***Please submit a cover letter and resume when applying.***
Agency Mission
InterFaith Works affirms the dignity of each person and every faith tradition, builds racial and religious equity, and creates bridges of understanding among us.
The Center for Dialogue and Action
IFW created the Ahmad and Elizabeth El-Hindi Center for Dialogue and Action (CDA) as a regional hub for constructive community engagement using a racial equity lens in conjunction with a dialogue-to-action model to address critical community concerns. We bring together disparate groups of people to foster mutual understanding and trust. Dialogue programs address community concerns and encourage understanding across racial, ethnic, religious, and community differences. The Center builds upon multiple successful agency models of dialogue, including interfaith dialogues, community-police dialogues, school-based dialogues, racial equity dialogues, and more. IFW asserts that cross-cultural dialogue adds value to community planning processes and leads to lasting, positive interpersonal, and community change. The Center is a merged entity that houses the Agency’s dialogue, food justice, and interfaith initiatives.
Position Summary:
The Manager of Interfaith Initiatives Program is a part-time position overseeing IFW’s chaplaincy, interfaith and food justice programming, as well as helping to manage IFW’s Round Table of Faith Leaders. The Manager supervises one part-time staff member with whom they work to identify and build faith-based initiatives that address pressing community needs. Responsibilities include overseeing chaplains and chaplaincy contractual obligations with area hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional facilities, organizing interfaith community events to promote interfaith understanding, staffing IFW’s Round Table of Faith Leaders, and overseeing IFW’s Pantry Partners network.
The Manager of Interfaith initiatives is responsible for three concurrent mandates:
Chaplaincy Program: IFW's chaplaincy program provides spiritual care in area institutions and represents both a significant community service and an important revenue stream for the El Hindi Center. The Manager will:
- Oversee the recruitment, training, credentialing, and supervision of IFW's cadre of chaplains serving area institutions.
- Maintain and develop institutional relationships with hospitals, correctional facilities, and other institutions where IFW provides chaplaincy services.
- Ensure chaplaincy services reflect IFW's interfaith values — providing spiritual care across traditions with dignity and cultural competence.
- Manage chaplaincy program contracts, including overseeing chaplaincy finances and reporting and;
- Identify opportunities for program growth.
Roundtable of Faith Leaders: The Roundtable of Faith Leaders is one of IFW's most significant assets, a network of faith community leaders across traditions that provides a moral ground for InterFaith Works, raising issues of conscience for consideration by the whole group and/or by the Board of Directors. The Roundtable meets monthly. The Manager will:
- Assist leading the Roundtable as a community resource able to address and act on community needs and challenges.
- Design monthly agendas and annual planning in partnership with the Roundtable Convener and Steering Committee.
- Activate the Roundtable's collective voice and relationships in response to community moments, for example, hate incidents, civic controversies, periods of community stress, where interfaith leadership may be needed.
- Build the Roundtable's membership and breadth, with particular attention to deepening relationship with underrepresented faith communities and congregations.
- Work with the President and CEO to identify annual priorities for the Roundtable that align with IFW's strategic direction.
Food Justice and Faith Community Partnerships: IFW's food justice network, which could include supporting food pantries, food access alliances, food policy groups, and community gardens, is anchored in and inseparable from IFW's relationships with faith partners and the broader community in Central New York. The Manager will:
- Sustain, deepen, and identify opportunities to expand IFW's food justice network and the partnerships with faith communities and community organizations that anchor it.
- Ensure that food justice programming reflects IFW's racial equity lens, addressing root causes and structural barriers, not just immediate need.
- Identify and pursue funding opportunities for food justice work, including in the context of significant federal SNAP reductions and growing community food insecurity.
