Associate Vice President for Mission and Identity

Associate Vice President for Mission and Identity

Position Category: Staff (Exempt)
FLSA: Exempt
FTE: 1
Location: Thousand Oaks

University Background:
The mission of California Lutheran University is to educate leaders for a global society who are strong in character and judgment, confident in their identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice. Founded in 1959 in beautiful Ventura County, the university has an enrollment of about 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students who come from across the nation and around the world from a diversity of backgrounds, cultures and faiths. As a federally recognized Hispanic-Serving Institution, Cal Lutheran is looking for candidates with a dedication to and success in working in diverse communities. The university is committed to an inclusive learning and work environment that values individual differences and respects each person’s dignity.

Basic Function:
Reporting to the Vice President of Talent, Culture, and Diversity (TCD) of California Lutheran University and serving as a member of the President's Cabinet, the Associate Vice President for Mission and Identity (AVPMI) serves as the chief strategist for and communicator of the mission, values, and identity of California Lutheran University, an institution rooted deeply in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). As part of this role, the incumbent leads and engages others in telling the story of the University's mission, values, and identity. Informed by Lutheran theological teachings, the AVPMI uses critical inquiry, intellectual curiosity, and the search for truth to both examine matters of faith and reason and to model the way university members explore and navigate the messy middle that lies between the two extremes on most ideological spectrums.

Representative Duties:
1. Serves as a member of and spiritual leader for the Administrative Leadership Team. E

• Serves as the chief pastoral leader to the President, administration, and Board of Regents providing pastoral care and counsel.
• Leads and/or delivers (upon invitation) reflection activities, prayers, and innovations at Cabinet meetings, select campus-wide events, Board meetings, etc.
• Participates in institutional strategic planning and advancing the initiatives that rise from it.

2. Advances the University’s mission and identity by leading and engaging others in the promotion of its mission and values. E

• Models the ways faculty, staff, and students at all locations of the university can contemplate and embody this mission and these values.
• Works with departmental colleagues to develop missional programs, activities, and resources that help university members live out their vocation.
• Provides orientation sessions or resources that incorporate an awareness of and response to the university’s values merging from its Lutheran identity to the following constituents: new faculty and staff; administrative leaders; and members of the Board of Regents, Convocation, and PLTS Advisory Board.
• Coordinates Founders Days, Baccalaureates, and Convocations with President and Provost’s offices to engage stakeholders and advance mission.
• Develops educational and spiritual opportunities for members of the community to practice and share their religious beliefs and teachings, including those activities that promote interfaith dialogue, ceremonies, and programs.

3. Serves as one of the key liaisons between the Thousand Oaks campus and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. E

4. Supervises and strategically connects the Office of the Rector at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Office of Campus Ministry, and Office of Seminary Relations. E

5. Help the university sustain its relationships with congregations and synods within region one and two of the ELCA, full communion partners, and friends and clergy from other faith communities. E

6. Maintains and further develops the relationships with ELCA church-wide leadership, ELCA social ministry, ELCA Youth Ministry, NECU and its ELCA colleges and universities ELCA seminaries, and congregations and synods of Region One and Two. E

7. Provides support and direction for the work of the Convocation of the university in partnership with the Chair of the Convocation; sets and implements the agenda for their meetings in collaboration with the President and Chair; keeps the Convocation informed on the progress of the university; provides oversight to the Convocator Nomination Scholarship process and the Convocation Scholarship with the Office of Financial Aid. E

• Assists the Nominating Committee of the Convocation in recruiting new members to the Convocation and orienting them to the university and their role within it.
• Assists the Chair in reviewing and revising policies and governing documents of the Convocation to assure ongoing alignment with the University Bylaws.

8. Supervises—as both leader and manager—the department of Mission and Identity. E

• Ensures the effective operation of the department by overseeing staffing, budgeting, strategic planning, and inter- and interdepartmental relationships.
• Supervises and strategically connects the Office of the Rector at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Office of Campus Ministry, and Office of Seminary Relations.
• Provides supervision and support for the Rector of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary of California Lutheran University, the University Pastor, and the Director of Development for Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.
• Provides specialized advising and partnership for the Belgum Chair of Lutheran Confessional Theology, and the Theology and Christian Leadership program, all of whom are also supervised in other divisions.

