Kids Ministry Manager

Illuminate Community Church•Scottsdale, AZ

21h•Onsite

About The Position

The Kids Ministry Manager provides hands-on leadership and ownership for Illuminate Kids Ministry from birth through 4th grade, creating safe, welcoming, and Christ-centered environments where children are known, loved, and intentionally discipled. This role oversees weekly ministry readiness, developmentally appropriate curriculum for ages 2 through 4th grade, volunteer and lead teacher development, classroom environments, SHINE support, and supervision of the Kids Ministry Assistants. The Kids Ministry Manager leads proactively with organization, encouragement, accountability, adaptability, and excellence with purpose: the intentional stewardship of the people, spaces, resources, and ministry opportunities God has entrusted to us.

Requirements

A committed follower of Jesus Christ whose life reflects biblical character and aligns with Illuminate Community Church’s Statement of Faith, Position Statements and Staff Handbook.
Demonstrates a high level of personal and professional integrity, striving to live above reproach in both personal life and ministry responsibilities.
Supports and promotes a Christ-centered work environment, contributing positively to staff unity and the mission of the church.
Serves as a Christlike example to the church body, fellow staff and the broader community through conduct, attitude, and relationships.
Demonstrates humility, teachability, and a servant-hearted approach to ministry.
Demonstrates a genuine love for Jesus, His Church, children, families, and volunteers through a warm, approachable, dependable, and servant-hearted presence.
Is proactive, team-oriented, willing to take ownership, and able to balance high standards with grace when navigating corrective conversations.
Is inclusion-minded and committed to helping children of varying abilities experience belonging and meaningful participation.
Is committed to excellence with purpose, recognizing excellence as intentional stewardship rather than perfection.
Experience working with young children.
Knowledge of early childhood development.
Previous church or ministry experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with young children
Knowledge of early childhood development
Previous church or ministry experience

Responsibilities

Lead Sunday and applicable midweek programming for Birth-4th Grade Ministry; ensure each classroom has the staffing, curriculum, supplies, setup, and resources needed for effective ministry.
Serve as the primary point person for volunteers and lead teachers in the Birth-4th Grade Ministry.
Maintain effective schedules, records, supply systems, and communication rhythms for the Birth-4th Grade Ministry.
Proactively identify, solve, and communicate significant ministry needs for the Birth-4th Grade Ministry.
Prepare and adapt biblical, Christ-centered, engaging, and developmentally appropriate curriculum for ages 2 through 4th Grade.
Provide lesson materials and expectations with sufficient lead time to teachers.
Observe classrooms and equip teachers through encouragement, coaching, and actionable feedback in child engagement, behavior management, classroom leadership, and age-appropriate discipleship.
Recruit, onboard, train, schedule, develop, and care for Birth-4th grade and childcare volunteers.
Anticipate staffing gaps, identify and develop emerging leaders, delegate effectively, and build a culture in which volunteers feel known, valued, equipped, connected to the mission, and appropriately accountable.
Arrive by 6:30 AM on Sundays to confirm that environments, supplies, and staffing are ready before families arrive.
Lead pre-service huddles for prayer, encouragement, and updates on Sundays.
Remain visible and available on Sundays, oversee ministry flow, and troubleshoot classroom, staffing, child, family, and supply needs.
Step into ministry roles when necessary on Sundays.
Ensure rooms are reset and significant concerns receive follow-up after Sunday services.
Help ensure the SHINE room is staffed and prepared for the 9:30 and 11:00 AM services.
Coordinate with families and volunteers for the SHINE program, providing age-appropriate Bible lessons, activities, sensory supports, and materials.
Pursue inclusion in age-appropriate classrooms when it best supports the child.
Maintain the SHINE room as an intentional smaller-class environment for students needing individualized care.
Maintain the appearance, organization, functionality, cleanliness, safety, and readiness of Birth-Kindergarten and SHINE environments and storage areas.
Proactively coordinate needed repairs, replacements, technology, furniture, signage, supplies, and improvements for environments.
Know, model, and uphold all safety policies, classroom ratios, incident procedures, and confidentiality expectations.
Directly supervise, support, and develop the Childcare Assistant.
Recruit and develop a dependable childcare team.
Ensure childcare environments meet the same standards of safety, care, organization, and excellence expected during Sunday ministry.
Build trusted relationships with children and families.
Create a warm experience for new families.
Communicate appropriately with parents and partner with them in their children's spiritual growth.
Escalate significant pastoral, behavioral, safety, medical, or family concerns to the appropriate leader.
Collaborate in planning and executing Easter, Christmas, VBS, family events, and other ministry initiatives.
Participate in team planning, setup, execution, cleanup, and evaluation for events.
Step into team-wide needs in support of the greater mission.
Maintain strict confidentiality and sound judgement when handling sensitive information.
Demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills.
Work effectively in a team-oriented environment, collaborating with staff, volunteers, and ministry leaders.
Display initiative, reliability, and strong organizational skills.
Manage multiple responsibilities while maintaining attention to detail and professionalism.
Function effectively both behind the scenes and in public-facing situations.
Lead, encourage, coach, develop, and appropriately hold volunteers or teams accountable.
Relate and communicate effectively with adults and children and provide clear feedback with grace.
Be highly organized, attentive to detail, and able to manage multiple priorities, schedules, and deadlines.
Take initiative, anticipate needs, develop solutions, delegate effectively, and work without continual direction.
Remain calm, adaptable, and effective when plans or ministry needs change and receive feedback with a commitment to continued growth.
Support and participate in the overall ministry and mission of Illuminate Community Church.
Attend required staff meetings and church events (including Easter and Christmas) as requested.
Perform other duties as assigned to support the effectiveness of the ministry and staff team.
Maintain Sunday attendance and availability as essential functions of the role, including arrival by 6:30 AM.
Be available for staff meetings, evening programs, special events, Easter, Christmas, and other significant ministry dates; hours and responsibilities may shift during high-demand ministry seasons.
Serve as one team with one mission by noticing needs, taking initiative, supporting others, and stepping in when help is needed.