Established in 1816, American Bible Society’s (ABS’) mission is to help people encounter the life-changing Word of God by making the Bible accessible to all. The ministry is a $75 million Philadelphia, PA-based nonprofit with 145 staff.
The Senior Director of Innovation Practice is a new role that will lead a pivotal function at the intersection of mission, methodology, and culture change. This leader will design and steward ABS’ innovation practice — building the internal capacity for every team to listen deeply, prototype rapidly, and make insight-driven decisions. All while identifying, testing, funding, and scaling new approaches to Bible access, engagement, and advocacy for emerging generations and churches of various traditions.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Founded in 1816 by visionaries including John Jay, Elias Boudinot, and Francis Scott Key, American Bible Society has been at the forefront of Bible innovation — from pioneering raised-letter Bibles for the blind in 1843, to scripting and helping launch the JESUS Film in 1970, to helping launch the Digital Bible Library that powers Scripture apps like YouVersion.
Today, ABS serves as a trusted, interconfessional ministry partner, working across Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions to strengthen Scripture engagement in the USA and worldwide. ABS’ flagship research initiative, the State of the Bible — now in its 16th year — provides the United States’ most comprehensive annual study of Bible engagement.
That research reveals both the challenge and the promise of the current moment: while meaningful Bible engagement has trended downward over the past decade, a “Movable Middle” of more than 70 million Americans remains open to Scripture but unsure where to begin. Recently, Bible usage has shown signs of recovery, especially among younger Americans.
People everywhere are longing for meaning, truth, and hope. And yet, many face barriers to engaging with the true source of abundant life — the living Word of God. Whether it be language, availability, misunderstanding, fear, or even apathy standing in their way, ABS believes everyone should have the opportunity to experience the Bible’s power and relevance for themselves.
LEADERSHIP AND HOW THEY ACCOMPLISH THEIR WORK
Led by CEO Jennifer Holloran, 60% of ABS’ full-time staff are located at their Philadelphia headquarters with another 15% in surrounding tri-state areas, and the remaining 25% are remote. Of their FY2026 $75 million budget, roughly 51% is donor revenue and 49% is earned revenue. Their 13-member Board of Directors uses modified Carver policy governance.
This role reports to the Chief Innovation Officer who guides ABS’ innovation work. This work includes digital platforms like the NextStep product suite, customized Scripture engagement products and experiences, the State of the Bible research program, faculty research grants through academic partnerships, and the formation of an Innovation Advisory Council. This council will be a working investment body of thought leaders who help discover, test, fund, and implement ABS’ new pathways for Bible engagement. Over the next five years, ABS aims to help 1.25 million young Americans engage deeply with Scripture’s transformative power.
ABS is guided by its core values of: being Rooted in the Word and Following Christ; providing Service with Christ-like Humility; being Impact-Driven; and displaying Integrity in Action. ABS’ vision is to see “God’s Word Transforming All People,” and its mission is “to help people encounter the life-changing Word of God by making the Bible accessible to all.”
They do this through three strategic pillars: Access, Engagement, and Advocacy.
Access: Ensuring people around the world can receive the Bible in a language and format they can understand. ABS does this through translation, publishing, and digital distribution.
Engagement: Creating personalized digital Scripture engagement pathways, equipping churches with tools and training, and developing resources that meet people where they are — from spiritually curious to lifelong believers.
Advocacy: Fueling a movement by making it easy for people who encounter Scripture to share it with others in their friendships, platforms, and communities.
For more than 200 years ABS has been creating new and better ways to make God’s Word accessible to all, equipping the Church to lead people in encountering the Word and serving a global movement of local advocates for the Word. This roots their strategic priorities to:
Innovate Digitally – through Digital Presence and Technological Agility
Energize Churches – carried out by their Church Engagement Strategy
Activate NextGen – through ABS’ Younger Generations Engagement
Resource Abundantly – accomplished by Fundraising.
OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES
ABS is entering a season of renewed energy and clarity under Jennifer Holloran’s leadership. With a strong vision for the future, a passionate staff, and growing momentum around its mission of Bible access, engagement, and advocacy, the organization is well-positioned for continued impact. Its legacy of faithfulness to the Bible cause, combined with a trusted global network of partners serving in more than 200 countries and territories, provides a strong foundation for future growth and influence.
ABS also benefits from research-based evaluation and strategic insight (including the annual State of the Bible report), which strengthens its role as a thought leader in Scripture engagement. The organization’s deeply committed staff and donor community further reinforce the mission and belief in the transforming power of God’s Word.
At the same time, ABS faces important opportunities and challenges as it develops under new leadership. The organization is working to communicate its story and impact more effectively to a variety of audiences, while refining fundraising strategies to connect the right opportunities with the right donors at the right time. Greater internal and external clarity around ABS’ work, along with stronger collaboration across the US’ broader Bible Cause community, represents both a challenge and an opportunity for growth and partnership.
Culturally, ABS is in a time of transition and development. While some cultural aspects continue to evolve, ABS’ heart remains rooted in warmth, care, and a shared commitment to see lives transformed through the Bible. Increased collaboration, communication, and alignment across teams are strengthening the organization for greater effectiveness in the years ahead.
Opportunities
A 210-year legacy of Bible innovation. Since 1816, from the era of the printing press through the digital age, ABS has been pioneering new ways to make God’s Word accessible. The Senior Director steps into an organization where innovation is not a foreign concept but an integral part of its identity — providing a strong foundation on which to build a modern, unified practice.
A senior leadership team that understands and prioritizes innovation. This role reports to the Chief Innovation Officer who serves as one member of a Senior Leadership Team that has significant experience in innovation and human-centered design. Innovation is not an afterthought; it is a strategic priority with executive sponsorship, cross-functional understanding, and organizational commitment at the highest levels.
A pivotal moment for Scripture engagement in America. After years of decline, Bible usage is showing signs of hope. One in three Gen Z Americans say they would explore Scripture if it felt relevant to them. ABS’ research, convening power, and interconfessional credibility position it uniquely to meet this moment with innovative, audience-informed solutions.
An emerging innovation ecosystem. An innovation strategy has been developed. The Innovation Advisory Council is forming. Academic partnerships are active through the faculty research grant program, and a small but capable team is in place. The Senior Director can shape and scale these structures from an early stage rather than inheriting a rigid system.
Challenges
Embedding innovation across the organization. While innovation is valued at ABS, it has historically emerged within individual programs rather than through a unified methodology. The Senior Director will need to build shared vocabulary, train staff with varying levels of innovation experience, and cultivate champions across departments. All with the aim of making innovation a normalized way of working rather than a specialized function.
Building with resourcefulness. This role leads a small team and operates within appropriate budget constraints. The Senior Director must be comfortable bootstrapping — leveraging contractors, academic partners, innovation champions, and the Advisory Council to extend impact well beyond the core team’s headcount.
Contributing to an ambitious season of organizational renewal. ABS is in a period of strategic repositioning, investing in new capabilities and structures to ensure its mission thrives for the next generation. The Senior Director will play a key role in demonstrating that disciplined innovation produces measurable ministry impact, building credibility and momentum for the broader organizational vision.
Balancing demand and capacity. Innovation opportunities across ABS will exceed the team’s capacity, especially in the early years. The Senior Director must be a disciplined prioritizer — able to say no to good ideas in order to say yes to the right ones, managing a portfolio of pilots without overextending the team or diluting quality.
