Spiritual Life Program Manager

Principia The • Elsah, IL

3h • $57,750 - $67,200 • Onsite

About The Position

The Spiritual Life Program Manager is the operational lead for the Spiritual Life Office. Reporting directly to the Director of Spiritual Life and College Chaplain, the program manager translates the Director’s spiritual and strategic vision into well-run, repeatable, and student-centered experiences across campus. Key areas of ownership include event and program logistics, retreat operations, master calendaring, student worker supervision, coordination of campus Christian Science practitioners and the Director of Christian Science Nursing, communications scheduling, and data/assessment and reporting. Working within Principia’s Christian Science foundation and welcoming students of all faith backgrounds, the Program Manager builds systems that ensure quality, consistency, accessibility, and continuity across worship, programming, and digital ministry, supporting the work of the Director in spiritual leadership, pastoral care, and institutional relationships. This position also serves as operational deputy and provides day-to-day leadership for the office when the Director is unavailable.

Requirements

• Student of Christian Science
• Supportive of Principia’s guiding statements
• Bachelor’s degree
• Experience managing retreats and travel logistics, contracts, and risk management forms
• Familiarity with podcast or digital content workflows and simple analytics
• Experience supporting interfaith programming and campus collaboration
• 6+ years of relevant professional experience in program management, event operations, student affairs, ministry support, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated organizational excellence: calendaring, checklist/SOP creation, logistics, vendor coordination, and budget tracking
• Experience supervising students or early‑career staff and coordinating multi‑stakeholder projects
• Strong written and verbal communication; comfort with digital tools (e.g., project trackers, shared drives, email platforms, basic analytics)
• Ability to work effectively within a Christian Science environment while welcoming and supporting students from diverse faith backgrounds

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree preferred in higher education administration, nonprofit management, project management, ministry/theology, or a related field

Responsibilities

• Manages logistics and execution for all recurring Spiritual Life programs, including but not limited to: CSO services (Sunday services and Wednesday testimony meetings) and Sunday Evening Sing (including advising and coordinating with student leaders), Quiet Times (campus-wide 20‑minute pause for prayer and reflection), Friday Faith in Action (campus-wide 50-minute program), Possible new Monday community chapel.
• Plans and executes 1–5 annual retreats, including contracts, transportation, budgets, accessibility, and risk management.
• Maintains the master calendar; coordinate spaces, AV, materials, hospitality, vendors, and run-of-show documents.
• Creates, maintains, and improves Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all programs to ensure consistent execution and backup coverage.
• Manages interfaith program logistics, including for the Interfaith Fellows program and values-aligned employee training sessions.
• Tracks program budgets, invoicing, and vendor purchases: reconciles monthly expenses and prepare budget status updates.
• Manages the Spiritual Life communications calendar (email, social media, web, campus calendar), partnering with College Marketing if/as needed.
• Coordinates production workflows for the “Light of the World” podcast, with content oversight remaining with the Director.
• Maintains reusable communications assets and templates to support consistent, welcoming, and inclusive promotion of Spiritual Life programs and resources.
• Hires, trains, and manages student workers to support Spiritual Life programming, operations, and communications.
• Provides functional supervision and workflow coordination for the Graduate Fellow in the Spiritual Life Office.
• Coordinates schedules, logistics, and record-keeping for Christian Science practitioners and the Director of Christian Science Nursing.
• Oversees onboarding and training support for key student and campus leadership roles connected to Spiritual Life.
• In partnership with the Director, supports the operational sustainability of spiritual formation initiatives, including possible spiritual discipleship small groups and potential re-establishment of Christian Science Sunday School on campus.
• Helps the Director to recruit faculty, staff, and students to help implement and facilitate these offerings. As appropriate and within a clearly defined scope, assists in facilitating or co-leading one spiritual formation or discipleship group or Sunday School class.
• Serves as a friendly, reliable presence at programs and events, routing students to appropriate spiritual care resources (College Chaplain, practitioners) rather than providing pastoral counseling.
• Provides back-up pastoral care on occasion (with appropriate credentials), following established protocols and with escalation to the Director as appropriate.
• Implements basic attendance and satisfaction tracking across programs and retreats.
• Maintains a simple dashboard (e.g., participation trends, satisfaction, podcast downloads) and prepares quarterly summaries for the Director and senior leadership.
• Curates photos, quotes, and highlights for storytelling and annual reporting.
• Maintains continuity documentation to support operational stability and leadership transitions.

Benefits

• Generous Employee Tuition Discount: 90% discount on tuition (pro-rated for part-time staff) for your eligible children enrolled from Pre-K3 through College (infant and acorn programs excluded).
• Relocation: Principia provides a relocation reimbursement of up to 12% of your annual salary, when moving from outside a radius of more than 50 miles.
• Professional Development: Access to learning opportunities, training programs, and career growth support.
• Comprehensive Benefits: comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans, paid time off, a 403(b) retirement plan with Principia matching.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level