AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY

Title: Director of Church and Ministry Partnerships

Department: Partnerships

Reports to: Chief Partnerships Officer

Location: Remote

JOB SUMMARY

The Director of Church and Ministry Partnerships (CAMP) is responsible to lead American Bible Society’s (ABS) efforts to serve the whole Church across traditions—Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant—by equipping and supporting churches in guiding their communities into deeper engagement with Scripture. ABS believes the Church is both the theological home and the practical multiplier of Scripture engagement. Without the Church, our work risks abstraction. With the Church, Scripture becomes incarnational – received, interpreted, practiced, and passed on within real communities, under pastoral authority, and across generations.

Minimum Spiritual and Personal Commitment:

• Demonstrate a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.

• Identify with and participate in a Christian church and proactively seek to grow in their Christian faith.

• Actively participate in organizational prayer, devotional times, and organization-wide events.

• Maintain an exemplary standard of Christian ethics, behavior, and conduct within ABS and in their public and private life outside of ABS and always seek to uphold ABS

Standards of Conduct and Affirmation of Biblical Community.

• Demonstrate Christian maturity in all interactions as displayed by good judgment based on biblical values and principles.

• Actively incorporate their faith in all aspects of their daily work.

• Demonstrate desire and ability to support organizational biblical and religious goals and participate in regular work-related spiritual activities without reservation.

• Have a personal passion for and belief in the Word of God, its ability to transform lives, and the mission of American Bible Society.

• Demonstrate alignment with the vision, mission, and values of American Bible Society.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibility 1: Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Provide overall strategic leadership to Church & Ministry Partnerships, ensuring alignment with ABS’ mission, interconfessional approach, and long-term organizational priorities.

• Translate ABS’ interconfessional church engagement strategy into clear goals, initiatives, timelines, and success measures.

• Partner closely with the Chief Partnerships Officer (CPO), internal ministry leaders, and a cross-functional Church Engagement Team (CET) to ensure coherent, coordinated engagement with the Church.

• Assist in the design, launch, and stewardship of an Interconfessional Church Advisory Council, ensuring balanced representation, theological respect, and meaningful input into ABS’ work.

Responsibility 2: Interconfessional Partnership Development

• Build and steward long-term relationships with leaders and institutions across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions.

• Ensure ABS’ posture with the Church is consistently marked by listening, humility, and trust – honoring ecclesial authority, formation practices, and theological frameworks.

• Facilitate structured listening sessions with church leaders to surface real needs, barriers, and opportunities related to Scripture access and engagement.

• Guide the development of partnerships that are clearly additive to the Church’s mission and do not displace or duplicate local ministry leadership.

Responsibility 3: Innovation, Learning, & Impact

• Champion thoughtful innovation in service of the Church – developing and refining tools, resources, and engagement models that respond to lived ecclesial realities.

• Encourage disciplined experimentation, learning, and adaptation while remaining theologically grounded and relationally wise.

• Lead the design and implementation of frameworks for evaluating partnership health, ministry outcomes, and ministry priorities.

Responsibility 4: Operational & Organizational Leadership

• Align CAMP budgets, staffing, and external resources to strategic priorities and expected impact.

• Represent church partnership strategy internally, ensuring clarity, alignment, and shared ownership across ABS teams.

• Work with internal partners to execute and manage partnership commitments, improving systems, processes, and handoffs where needed.

• Serve as a visible ambassador of ABS to U.S.-based ministry partners and collaborative networks.

Responsibility 5: Team Leadership & Culture

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing CAMP team, beginning with a manager and scaling Relationship Management Associates as partnerships grow.

• Assess church engagement needs nationally and adjust team structure and capacity accordingly.

• Recruit, onboard, and mentor staff and consultants with the relational, theological, and strategic capabilities required for interconfessional work.

• Contribute to shaping a healthy, mission-aligned organizational culture rooted in trust, collaboration, and service.

Responsibility 6: Strategy

• Oversee CAMP’s strategic direction, project goals, timelines, and measurements

• Collaborate closely with the CPO, colleague ABS program leaders and an ABS Church Engagement Team (CET) comprised of ABS staff from across the organization, representing various disciplines relevant to partnership with the Church

• Assist CPO in the development and management of an Interconfessional Church Advisory Council at ABS

• Build and manage a CAMP team of staff and consultants (and agencies, possibly) to develop, deploy, and continually evolve strategic relationships and partnership that promote Scripture engagement throughout the American Church, representing Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

• Help facilitate listening sessions from key Church relationships to ensure ABS is responding to expressed needs of the Church per Scripture access and engagement

• Push relentlessly for a high level of innovation, creativity and problem-solving to provide game-changing resources to our ministry partners

• Champion calculated risk taking, and cultivate a culture of rapid improvement through successes and fast failures

• Lead the design and implementation of mechanisms for predicting and evaluating impact throughout campaigns and project life cycles

• Align the budget to achieve CAMP's strategic goals

• Travel to various US locations to meet with staff and ministry partners (estimated 25-50% travel)

• Represent strategy to our organization and other U.S. Partners

• Work with our internal teams to execute and manage partnership commitments, streamlining systems and processes where needed

Responsibility 7: Resource Development

• Collaborate with Development and Marketing to:

• Achieve annual revenue targets from church and ministry partners

• Develop and implement the strategies and solutions needed to invite congregants into the larger Scripture engagement movement as supporters and advocates.