9. Partners with departments around the institution to live into the Lutheran Educational values and commitments that serve, in part, as a differentiator, our competitive edge. E

• Co-leads with the Vice President of Talent, Culture, and Diversity to foster the culture of the university living out Lutheran Educational values.
• Engages with Student Affairs to develop programs, activities, and resources related to living out one’s vocation with students.
• Collaborates with Academic Affairs to tend the relationship the university has with the Council of Independent Colleges Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (CIC-NetVUE).
• Works together with University Marketing to facilitate the mission, value, and identity related communication and resources internally and externally to the Lutheran church and interfaith constituencies.
• Works in partnership with Enrollment Management to strategize the approach to and welcome of prospective students who identify religiously or are members of the ELCA; promotes Congregational Partner in Education awards among religious communities; hosts high school congregational students in touring the university to learn about Cal Lutheran and the Lutheran tradition of higher education.
• Collaborates with University Advancement to coordinate relationship building and fundraising with religious constituents.
• Joins forces with colleagues in TCD who plan and implement diversity initiatives including religious diversity; collaborates with others to promote an inclusive campus community through training and leadership development for faculty, staff, and students.
• Tends to the relationship the university has with the Council of Independent Colleges Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (CIC-NetVUE) and the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU).
• Provides the President with information on potential regent candidates for Trusteeship and Governance committee of the Board of Regents.

10. Additional duties as assigned by the President.E=Essential Functions

Knowledge Of:

• The ELCA, full communion partners, and traditions and cultures of other faith communities.
• Policies and practices involved in the candidacy process of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and its ecumenical partners.
• Interfaith dialogue and engagement techniques.
• Mission, vision, identity, and goals of California Lutheran University.
• Effective pastoral ministry leadership and persuasive preaching techniques.
• Group facilitation and collegial team building within a highly diverse environment
• University and Seminary shared governance, academic policies and practices, college-student and seminarian success strategies
• Principles and practices of educational administration, supervision, and training.
• Budget preparation and control.
• Strategic planning techniques.
• Relevant computer software and technology such as: Microsoft software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

Ability To:

• Actualize and help others to actualize—in word and deed— the mission and values of California Lutheran University.
• Guide and assess university messaging in the context of Lutheran higher education.
• Serve as an effective pastoral minister and stimulate Lutheran theological reflection regarding matters of university life
• Demonstrate a commitment to interfaith dialogue and engagement.
• Communicate clearly and effectively, in written and oral formats— with constituencies from diverse backgrounds, identities, and traditions
• Work collegially with senior administration.
• Foster collaboration, innovation, and creativity in alignment with the goals of the university’s strategic plan and decisions made with and by the university’s administrative leadership
• Make sound and seasoned judgment, apply intellectual curiosity, and have an interest in diverse professional challenges.
• Distill ideas, assist in clarifying issues, and have the pragmatic know-how to move projects to their successful conclusion with pastoral sensitivity and diplomacy.
• Demonstrate leadership ability and management experience that includes supervision of personnel and budgetary responsibility.
• Be responsive to short-term concerns while developing long-range strategies especially as the leader of the programmatic work of Mission and Identity.
• Work with persons at all levels of the University and foster dynamic relationships with external constituencies and stakeholders.

Minimum Qualifications:
Any combination equivalent to: Any combination equivalent to: A Master’s degree in Divinity or Theological Studies; a rostered ELCA Minister of Word and Sacrament in good standing; five years of administrative experience in an ELCA congregational ministry, ELCA non-profit organization or agency, an ELCA-related educational institution, or similar.

Preferred Qualifications:
The academic credentials and experience that would enable university teaching and scholarship in the area of Lutheranism; five years of administrative experience within a university or college setting.

Licenses and Other Requirements:
Valid California Driver’s License

Physical Abilities:


Working Environment:
Indoor and public engagement environment; subject to driving to conduct work

Posting Number: Staff002272022
Number of Vacancies:
Desired Start Date: 05/15/2023
Position End Date:
Open Date: 03/15/2023
Close Date:
Open Until Filled: Yes

Application Procedure/Special Instructions:
ELCA Rostered Leaders must have their Rostered Minister Profile on file with the ELCA.
This position is open until filled with the first consideration by April 5th, 2023.

To apply, visit https://careers.callutheran.edu/postings/10599

California Lutheran University is committed to providing equal opportunity in employment for all persons, regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by applicable law. No person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in any program, activity or facility of the University on the basis of these factors in a manner consistent with applicable federal and state laws, regulations, ordinances, orders and rules, and University’s policies, procedures, and processes.

Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process can be provided to individuals with qualifying disabilities. Please contact the Human Resources Department for further information or to request an accommodation.



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