Qualifications:
- Master’s Degree and/or Ordained Clergy preferred, but candidates with strong religious affiliation will be considered
- Adept in the fields of chaplaincy and interfaith understanding
- Strongly connected to community resources and highly motivated to engage with the institutions and community supporters committed to spiritual care and interfaith education
- Skilled in human service administration and program development and delivery
- Demonstrated management experience including supervision of staff, budget, finance and fund development
- Excellent organizational skills
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Experience working successfully with people from diverse backgrounds
- Ability to work with InterFaith Works’ volunteers
- Computer literate in Microsoft Office Suite and Internet capabilities
- Available to work non-traditional hours, including evenings and weekends.
- Possess reliable personal transportation with ability to travel throughout CNY.
Essential Functions:
Program Development
Chaplaincy
- Oversee the development of the program and its materials
- Supervise the cadre of chaplains including recruitment to ensure religious and ethnic diversity among them, and provide ongoing training and in-service opportunities
- Place chaplains in correctional and health facilities, when there are vacancies and new contracts
- Identify and develop new venues for chaplaincy
InterFaith Initiatives
- Provide staff support to IFW’s Roundtable of Faith Leaders.
- Provide staff support for interfaith programming, for example, World Interfaith Harmony Assembly.
Food Justice
- Maintain relationships with relevant food pantries,
- Regularly convene InterFaith Works’ network of pantry partners to share information, best practices, and lessons learned
- Seek opportunities to expand food justice programming in the community, focusing especially on programming benefiting underserved and underrepresented communities.
Planning & Evaluation:
- In conjunction with the CEO, oversee implementation of the program’s strategic plan
- Determine the annual community issues priority areas, population groups, and key projects that will be undertaken by the Interfaith Initiatives Program
- Identify the human and financial resources needed to carry out the plan
- Establish and carry out the evaluation of the program
Partnership Development and Collaboration:
- Identify strategic community and national partners to support the annual plan
- Create collaborative working partnerships with contracted institutions and other groups who support the program’s work.
- Represent InterFaith Works to the community to promote understanding and supportive relationships.
- Work with the Roundtable of Faith Leaders and IFW’s Faith Partners to gain greatest benefit for strengthening and directing the Program.
Contractual:
- Manage and renew chaplaincy contracts, including engaging in contract negotiations, in a timely fashion, and provide copies to both the partner agency and InterFaith Works in sufficient time to ensure an uninterrupted provision of chaplain care.
- Maintain solid working relationships with the administrations of the various contracted agencies to ensure vibrant and quality services to inmates, patients, and clients of the contracted agencies.
- Identify and pursue new and expanded contractual arrangements to provide chaplain care.
- Administer the Clergy Parking Program.
Community and Public Relations:
- Develop and maintain relationships with faith communities, business, government, and non-profit partners to ensure support for interfaith Initiatives goals and programs.
- Promote program with internal and external print and electronic media.
- Participate in appropriate community organizations and coalitions that further the work.
Fiscal and Fund Development:
- Work with InterFaith Works Chief Financial Officer to develop the annual budget for the program.
- Oversee annual program budget to ensure expenditures align with annual budget plans.
- Work in tandem with CEO and Chief Development Officer to raise annual budget through corporate gifts, major and small donors, fee-for-service contracts, grant writing, and fundraising special events.
Management and Supervision:
- Supervise one part-time staff member dedicated to advancing IFW Interfaith initiatives.
- Supervise chaplains and volunteers to ensure that the program is carried out in all its venues.
- Abide by a strict code of ethics and confidentiality in all matters related to IFW and its members.
- Conduct annual evaluations of program staff & chaplains.
This position will perform other duties as assigned.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to travel regularly throughout the service delivery area (ie: home visits, agency visits, service provider visits) at least 50% of the time, using reliable transportation, traversing streets, ascending/descending stairs, and being exposed to outside weather conditions.
- Remain in a stationary position at a workstation and use a computer approximately 40% of the time.
- Frequently sit for long periods of time while attending meetings.
Pay: $31.25 per hour
Benefits:
- 403(b)
- 403(b) matching
- Employee assistance program
- Paid time off
Work Location: In person