Developing sustainable funding for innovation. Long-term innovation requires predictable, diversified funding. The Senior Director will partner with the Director of Innovation Growth and the Development team to build reliable revenue streams that support ongoing experimentation, piloting, and scaling. This means moving beyond one-time or restricted funding toward multi-year commitments.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The ideal candidate is both a hands-on practitioner and culture-builder: someone equally
comfortable facilitating a design sprint with a ministry team and presenting pilot outcomes to the Senior Leadership Team or Innovation Advisory Council. They bring a proven track record in human-centered design and agile innovation methods, ideally in a nonprofit or mission-driven context, and have the resourcefulness to build programs with limited staff and the relational credibility to work across theological traditions, generational contexts, and departmental boundaries.
This leader oversees a small team while extending organizational reach by identifying, training, and coordinating innovation champions embedded across ABS departments and cultivating external relationships that fuel ABS’ innovation pipeline. The Senior Director collaborates closely with the Insights, Ministry Technology, and Content Development teams as key partners in research, digital product development, and prototyping.
This is a role for a builder. The Senior Director will oversee their team, recruit and coach innovation champions across departments, and cultivate external partnerships that fuel a disciplined innovation pipeline. In collaboration with others, this leader will ensure that ABS’ innovation work is grounded in audience research, integrated with digital product development, and aligned with the organization’s strategic priorities.
POSITION PROFILE
Title: Senior Director of Innovation Practice
Department: Insights and Innovation
Reports to: Chief Innovation Officer
JOB SUMMARY
The Senior Director of Innovation Practice leads the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of innovation methodology across American Bible Society. Reporting to the Chief Innovation Officer, this role carries a dual mandate: internally, building ABS’ capacity to listen deeply, prototype rapidly, and make insight-driven decisions across every department; externally, identifying, testing, funding, and scaling new approaches to Bible access, engagement, and advocacy — particularly for emerging generations and churches across traditions.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Innovation Methodology. Own and continuously refine ABS’ unified innovation methodology, including human-centered design, agile prototyping, and validated learning practices. Build and maintain an internal Innovation Resource Hub of templates, tools, and case studies that equip staff across the organization.
Innovation Training and Facilitation. Design and lead training cohorts that build innovation capacity across ABS departments. Personally facilitate design sprints, listening sessions, and prototyping workshops, equipping teams to apply innovation methods to their own ministry challenges.
Innovation Champion Network. Identify, recruit, and coach innovation champions on each ABS team, providing ongoing support and coordination to ensure innovation projects across the organization maintain momentum, quality, and alignment with strategic priorities.
Innovation Pipeline Management. Manage the full lifecycle of innovation initiatives — from identifying unmet needs and emerging opportunities through designing pilots, running rapid test cycles, and making evidence-based decisions to scale, iterate, or stop.
Manage the innovation practice budget, including pilot funding, contractor engagements, and training program costs.
External Innovation Discovery and Partnerships. Develop and manage the external channels through which ABS identifies and funds promising innovations, including academic partnerships, the innovation grant program, and the Innovation Advisory Council. Scout emerging technologies, ministry models, and potential collaborators that advance Bible access, engagement, and advocacy.
Audience Listening and Insight Integration. Partner with the Insights team to establish and sustain regular listening cycles with emerging generations, churches across traditions, and ministry partners. Ensure audience insight is documented, accessible, and actively integrated into innovation priorities, product design, and strategic decision-making.
Supporter Development. Proactively build and deepen relationships with stakeholders and donors connected to Innovation work, securing appropriate pilot/experimental support and collaborating with Development/Marketing as opportunities emerge.
Team Leadership. Directly supervise a small team, setting clear goals and fostering a culture of humility, curiosity, and disciplined experimentation. Assess staffing needs over time and make recommendations for team growth aligned with strategic priorities.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education
Bachelor’s degree required.
Master’s degree in a relevant field (design, organizational leadership, nonprofit management, ministry, business, or related discipline) preferred.
Experience
A minimum of 8–10 years of progressive experience in innovation, human-centered design, organizational change, or related fields.
At least 5 years in a nonprofit, faith-based, or mission-driven organization strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience leading innovation training programs and facilitating design thinking or agile processes with cross-functional teams.
Experience managing a portfolio of pilots or projects from concept through evaluation.
Experience managing budgets and working with senior leadership and external stakeholders.
Prior supervisory experience required.
Technical Skills
Proficiency in human-centered design methodologies (design thinking, service design, or equivalent).
Familiarity with agile and lean startup frameworks for rapid prototyping and validated learning.
Competence in project and portfolio management tools.
Ability to interpret and apply audience research, analytics, and evaluation data to inform innovation decisions.
Familiarity with how digital products are developed, including an understanding of product development lifecycles, UX/UI processes, and how research and user insight inform technology decisions.
KEY COMPETENCIES
Exceptional facilitation and training skills, with the ability to make innovation methods accessible to staff at all levels of experience and digital fluency.
Strong relational intelligence and the ability to build trust across theological traditions, generational contexts, and departmental boundaries.
Comfort operating with ambiguity, limited resources, and evolving priorities — able to bootstrap, improvise, and build the plane while flying it.
Strategic thinking balanced with hands-on execution; equally comfortable presenting to the Innovation Advisory Council and running a Post-it-note workshop with a ministry team.
Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to translate complex innovation concepts into clear, mission-aligned language for diverse audiences.
Deep commitment to stewardship, transparency, and evidence-based decision-making.
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; Inclusive Leadership: Promotes inclusivity and addresses biases within the team.
Service Orientation; Service Strategy: Develops service-centric strategies, drives service recipient satisfaction, and ensures organizational alignment with service expectations.
Adaptability and Flexibility; Strategic Change Management: Leads change initiatives, drives innovation, and helps the organization navigate through significant changes.
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: Strategic Innovation: Drives organizational change through creative and forward-thinking strategies.
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.
SALARY & BENEFITS
Salary: Commensurate with experience; details discussed in personal interviews.
Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package including health coverage and other benefits; details discussed in interviews. These include:
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)
12 Paid Holidays
6 Sick Days
2 Personal Days
Health Fitness Reimbursement Policy: ABS will reimburse 50% of your gym membership up to $250 in a 12-month period.
As well as additional benefits outlined in the Benefits Summary package
Travel: Up to 30%, primarily domestic, for meetings, convenings, partner engagements, and Innovation Advisory Council gatherings.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT
Physical Demands:
Ability to work on a computer for extended periods, conduct meetings by telephone and online (e.g., Teams), travel domestically and internationally for meetings, convenings, and partner engagements and lift up to 25 pounds (e.g., training materials, event supplies).
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)
If Remote: USA location
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 this affirmation 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.
ABOUT PHILADELPHIA
American Bible Society’s state-of-the-art headquarters is located on Market Street in
historic Center City, Philadelphia, PA, GQ Magazine's "City of the Year!" Philly has been listed as one of America's "Most Fun" cities, as well as the Top 100 cities of the world!
A very walkable city, Philly boasts vocational diversity featuring STEM disciplines, as well as vibrant educational institutions like Drexel, University of Pennsylvania, and Temple University, not to mention Westminster Seminary, Cairn University and Eastern University among prominent Christian institutions. Designated as a "First World Heritage City" Philly is a major historical site, with nationally recognized attractions such as Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.
Philadelphia is also an avid sports town, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, the 76ers, the Phillies, and the Flyers. To add to the celebration, Philadelphia is also home to world-class food. It's a city of neighborhoods—each one specializing in something different—from meatballs in red gravy to the well-known “Philly Cheesesteak.” The land William Penn designed as a place of freedom has welcomed waves of immigrants from various regions in its 339-year history, and it shows in its rich tapestry of local cuisine and culture. The median price of a 3-bedroom home in the Delaware Valley (Greater Philadelphia) is approximately $425,000.
To learn more about ABS' work, please visit their website at www.americanbible.org.
If, after prayerfully reviewing this information, you sense this role and organization could be a good fit for you, please click on the APPLY NOW button below. If you know someone who may have an interest, please use the social media, and email buttons at the top of this page.