Responsibility 8: Personnel Management

• Oversee a manager role at the start, and a team of Relationship Management Associates, ensuring that all are appropriately positioned, equipped and deployed

• Assess Church needs, and scale CAMP staff to support Church partnerships nationwide

• Recruit and train new staff, including support staff, to meet growth demands

• Assist ABS in healthy culture shaping

QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; advanced theological or ministry-related education strongly preferred.

• Experience: Minimum 15 years’ relevant leadership experience, including senior-level partnership, ministry, or organizational leadership. Demonstrated experience working directly with churches or faith-based institutions.

• Technical Skills: Computer literate with proficiency in MS 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, PowerPoint.)

KEY COMPENTENCIES

All ABS staff must demonstrate the following skills:

• Demonstrate desire and ability to support organizational biblical and religious goals and participate in regular work-related spiritual activities without reservation.

• Have a personal passion for and belief in the Word of God, its ability to transform lives, and the mission of American Bible Society.

• Demonstrate alignment with the vision, mission, and values of American Bible Society.

All staff must demonstrate the following skills at a level fitting their role:

Communication Skills:

• Strategic Communication: Expert in persuasive communication, adept at public speaking, and able to influence senior stakeholders.

Teamwork and Collaboration:

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Leads teams effectively, builds strong team dynamics, and fosters a collaborative organizational culture.

Cultural Competence and Inclusion:

• Cultural Advocacy: Champions and implements organizational diversity and inclusion strategies.

Service Orientation:

• Service Solutions: Understands service recipients’ needs, develops solutions to meet those needs, and builds relationships.

Adaptability and Flexibility:

• Responsive Adjustment: Adjusts strategies based on new information, remains flexible in dynamic environments.

Time Management and Organization:

• Efficient Coordination: Prioritizes tasks, manages multiple projects, and ensures team deadlines are met.

Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking:

• Analytical Problem Solving: Analyzes complex problems, develops solutions, and makes decisions independently.

Leadership and Initiative:

• Team Leadership: Guides, supports and leads team members to achieve goals, engage in cross-company collaboration and pivot when needed to achieve strategic change. All people managers must demonstrate the following skills at a level fitting their role:

 Strategic Thinking and Decision Making:

• Strategic Alignment: Develops plans that align with team objectives and organizational goals.

Continuous Learning and Development:

• Team Development: Encourages and supports team members’ professional development

Innovation and Creativity:

• Process Improvement: Implements innovative solutions to enhance team and organizational performance.

• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, relationship-driven strategies across diverse theological and organizational contexts.

• Deep respect for the Church and a proven ability to work credibly across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions.

• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate vision into executable plans and measurable outcomes.

• Exceptional relational intelligence – able to earn trust, navigate nuance, and steward long-term partnerships.

• Experience leading teams through growth, ambiguity, and innovation.

• Analytical capability to assess impact and communicate insights clearly to varied audiences.• Superior strategic thinking and the ability to frame project approaches and structure thoughtful analysis

• Demonstrated success in people and project management

• Ability to earn trust and credibility, and influence internal processes

• Proficiency in office software, Web technologies, and emerging media

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Occasional lifting/carrying, setup, and breakdown of ABS Booth equipment and display items.

• Able to work for extended hours when traveling or to meet occasional deadlines of deliverables

• Maintain an organized work environment. American Bible Society is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities and ensuring a workplace free from discrimination. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws, we will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable them to participate in the application process and perform the essential functions of their job.

Office Location:

• ABS Headquarters (Philadelphia), however the position is remote

Travel Required:

• Domestic and occasional international travel for CAMP Program promotion.

Additional Information:

• Background Check: Candidates must pass a background check as a condition of employment. This may include criminal history, credit check, and verification of employment and education history.

• Reference Checks: Employment is contingent upon satisfactory reference checks.

• Eligibility to Work: Candidates must provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States.

• Affirmation of Biblical Community: Candidates must sign and agree to uphold the ABS Affirmation of Biblical Community as a condition of employment. American Bible Society is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees, in accordance with federal, state, and local laws. We believe in the inherent dignity and worth of every individual, created in the image of God, and strive to reflect Christ’s love and justice in our employment practices.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected status. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is rooted in our Christian faith and values, which call us to love and respect all people.

As a faith-based organization, we require employees to affirm and uphold our Christian beliefs as a condition of employment. This requirement is consistent with our mission and ensures that our work environment aligns with our core values and deeply held religious principles.

SALARY & BENEFITS

• Salary commensurate with experience

• Medical, Dental, Vision (2 options through CIGNA)

• Life Insurance, Short- and Long-Term Disability

• 403(b) 5% contribution and up to a 3% match

• Vacation: varies by level (15-30 days)

  o   12 Paid Holidays

  o   6 Sick Days

  o   2 Personal Days

• Health Fitness Reimbursement Policy: ABS will reimburse 50% of your gym membership up to $250 annually.