiates communication strategies designed to invite newcomers into the church
and to follow up with visitors.
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
Organizes orientations on Unitarian Universalism, congregational life at Follen,
and other opportunities for newcomers to become more integrated; partners with
minister to welcome new members into the community.
 Nurtures effective communication between Action Teams, and between Actions
Teams and the wider congregation.
Other Responsibilities:
 Participates in Sunday morning worship, staff meetings (traditionally Monday),
and some evening meetings, with flexibility around other hours. Six Sundays off
during September-June.
Minimum Qualifications
Education: Bachelors degree required.
Licensure: CORI check required.
Demonstrated leadership and social skills.
Physical Requirements:
 Able to move freely in and out of different settings (home, church, businesses).
 Able to speak in the public forum, groups, and one-on-one settings.
 Able to see and use computer screens and other web-enabled devices.
Core Competencies:
Mission ownership. Demonstrates understanding and full support of the Unitarian
Universalist mission, vision, values, history and beliefs of the congregation; can teach
those values to others; consistently behaves in a manner congruent with the mission,
vision, values, history and beliefs.
Hospitality/Accessibility: Generates a sense of hospitality and or accessibility by his or
her very presence; communicates a sense of availability, warmth, openness and
approachability; fosters natural connections between members of the congregation and
with visitors; supports a culture of welcoming and connection in the life of the
congregation; creates an environment that others want to participate in.
Developing volunteers and leaders. Encourages others to discover and engage their
giftedness and skills in service to the larger community; supports others in the
development of their skills and abilities; communicates expectations clearly; calls out the
best in others; maintains open and active dialogue with volunteers; actively seeks to
engage others more directly in the leadership life of the congregation; thinks strategically
about the continual need for a next generation of leaders and works to build the
leadership base.
Interpersonal relationships. Relates well to all kinds of people, inside and outside of the
congregation; builds appropriate rapport; builds effective and constructive relationships;
considers the impact of his/her actions on others; uses diplomacy and tact; is
approachable; is regarded as a team player; avoids communication triangles.
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Attention to Detail: Consistently attends to the many small pieces which must be
assembled into an organized whole; follows up on missing or out of balance items;
resolves unanswered questions needed to address a problem; keeps the larger picture in
mind while tending to the smallest of details. Identifies alternatives to status quo and
advocates system changes when barriers to change are identified.
Technical Expertise: Acquires and demonstrates the technical skills required to
proficiently execute the essential functions of the job; understands which skills are
lacking and seeks to develop those skills; continually works toward the mastery of
technical proficiency.
Communication skills: Is able to deliver a message clearly, articulately and with
appropriate emotion, tone, and style; adjusts the message, without losing the essence of
the message, depending on the context; is able to write clearly, correctly and succinctly.
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