Director of Catholic Life

Position Title:

Position Type:

Hiring Range:

$102800 - $115560 per year; Compensation will be based on education experience skills relevant to the role and internal equity

Pay Frequency:

A. POSITION PURPOSE

The Director for Catholic Life serves the Santa Clara University community by fostering vibrant Catholic life worship faith formation opportunities and intellectual and experiential engagement and particular the Director supports community members faith and spiritual development with a focus on the Catholic Tradition emphasizing the practice of Ignatian Spirituality. A key responsibility is to develop and implement strategic initiatives for an active and robust Catholic Life program overseeing its operations and supporting the student leaders who will help plan and execute the program.

Under the direction of the Director of the Center for Spirituality and Faith (CSF) the position will also pilot new initiatives that enhance Catholic life on campus fostering students spiritual lives and discernment practices drawn from the Ignatian tradition with special openness to the diverse spiritual traditions and multi-faith backgrounds of SCU students.

In collaboration with the liturgy director support the planning and execution of liturgical events throughout the year. This includes the management and training of student interns and volunteers and serving as liaison to other SCU Departments during the planning of Campus-wide liturgies.

This position reports to the Director of the Center for Spirituality and works collaboratively with the entire Center for Spirituality team supporting the broader programs and priorities of the Division of Mission and Ministry.

B. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Develops a strategy to foster the spiritual and religious formation of Catholic students and builds and maintains a vibrant Catholic campus community

• Develops a comprehensive strategy for religious and spiritual formation that can be tailored to all Catholic students

• Establishes foundational programming and engagement opportunities to connect with the full spectrum of student experiences

• Develops an outreach plan to establish and maintain connections to Catholic students

• Establishes an assessment framework grounded in best practices and informed by national trends that can inform the establishment of strategic goals and tracking effectiveness and impact

2. Develops and executes programming to foster the religious formation of Catholic students

• Envisions and creates experiences for students to practice their Catholic religious tradition by designing opportunities for prayer scripture study meditation worship and service in collaboration with interns and with the leaders of student religious organizations

• Plans and organizes student formation events retreats and programs grounded in the Catholic tradition that foster practices of discernment reflection and the integration of values into personal and professional identities

• Directs and designs the Catholic sacramental preparation program (OCIA) including curriculum design and delivery and resource development

• Plans and executes Holy Week rituals for Catholic formation in collaboration with the liturgy director.

• Hires supervises and mentors undergraduate student leaders and quasi-professional graduate assistants who assist in all programming

• Works with Mission and Ministrys Retreat Team to develop promote and deliver retreats that offer opportunities for all students including religiously unaffiliated students to explore spirituality meaning and purpose. Draws on expertise and wisdom as well as practices and scriptures from diverse traditions to contribute to these retreat experiences

• Develops and supports programming that builds connections between as well as among the various religiously affiliated student groups as well as among student groups built on a spiritual non-religious and/or cultural identity in collaboration with the Director for Spiritual Diversity

• In partnership with faith-based or other student clubs leads plans and supports students in the practice of discernment reflection and the integration of values into personal and professional identities

• Designs and plans the Ignatian Life Communities (ILC) program which seeks to provide a space and foster the development of small faith-sharing groups that promote spirituality community building and commitment to service

• Develops and executes pilot programming that engages students especially from ILCs in active outreach and service

• Develops and provides formation and training for student leaders and participants

3. Coordinates university liturgies in collaboration with the liturgy director

• Coordinates and assists with the planning of all student Masses in advance and on-site

• Coordinates and assists with the planning of special campus-wide liturgies and prayer services

• Attends presides and/or preaches at liturgies regularly in a professional capacity

• Recruits trains and oversees student volunteers to serve as acolytes Eucharistic Ministers lectors and hospitality ministers for liturgies

4. Develops students holistic formation through intensive mentorship and pastoral care

• Pastorally supports students regardless of religious affiliation during crises spiritual accompaniment and general mentorship

• Fosters particular in-depth leadership development for student leaders employees and volunteers to foster their learning and formation in ministry

• Accompanies students in the challenges they face in collaboration with CAPS and other university support units

5. Establishes and maintains a critical portfolio of partnerships both on and off campus

• Builds a relational network to ensure the programming and support efforts are student-driven and directed through intensive 1-1 and small group trust-building and counseling efforts among the religious Registered Student Organizations especially Catholic and other Christian student organizations

• Develops the relationships and resources within the AJCU and other Jesuit-affiliated organizations to support the pastoral and spiritual care of students

• Upon request serves on university committees meetings and/or at events related to Ignatian spirituality

