Director, Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice

As a new joint venture of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), the mission of the UU College of Social Justice (CSJ) is to build the capacity of Unitarian Universalists to catalyze justice and build global community, using as its lens UUA, UUSC, and other UU-sponsored justice initiatives around the world. While specifically targeting UUs, all programs of the college will be open to interested persons of any faith or no faith. The plan envisions building capacity in the following three ways.

First, by offering an expanded range of service-learning programs, which will provide participants the opportunity to learn firsthand about global justice issues and the work of Unitarian Universalist and allied faith partners in building global community. Participants will experience the UUA's approach to building a faith without borders, will learn about UUSC's eye-to-eye partnership model and will be nurtured in life-changing personal experiences. These offerings will include service-learning trips to work with UUA and UUSC partners as well as UU-customized service-learning trips offered through other partner agencies contracted and trained by the college. Some trips will be tailored to the learning objectives of specific constituencies such as seminarians, youth, young adults, or donors while others will be suitable for congregational delegations and general UU volunteers. 

Second, the college will build capacity by educating future social-justice activists — especially seminarians, young adults, and youth — through more comprehensive and intensive justice and alliance-building education programs that explore global justice issues and theories of social change from a unique UU perspective. Whether by offering for-credit seminary programs that combine academic study of theology and ethics with shoulder-to-shoulder faith and justice work, conducting the national summer Youth Justice Engagement Summit, hosting a global youth seminar at the United Nations, or establishing a range of summer internship and fellowship opportunities for young adults, the college seeks to prepare the next generations of activists to take UU principles out into the world.

Third, the college seeks to build UU capacity by making it easier and more rewarding for congregations to engage in congregation-wide justice projects. The college envisions helping congregations discern which issues are of central importance to them collectively and then make it easier for them to engage directly in our institutionally supported justice programs. That might include offering ready-to-use life-span religious education curricula, providing opportunities for sponsorship of domestic and international projects, or developing options for congregants to engage in direct hands-on service work, organizing, and advocacy. The college envisions a certification program for accomplished justice-seeking congregations and support networks of congregations that become expert leaders in specific issue areas. In all these ways, the college seeks to enroll more UUs in active faith and justice work and, in so doing, to enrich congregational life.

