Manager of Hermitage

Description

Purpose and Scope

To support the Diocese of Phoenix in its mission to Encounter the Living Christ, this position will oversee all temporal aspects of Merciful Heart Hermitage while providing different types of project management and administrator support as needed. The Hermitage / House of Prayer is a very small retreat facility in Black Canyon City built on 19 acres of desert land and consists of four hermitages, a chapel, and a large main house. The Manager role is a unique position that involves administration, facilities management, finance, maintenance, housekeeping, and other manual labor. 

Essential Job Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

· The Hermitage Manager (hereafter “Manager”) oversees all temporal aspects of Merciful Heart Hermitage: A House of Prayer for Priests, enabling smooth operations of the retreat facility. Aside from the Director, who is a diocesan hermit and resides at the Hermitage, the Manager is the sole employee of the Hermitage/House of Prayer. Therefore, most of the work would need to be performed by the Manager personally. When it is not possible to accomplish the work personally, volunteers may be recruited or contractors may be hired. 

· In assuming responsibility for the temporal aspects of the House of Prayer, the Manager would free up the resident diocesan hermit so that he may focus on his vocation of prayer, spiritual direction, retreat guidance, and other priestly ministry.

· While the resident diocesan hermit, as Director, establishes the overall vision, the Manager offers input and ultimately carries out that vision with regards to the temporal aspects of the Hermitage. The Manager consults with, and seeks guidance from, the responsible diocesan officials, and then moves forward with various projects.

· The Manager is the primary contact person for the Hermitage – communicating with retreatants, diocesan employees, vendors, contractors, etc. 

· The Manager fosters and safeguards a silent, contemplative, prayerful atmosphere for resident hermit and retreatants.

Administrative and Financial

· Oversees all daily operations of Hermitage / House of Prayer for Priests.

· Organizes fundraising initiatives in coordination with diocesan Office of Mission Advancement.

· Has the authority to sign contracts; authorizes disbursement request forms submitted by volunteers and contractors. 

· Determines and prioritizes improvement projects based on scope, timing, feasibility, available funds, etc. 

· When necessary, finds creative ways to increase revenue while safeguarding the contemplative nature and focused mission of the Hermitage. 

· Prepares the annual budget in coordination with diocesan offices and attends the annual budget meeting. 

· Establishes rates for suggested offerings with regards to lodging, meals, and retreat guidance.

· Bookkeeping

o Prepares invoices for retreatants, receives payments/donations, sends checks to the diocesan finance office.

o Prepares and sends out receipts for payments and donation acknowledgement letters. 

o Prepares disbursement request forms and sends them along with receipts to the diocesan finance office. 

Buildings, Facilities, Property Management

· Manages the property and facilities.

· Communicates with diocesan Office of Buildings and Properties (especially diocesan Facilities Manager) regarding needed improvements and repairs.

· Works with contractors, plumbers, electricians, technicians, pest control services, cell tower companies, and other service personnel.

· Does minor repair work personally if capable of doing so

· Helps determine if and when any additions or renovations to the property and facilities are needed and oversees the work to be done.

· Prepares and keeps updated a list of maintenance and improvement projects, including expected completion dates, status, steps needed to be taken etc., and meets regularly with Director to give status updates.

Guest Reception and Hospitality

· Receives reservations for priest retreatants via email, phone, or the online retreat request form. 

o Seeks Director’s approval of retreat requests. 

o Uses software such as Google calendar to reserve casitas/rooms.

o Communicates with retreatants regarding any information they may need leading up to their stay.

· Welcomes priest guests and is available to assist them with any needs/issues that may arise during their stay.

· If gifted in cooking, prepares homemade meals that are normally kept in freezer and made available for retreatants (other creative ideas are welcome). Otherwise, may seek the assistance of volunteers to prepare these meals. 

· May be called upon to prepare or facilitate the preparation of occasional formal/shared meal among retreatants; oversees the set up and clean up for such meals. 

· Provides access to retreat facilities and amenities as needed. 

· Keeps in stock and orders household supplies such as paper products, towels, sheets, soap, dishware cleaning products, etc.  

Sacristan

· Keeps in stock and orders liturgical items: candles, altar bread and wine, linens, liturgical calendars, etc.

· Sets up for Mass when needed.

· Launders liturgical linens: corporals, purificators, lavabo towels, altar cloths, etc.

· Launders vestments when needed.

Housekeeping

· Cleans the main house, chapel, and the hermitages as needed, especially in preparation for retreatants. These duties include dusting, sweeping, mopping, waxing and vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms and kitchens, and other cleaning activities as determined necessary.

· Washes sheets and towels after retreatants depart. 

· Develops cleaning schedule to assure residence and chapel are maintained in an orderly manner, including regular deep cleanings. 

· Collects and disposes of trash as needed.

· Prepares list of necessary cleaning supplies and makes purchases as needed.

· May hire professional cleaning company to assist with this work within budget parameters. 

Groundskeeping

· Ensures that the grounds are well-maintained by carrying out the following tasks:

o Mowing, weeding, sweeping, clearing out dead plants, etc.

o Planting and watering flowers.

o Changing out air filters and water filters regularly. 

o Refurbishing wooden doors, decks, pergola, etc. 

· Oversees work that may need to be done by landscapers such as the trimming of palm trees, creating defensible space around buildings to prevent fires, etc.

· Keeps a list of regular maintenance items that need to be performed periodically and takes initiative to accomplish those tasks at the appropriate time (for example: changing filters, having yearly A/C maintenance performed, etc.).

· Does regular walk-arounds of the property to ensure that everything is well-maintained; takes initiative to perform upkeep as needed and in a timely manner.

Additional Job Functions

Extern for Resident Diocesan Hermit

· Helps to safeguard eremitical silence and solitude for resident diocesan hermit as well as making easier his periods of travel when away on mission. 

· Picks up and delivers mail to Post Office.

· May assist with errands and food shopping on occasion. 

· Acts as a liaison between resident hermit and outside parties, enabling him to more easily remain in deeper contemplative prayer. 

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Active practicing Roman Catholic in full communion with the Church.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher.
•  Has experience managing a retreat facility or similar organization or at least has the aptitude for doing so.
• Has great respect for the Catholic priesthood.
• Has skills/knowledge in the area of administration, finance, facilities, maintenance, construction, housekeeping.
• Qualities: good communicator, friendly, hospitable, task-oriented, quiet disposition, able to “remain in the background,” self-starter, organized, able to work without close supervision, humble, flexible, easily relates with people, able to maintain confidentiality, understands and values the contemplative life. 

Work Environment

· This job operates in a house of prayer professional work environment.

Physical Demands

· This role requires occasional heavy lifting (up to 30 lbs.) and it routinely requires walking, standing, bending, lifting with the objective of accomplishing the physical and administrative responsibilities outlined above.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.