Purposeful Life and Leadership Coordinator

This part-time position is a cross-functional collaboration between The Center for Faith and Spirituality and The Aspire Program. The ideal candidate will assist students, faculty, and staff with understanding an interfaith perspective on vocation and how to integrate these teachings into day-to-day life at Carthage and building a full life on- and off-campus. Because vocation is expressed through personal and academic/professional choices, this position bridges across students’ life experiences in and outside of the classroom.

The Center for Faith and Spirituality (CFS) is a place for all students to come and explore the big questions of life: Who am I? What is my purpose? What do I believe? It is a space to learn about different worldviews and to discover your own.  Rooted in the Lutheran tradition, the CFS is open to students of all faith and non-faith worldviews.  Our goals include finding common ground for the common good of all people and helping students to develop a toolbox of questions to help them with moments of discernments that happen throughout a lifetime.    

The Aspire Program is a newly developed, comprehensive 4-year career development program that integrates entrepreneurship, creativity, and leadership to prepare students for the careers of today and of the future. Students make better professional choices and have more options available to them when they are able to find their voice and learn how to express themselves through their work and non-work choices. The Aspire Center is the hub of activity for The Aspire Program with a scope of work that extends well beyond the work of a traditional career center.

The partnership strengthened through this position represents the interrelated nature of making life decisions - weighing values, cultural context, and so many other factors that lead to finding meaning and defining personal notions of success.

This position will have a collaborative reporting line through the Director of the Center for Faith and Spirituality and the Director of Career Exploration and Design in The Aspire Center.  While workspace will be available for the Purposeful Life and Leadership Coordinator in both the Center for Faith and Spirituality and The Aspire Center with the expectation that work time will be split between the two locations, the programming and engagement work may happen in a multitude of spaces on campus.

 Required Mindsets:

• Optimistic and team-oriented; able to keep team goals in mind, even when working independently.
• Works well with ambiguity and is able to make decisions without always having all of the information.
• Thinks strategically and is able to prioritize.
• Adaptable and able to handle unforeseen events/requests with ease and cheerfulness.
• Comfortable having conversations about life’s great questions and appreciating the value of different perspectives.

 Leadership Development and Purpose (40%)

• Design activities (in-person, online, course modules, etc.) to help students, including students without declared majors, to feel a sense of belonging and to reflect on their personal identity, the role of faith and/or values in exploration and decision-making, and strategies for building a full life.
• Develop and facilitate student leadership activities that 1) help declared and undeclared students to describe their interests/values in casual and professional conversations, 2) understand the role of calling in leadership development, and 3) practice skills through experiential learning that support leadership development/personal exploration, such as communication/empathy skills, teamwork, and vision development.
• Contribute to presentations about principles for reflective practice, clarifying interests, and identifying work/non-work ways to follow curiosities and passions.
• Engage alumni and friends of the College to share their vocation stories through mentoring, experiential workshops, and promotional pieces.

 CFS Program Development (35%)

• Coordinate with student staff, student organizations, and faculty/staff to encourage faith development, interfaith understanding, and vocational discernment.
• Collaborate with student staff to develop and execute 1 program per week during J-term.
• Maintain relationships with local congregations and plan 1-2 shared activities per year.
• Develop assessment and evaluation procedures to inform continued opportunities for improvement and valuable activities to continue; inform donor stewardship activities.

 Supervision (20%)

• Manage a team of 16 student staff members as part of the Center for Faith and Spirituality (CFS).
• Lead staff meetings and design professional development experiences to support students’ personal and professional growth.
• Encourage students to think creatively to about program development and outreach activities.
• Facilitate guided reflection with student staff.

 Additional Responsibilities (5%)

• In consultation with co-supervisors, attend relevant meetings.
• Complete other duties as assigned or as opportunities emerge.
• Participate in the Vocational Learning Community (VLC) and assist with expanding the VLC into a vibrant community of practice; contribute to annual goal-setting.

 Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Significant leadership-related experiences related to the duties of the position; graduate/professional school degrees are valued (Bachelor’s degree required).
• Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills in order to effectively communicate with faculty, staff, students, and community partners.
• Ability to use standard office equipment and technology, including a telephone, keyboard, and personal computer and tools such as Microsoft Office Suite and various Google applications.
• Experience leading leadership development, vocation/purpose, or related activities, including the ability to assess student learning.
• Demonstrate strong time management and project facilitation skills.
• Must be able to work some nights and weekends.

Supervisors:

Sarah Gorke, Director of Career Exploration and Design; Academic Advisor for Undeclared Students

Kara Baylor, Campus Pastor Director of the Center for Faith and Spirituality

Institutional Information

Founded in 1847, Carthage College combines an environment of reflection and self-discovery with a culture of high expectation, so that our students uncover and ignite their true potential. As a four-year private liberal arts college with roots in the Lutheran tradition, we place a strong emphasis on both moral and intellectual values. Our prime location in Kenosha, Wisconsin, midway between Chicago and Milwaukee, allows students the opportunity to learn in a professional context. Our beautiful campus, an 80-acre arboretum on the shore of Lake Michigan is home to 150 scholars, 2,600 full-time students, and 400 part-time students. Our rich academic experience equips students with foundational knowledge and skills, preparing graduates to be lifelong learners and to lead meaningful, productive lives.

Carthage College is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse community. We welcome applications from a broad spectrum of people, including members of ethnic minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, protected veteran status or status as an individual with a disability.