LifeWise Program Director - LifeWise Applicant Center

About Us

LifeWise Academy is a released-time religious instruction program that exists to reach public school students with the gospel during school hours. Under released time law, students may be released from public school during the day to receive religious instruction, provided the program is off of school property, privately funded, and parent-permitted.

We believe released time is the greatest missed opportunity of the American church to reach the next generation with the gospel. Will you join us?

About You

You love Jesus. You love kids. You have the ability to face new challenges and create solutions. Leadership, organization, and managing various tasks at once are areas of strength. Most importantly, you know this isn't just a job. It's a chance to do something meaningful, a chance to serve others, and a chance to make a life-changing impact on students with the gospel.

About the Job

We are looking for a gospel-centered and detail-oriented Program Director to lead our team in the Ashton-Franklin Center Community Unit School District 275, in partnership with the local Leadership Board. Our ideal candidate is a spiritually mature active church member with excellent communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills who is adept at managing a broad range of administrative tasks. The Program Director will serve in a part-time 15-20 hours per week capacity (with higher weekly averages possible in the months leading up to launch).

Job Responsibilities - Managing the LifeWise 5 L's

1. Leadership

• Schedule and conduct regular Leadership Board meetings
• Recruit and hire staff members
• Recruit volunteers to help in the classroom
• Train, schedule, and manage a team of teachers, drivers, and volunteers
• Ensure all team members complete background screenings and renew as needed

2. Location

• Provide a learning environment that is engaging and visually excellent in keeping with the LifeWise style guide
• Ensure that emergency policies and procedures are clearly defined and posted
• Maintain classroom safety, security, and technology
• Manage a plan for housing, maintaining, and refueling vehicles

3. Logistics

• Create and maintain a schedule of LifeWise classes in coordination with schools
• Distribute student permission slips to schools and parents
• Manage student data, including contact information, photo release, health concerns, and parent permission
• Foster and maintain an ongoing positive relationship with the school

4. Loot

• Prepare and maintain an annual budget
• Lead fundraising efforts by managing a Kickoff Campaign
• Conduct regular LifeWise 101 events, church presentations, and an annual banquet event
• Manage, record, and deposit donations and send thank-you notes
• Oversee the use of funds by paying bills and making purchases such as classroom supplies
• Review regular financial reports with the Leadership Board

5. Language

• Maintain an active prayer team
• Seek opportunities to represent LifeWise at community events
• Send regular updates to donors, volunteers, and parents via newsletters and social media
• Work with the Support center to ensure the program webpage is up to date

6. Systems and Support

• Use Google apps such as Gmail, Drive, Meet, Calendar, Sheets, and Docs
• Log donations and manage records online in Salesforce
• Make program purchases using an expense card and mobile app for expense reports
• Use a variety of websites for creating online forms, logging hours worked, and managing team member background screenings and employee records
• Participate in monthly Director's calls and Health Coach calls for ongoing training
• Attend the LifeWise Summit and at least one Program Director Bootcamp yearly

Qualifications and Experience

• A mature personal Christian faith consistent with the LifeWise Academy Statement of Faith
• Active membership in a church in which teaching aligns with the LifeWise Academy Statement of Faith
• Leadership experience in either a professional or volunteer capacity
• Experience with spreadsheets, virtual meeting platforms, and Google Suite

Benefits

• Retirement plan, including employer match

LifeWise Academy's hiring practices and EEO Statement are fully in compliance with both federal and state law. Federal law creates an exception to the "religion" section of employment discrimination laws for religious organizations and permits them to give employment preference to members of their own religion. LifeWise Academy is in that category.