• Cultivates relationships with external partners through a shared commitment to Ignatian spirituality to benefit people both on campus and in the community

6. Manages all operational and financial aspects related to the portfolio

• With the support of operations staff leads the effective operation of program activities

• Manages annual allocated program budget development reporting and forecasting

• Hires trains and supervises student employees and interns

• Supports fundraising efforts and donor cultivation

7. Contributes to the broader work of the Division

• Consults with constituent programs to further align them with the Jesuit Catholic mission

• Supports the creative infusion of faith and spirituality throughout Mission and Ministry and broader campus programming

• Regularly attends and participates in Ignatian programming and Catholic liturgy events offered by other Division programs including some events that may be held outside of regular business hours

• Regularly attends and participates in SCU campus-wide staff-wide and academic programming events to represent Ignatian Spirituality and Catholic life perspectives to form relationships to support engagement with Ignatian Spirituality and to inform Ignatian Spirituality programming including some events that may be held outside of regular business hours

8. Executes other tasks as assigned

C. QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The items below are representative of the knowledge skills abilities education and experience required or preferred.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of and demonstrated experience with the Roman Catholic faith demonstrating candidates well- integrated Christian faith and ability to help students envision and practice a vibrant faith that does justice

• Knowledge of Ignatian Spirituality Discernment and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola; direct experience with Ignatian spirituality strongly preferred

• Close familiarity with the tradition of Jesuit education preferred

• Understanding of spiritual/religious development stages for contemporary young adults and the capacity to implement programs to meet these spiritual developmental aspirations

• Familiarity with Roman Catholic liturgies and rites

• Familiarity with interfaith dialogue and diverse religious traditions

• Knowledge of trends in the spiritual and religious practices of young adults

• Experience in education and faith formation preferred preferably involving teaching experience or retreat experience; experience in a Jesuit-sponsored institution is desirable
  

Skills

• Strong verbal /written communication and influencing skills

• Superior ability to communicate with Catholic and religiously and intellectually diverse audiences

• Inter- and intra-culturally competent and skilled in working with and supporting students faculty and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds and orientations

• Open objective innovative and oriented toward understanding and responding to issues from divergent perspectives

• Outstanding organizational and project management skills

• Demonstrated competence in Google suite products required

Abilities

• Demonstrated high-level performance in organizational entrepreneurship and creativity

• Demonstrated high-level performance in successfully driving projects from inception to completion

• Excellent overall judgment combined with attention to detail

• Ability to consistently demonstrate a commitment to equity and respect in the workplace a genuine desire to promote a supportive climate for all members of the SCU community intercultural awareness communication and understanding and the ability to manage difficult and contentious situations

• Demonstrated a high-level record of building and managing effective connection with a range of constituencies to achieve success

• Availability to work variable hours when required to accomplish project goals

• Valid U.S. Drivers License preferred

Education

• Masters Degree in Divinity Theology Pastoral Ministry or related field required

Years of Experience

• Minimum four years professional experience in a relevant field.

D. PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended the California Fair Employment & Housing Act and all other applicable laws SCU provides reasonable accommodations for qualified persons with disabilities. A qualified individual is a person who meets skill experience education or other requirements of the position and who can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

• Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer terminal

• May be required to travel to other buildings on the campus

• May be required to occasionally travel to outside partners customers vendors or suppliers. Travel may include out of state destinations and include overnight stays

E. WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• Typical office environment

• Mostly indoor office environment with windows

• Offices with equipment noise

• Offices with frequent interruptions

*Priority review of applicants will begin onMarch 13 2026.Applications received after this date may not be considered. Weencourageall candidates to review thisoverview document for the newly named Center for Spirituality and Faith.

Telecommute

Santa Clara University is registered to do business in the following states: California Nevada Oregon Washington Arizona and Illinois. Employees approved to telecommute are required to perform their work within one of these states.

EEO Statement

Equal Opportunity/Notice of Nondiscrimination

Santa Clara University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color ethnicity national origin citizenship ancestry religion age sex sexual orientation gender gender expression gender identity marital status parental status veteran or military status physical or mental disability medical conditions pregnancy or related conditions reproductive health decision making or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws. For a complete copy of Santa Clara Universitys equal opportunity and nondiscrimination policies please visit the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX website at Notice of Availability

Santa Clara University annually collects information about campus crimes and other reportable incidents in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. To view the Santa Clara University report please visit the Campus Safety Serviceswebsite. To request a paper copy please call Campus Safety at . The report includes the type of crime venue and number of occurrences.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Consistent with its obligations under the law Santa Clara University will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants who wish to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact the Department of Human Resources ADA Team ator by phone at .