FRIENDS GENERAL CONFERENCE JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: GENERAL SECRETARY
General Statement:
The General Secretary provides Spirit-grounded servant leadership to Friends General Conference (FGC). S/he articulates the organization’s vision and mission, to both internal and external audiences. The General Secretary is the chief executive officer of FGC and is responsible for the effective management of all FGC’s affairs. S/he works closely with a small administrative team of three Associate Secretaries, each of whom has other program-related responsibilities. S/he also works with other staff (approximately twenty full time equivalents) as well as a team of committed volunteers.
Committees and volunteers play a strong role in FGC. The General Secretary works collaboratively with FGC officers, committee clerks and other committee members and volunteers. Major policy and budgetary decisions are made by Central Committee (which meets once a year), generally after being seasoned by its Executive Committee (which meets two or three times a year). The General Secretary must balance her/his own personal gifts of visioning, discernment and planning with deep listening, careful consultation, and strong support for the growth and exercise of similar leadership gifts and skills by many others, both volunteers and staff.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Leadership
1. Listen to the Spirit, to volunteers and colleagues, helping to discern and articulate a strong vision, clear goals and reasonable objectives for FGC’s work.
2. Discern and nurture gifts of leadership and service in others, both staff and volunteers, seeking to build and strengthen all parts of the organization.
3. In close consultation with others, help FGC to anticipate and prepare for new opportunities and challenges through careful discernment and planning.
4. Communicate important concerns, leadings and ideas clearly, both in writing and in person, to colleagues, committees, and our governing body as well as those outside the organization as appropriate.
Program Development, Management, & Evaluation
1. Develop proposals and plans for specific programs, services, and projects for consideration by FGC governing bodies, in cooperation with the Associate, the Committee for Discernment, Planning and Priorities, and other appropriate committees and staff.
2. Provide supportive staff leadership in the initiation of new programs and services, as well as in the ongoing management of new and existing programs.
3. Plan and implement or enable needed evaluations of FGC programs and services, in cooperation with the Associate Secretaries, the Committee for Discernment, Planning and Priorities, and other appropriate committees and staff.
Interpretation & Communication
1. Serve as the principal public face of FGC, presenting FGC’s mission, goals and programs at monthly and yearly meetings, FGC events, and, as occasion arises, within the wider world of Friends, ecumenical and interfaith contexts.
2. Give broad guidance to staff responsible for interpretation of FGC through both print and electronic media.
Development
1. Provide leadership to FGC in developing and maintaining its Development Program, including the Annual Fund, major gifts, foundation grants, planned giving, and special campaigns.
2. Build and nurture relationships with potential and current donors and solicit major gifts with appropriate Development staff and volunteers.
Personnel Administration & Supervision
1. Administer and manage staff resources in line with the FGC Personnel Manual with the assistance of the Associate Secretaries.
2. Recruit, hire, and, if necessary, terminate the employment of staff. The General Secretary has the final authority in decisions to hire or fire staff. (The Executive Committee has the final authority on matters of personnel policy based on recommendations from the Personnel Committee.)
3. Guide staff development, including adequate supervision and regular evaluations of performance.
4. Attend to staff morale and foster a cooperative and supportive work environment.
5. Ensure that FGC’s major priorities are being carried out.
6. Administer personnel policies and procedures, and recommend changes or additions to Personnel Committee and Executive Committee as appropriate.
7. Consult with the Personnel Committee as needed on other issues related to personnel policy and management.
Committee Support
1. Work closely with the Presiding Clerk of Central Committee on all matters.
2. Support the work of Executive and Central Committees, attending all of their meetings.
3. Be available to serve on most administrative committees in an ex officio capacity as appropriate and participate regularly in all meetings of the Committee on Discernment, Planning and Priorities, the Finance Committee, the Personnel Committee, and, when it meets, the Advisory Committee.
4. Arrange for adequate staff support for all committees, within the limits set by the budget and the size of the staff.
5. Support good communication and close cooperation between committee clerks and staff persons.
Finance
1. Monitor the financial operations of FGC consistently and make adjustments as necessary, in cooperation with the Fiscal and Property Manager, the Treasurer, Finance Committee, and Development Committee.
2. Ensure that preparation of the annual budget, regular financial reports, long-term financial projections, and other important reports or documents required by the organization are prepared and presented in good order to Executive Committee and Central Committee for information or approval, as appropriate.
Desired Qualifications:
Education:
1. College degree or equivalent.
2. Formal training or experience in organizational management, supervision, and development.
Experience & Skills
1. Management, mid to senior level position, primarily in a board-controlled not-for-profit organization or agency, although part of this experience may have been gained in a business or academic environment.
2. Considerable experience with and commitment to Quaker governance and Friends’ decision-making processes.
3. Familiarity with Friends organizations and Quaker bodies in the United States and Canada.
4. Experience providing supportive leadership for individuals and groups to facilitate spiritual and organizational growth.
5. Ability to work well as a team member, communicating effectively and openly with a wide range of colleagues and committee people.
6. Experience working with active, decision-making committees and volunteers on program development and implementation.
7. Experience supervising staff.
8. Experience with budget preparation, analysis, and control.
9. Some experience with financial forecasting and fiscal management.
10. Significant development and fundraising experience, including visioning and strategizing, building relationships, soliciting major gifts, and preparing proposals.
11. Experience and skill in public speaking and writing.
12. Experience with office technology and systems.
General:
1. Active member of the Religious Society of Friends.
2. Having knowledge of and commitment to FGC’s mission and goals, including an active commitment to promoting diversity in its many dimensions.
3. Familiar with the variety of beliefs held by unprogrammed Friends in North America.
4. Familiar with and sensitive to the concerns, needs and opportunities affecting all branches of Friends in North America.
5. Able to travel extensively, and work many weekends.
Supervisor:
The General Secretary is directly accountable to the FGC Presiding Clerk and, ultimately, to the Executive Committee.
Reviewed by: The FGC Presiding Clerk and the Clerk of the Personnel Committee conduct a performance review of the General Secretary annually.
Hours:
Full time (Exempt)
Supervises:
Associate Secretary for Development and Interpretation, Associate Secretary for Programs and Communications, Associate Secretary for Programs and Traveling Ministries, Fiscal and Property Manager, Distribution Manager, and Administrative Associate.
Salary:
