Missioner for Racial Justice and Healing - Richmond, VA
Listed: 06-14-2021
Employer: The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia - Mayo Memorial Church House, 110 West Franklin St, Richmond, VA 23220 | (800) 346-2373 | www.thediocese.net
Location: Richmond, VA
Start Date: Summer/Fall 2021
Type: Full-time
Download: Job Description - Missioner for Racial Justice and Healing
About The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia:
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is a community of more than 68,000 members and 425 clergy in central, northern, and northwestern Virginia. Organized in 1785, the Diocese serves the world through 179 congregations, six schools, six diocesan retirement homes, two diocesan retreat centers, and is home to the largest Anglican seminary in the world.
The Diocese of Virginia seeks an experienced organizational leader to serve as its Missioner for Racial Justice and Healing starting summer or fall of 2021. The Missioner will engage and support the congregations, organizations, and institutions of the Diocese in dismantling racism through programs and activities that help it name and overcome past and present legacies of slavery, colonialism, white supremacy, white privilege, and racial injustice. The Missioner for Racial Justice and Healing will be both skilled and passionate about the work, supporting existing ministries of racial justice, developing new ministries, and fostering healing across racial and other divides.
The successful candidate will primarily work at the diocesan offices in Richmond, Virginia, traveling throughout the Diocese as needed. The position is open to clergy and lay persons.
Opportunities and Challenges:
• Leading the work of racial healing and justice in an inaugural role
• Meeting the needs of a diocese with 179 member churches
• Appreciating the spectrum of readiness of community members with regard to racial justice issues, inclusion, and belonging
• Collaborating with laypeople, the ordained, and administrative teams across the Diocese
• Navigating the secular and social challenges of racial justice in a faith-based community
• Serving as part of the diocesan administrative team committed to racial equity and justice
• Joining the work already set in motion by the Ministry for Racial Justice and Healing
• Balancing the history and the future of justice and equity in the Diocese
Desired Qualities:
• An appreciation for the Episcopal mission and the way it shapes racial equity and justice work
• A community organizer who can bring diverse constituencies together
• A strategic thinker and an entrepreneurial spirit
• A design thinker and natural collaborator
• A patient teacher
Job Description:
The Missioner for Racial Justice and Healing will be passionate about the work, supporting existing ministries of racial justice, developing new ministries, and fostering healing across racial and other divides in the Diocese of Virginia. That passion is demonstrated in:
Experience — The Missioner will have relevant experience as a manager and leader in organizations that have made significant progress toward dismantling racism.
Collegiality — The Missioner will report directly to the Bishop of Virginia and will work with a range of diocesan leaders, lay and ordained, to help ensure that the work of racial justice and healing is engaged by and becomes embedded in every aspect of the diocesan organizational structure.
Facilitation Skills — The Missioner will have skill and experience in facilitating groups toward desired outcomes, with an openness to unexpected outcomes. The Missioner will be comfortable facilitating groups of people who do not agree with each other.
Communication Skills — The Missioner will speak and write compellingly in ways that inspire engagement and collaboration. The Missioner will use a variety of social media and other communication platforms to share information and elicit buy-in.
Spiritual, Emotional, and Professional Maturity — The Missioner will be confident in an ability to speak truth to power and to hear truth spoken to power. The Missioner will share information and engage calmly across differences without shaming or blaming, always honoring the life experiences of others. The Missioner will acknowledge and accept differences of opinion and operational styles while finding ways to resolve conflicts and keep relationships intact.
Solid Grounding — The Missioner will ground the work in a theological understanding of racial justice and healing that recognizes the image of God in every human being. This grounding will be strengthened by familiarity with the current sociological and political conversations around the topic areas.
Flexibility — The Missioner will understand that the task is broad and that a commitment to the longterm is necessary. The Missioner will be willing to expect the unexpected and be open to the unimagined.
Humility — The Missioner will not have all the answers, but will engage groups with a deep respect for the experiences and wisdom in the room while leading processes that foster deeper wisdom, understanding and commitment to justice and healing. The Missioner will be able to learn from others.
Coordination Experience — The Missioner will have experience working with boards, congregations, and other groups. The Missioner will work effectively with teams or groups over which the Missioner does not have supervisory authority. The Missioner will coordinate efforts of varied groups without the need for excessive oversight.
To Apply:
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Interested and qualified candidates are invited to contact the consultants in confidence. Candidates will ultimately need to submit the following materials as separate PDF documents:
• A cover letter expressing their interest in this particular position
• A current résumé
• A list of five professional references with name, relationship, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without the candidate’s permission) to:
Lawrence Alexander, Search Consultant: lawrence.alexander@carneysandoe.com
Seliat Dairo, Associate: seliat.dairo@carneysandoe.com
Brandon Jacobs, Associate: brandon.jacobs@carneysandoe.com
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