As the senior leader of this start-up initiative, the primary responsibility of the director of the College of Social Justice is to develop a broad portfolio of top-flight outreach and justice education programs and to ensure that they are consistently underpinned by a strong UU-based social-change curriculum. This unique pedagogy will include careful establishment of individual learning objectives; will illuminate the systematic and structural roots of injustice, racism, classism, and oppression; and will teach state-of-the-art social-change theory. Most important, it will facilitate direct personal experiences encountering difference, transcending boundaries, and becoming allies. In every case, this college pedagogy will explore what Unitarian Universalist theology and tradition teaches, will facilitate spiritual reflection, and will ask participants to develop a take-home plan for living out their faith. College programs will go beyond secular justice education by helping UU activists to be nourished and sustained in their faith.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Lead the building of the College of Social Justice. By working in collaboration with UUA and UUSC leaders and supporting departments of the UUA and UUSC along with CSJ staff, key partners, and other UU stakeholders, the director of the college will be at the forefront of building a new UU justice education institution — clarifying its vision, strategy, business plan, and pedagogical model in the process.
• Develop a state-of-the-art social-justice education program having a consistent pedagogy that builds understanding of global justice issues and the structural roots of injustice; that teaches the social change theory underlying UUSC's eye-to-eye partnership model; that grounds social-justice work in participants' Unitarian Universalist faith, tradition, and theology; and that facilitates their personal faith development.
• Support and supervise CSJ staff (the associate for service-learning programs) in developing a vibrant program of service-learning programs, building a framework that incorporates a network of educational partners — UU-affiliated program partners and others having the capacity to lead experiential learning programs, along with a cadre of trained trip leaders — and ensuring that all programs are of the highest quality and are grounded in a consistent pedagogy.
• Support and supervise CSJ staff (the associate for global faith and justice education programs) in developing transformative justice education experiences for future activists, including seminarians, youth, and young adults. Those will include for-credit, intensive global justice education programs conducted in partnership with UU seminaries; young-adult internships on site with UUSC and UUA partners in the field; one- to three-year-long fellowship programs for young adults planning careers in social-justice work; and the national Youth Justice Engagement Summit, which will introduce the principles of social change and give participants firsthand experience in justice work.
• Pilot and expand program ideas that facilitate congregation-wide justice engagement. Working in partnership with the UUA's congregation support staff and UUSC's Volunteer Network, help develop social-justice curricula related to UUA and UUSC program work; build opportunities for congregations' direct engagement in, and sponsorship of, that work; and develop a certification program for justice-seeking congregations.
• Develop a system for recruiting and training an expanded cadre of part-time program leaders — seminarians, ministers on leave, educators, and other lay leaders — who are selected for their personal skills leading service-learning or justice education programs. Organize and lead periodic CSJ program leader training programs that ensure all program leaders are familiar with key elements of program pedagogy (human rights, social change, UU theology and history, the pedagogy of personal transformation), as well as emergency, safety and behavioral protocols.
• Support and supervise CSJ staff (the associate for marketing and enrollment) in developing a strong marketing and participant enrollment operation (marketing, publicity, recruitment, selection, enrollment, fee collection, participant preparation, and post-program follow-up) that can grow in scale, and preserves and extends institutional knowledge. Develop reliable systems and cross-trained staff to maintain excellent enrollment management functions and maintain the confidentiality of participants' personal information.
• Develop a robust CSJ alumni network and follow-up engagement program. This would include being intentional about appropriate post-program advocacy opportunities and working across organizations to identify ways to keep constituents engaged in UUA and UUSC programs and activism.
• Recruit, support, and develop college staff, building a diversely talented team that works together collaboratively and flexibly to build the institution together. As the head of a start-up unit, the director will be responsible for developing an open, creative culture that values learning, reapplication, and iteration.
• Be responsible for articulating intended program outcomes, monitoring progress toward them, and continuously evaluating and reapplying learning. Regularly monitor program accomplishments and report those to the UUA and UUSC responsible officers and their respective leadership teams and boards as requested.
• Develop the CSJ program plan and corresponding budget, securing annual approval from the UUA and UUSC responsible officers and making adjustments as necessary throughout the year to reflect any changing fundraising realities. The director bears ultimate responsibility for monitoring revenues and expenses and managing to the approved budget. This budgeting responsibility also includes developing sustainable pricing structures that reflect the varying means of trip participants and fundraising to support program scholarships.
• In partnership with the Communications and Development/Institutional Advancement departments of both the UUA and UUSC, communicate and market CSJ programs in fresh and compelling ways. Communicate regularly with UUA congregation support staff and the UUSC Volunteer Network, and speak at congregations, district meetings, UUA General Assembly, and community events to raise awareness for the college and to recruit volunteers, partners, and participants for CSJ programs.
• In collaboration with the UUA and UUSC Development/Institutional Advancement departments, help prepare funding proposals to support and expand CSJ activities and assist in cultivating potential donors.
• Other duties as required.

The ideal candidate will have the following:

• Minimum eight years of experience creating, teaching, and leading social-justice education programs, preferably in a religious context.
• At least eight years of program management experience, including a minimum of five years in planning, developing, budgeting, and leading social-justice education, religious education, or experiential learning programs.
• Strong familiarity with Unitarian Universalism — especially its historical roots, theology, principles and congregational life — and an understanding of educational models that enhance personal faith development.
• Pedagogical experience creating learning programs for different ages, including youth, young adults, and older adult learners. Knowledge of theological education would be helpful.
• A deep appreciation for building commitment to social activism and global outreach through experiential learning.
• Experience building organizations: hiring and supporting a diverse and diversely talented staff, building organizational commitment, raising funds, and increasing impact.

• Excellent interpersonal skills and the demonstrated ability to network extensively and build formal and informal collaborations with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong leadership fundamentals: comfort acting independently, making difficult decisions, and taking appropriate risks; excellent organizational development skills; superb written and verbal communication skills; solid problem-solving and decision-making skills; good self-organization; and the ability to efficiently manage efficiently large volumes of information.
• Proven ability to coordinate the efforts of a team of staff and volunteers committed to a shared purpose.
• Experience working for human-rights or social-justice advocacy in a faith context strongly preferred.
• Ability to travel commensurate with the requirements of the job.

Education

• Master's or higher degree in social justice, theology/divinity, community organizing, business, or related field preferred.