What are the responsibilities and job description for the Operations Manager - Via Students position at Via?
The Via Students Operations Manager brings organization and project management to the vision. We need an administratively gifted problem solver to help manage the operations side of Via Students. You'll be working on the Via Students team, working with our Operations teams, and interacting with our global field teams.
Via is a multinational ministry full of people who are passionate about Jesus, who are burdened for those who have never heard the gospel, and whose desire is to reach the nations for Christ. Our vision is to see all believers fully engaged in their God-given roles in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Our mission is made possible by our teams and global partners working together to mobilize the global Church to send missionaries to the unreached.
The Via Students team is one of Via’s global equipping teams that serves collegiate ministry leaders in churches and campus ministries all over the world to grow in EDM - Evangelism, Disciple making, and Missions mobilization. Our hope is to inspire, equip, and encourage the collegiate body of Christ. Come help us mobilize and reach the nations for Christ by serving collegiate ministries worldwide. See more roles on the Via Students Team.
The Operations Manager for the Via Students team plays a vital role in accomplishing our mission! There are no backstage roles at the Via. God has uniquely equipped you with the gifting, experience, and skills, and it’s up to both of us to pray and discern if this is the right opportunity for you at this season of life.
You’ll be working under the leadership of the Via Students Director. He will equip and coach you to direct the day-to-day operations and large-scale projects of the Via Students team. You will also analyze and improve organizational processes and work to improve quality, productivity, and efficiency.
Roles and Responsibilities
Operations and Administration
- Planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and completing team projects, such as launching and updating Via Students products and resources.
- Maintain operational management systems, processes, and best practices.
- Identify potential problems and find solutions in order to maximize efficiency.
- Manage Via Students related projects, and act as project manager with internal Via Students operations teams.
- Marketing and Communications
- Work with the Marketing / Communications team to plan out our annual communications, take on project management and liaising with authors and guest speakers until we have a Digital Resource Manager to manage that workflow more with the MarCom team.
- Assist in podcast recording, and scheduling with speakers
- Plan and execute marketing initiatives (alongside MarCom team) for our resources, gaining new subscribers, trainings and the EDM Conference
- Grow Via Students’ reach beyond North America, to begin equipping more campus ministry leaders in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East
Events and Trainings
- Plan and manage the EDM Conference, from start to finish alongside the Via Students Director. Via has long experience in managing major events, so we have most of the elements in place already. But you will be the chief project manager of the event. Via has a full-time Events Manager who assists in project management of all of our events, but you’ll be leading the planning and execution of this event to ensure it meets the goals of Via Students.
- Plan and handle the logistics of campus ministry trainings, such as our Ministry to Movement training.
- Assist and sometimes accompany the Via Students team with trainings and speaking engagements in the USA or globally.
Student Ministry
- We want to be a team of practitioners, not theorists. In order to be such, each member of the Via Students team is expected to have a regular rhythm of meeting with students with an EDM focus for their own personal ministry.
Role Specific Skills Sets or Qualifications
- Experience with church-based or campus-based collegiate ministry
- Problem Solving
- Innovation (Strengths Finder)
- Galvanizing (Working Genius)
- Planning and organizing
- People management
- A personal relationship with Jesus Christ, agree with our Statement of Faith, and willing to embrace Via’s Core Values (see Faith and Vision Alignment below).
- A mature Christian who is involved in one's local church.
- Good communication and interpersonal skills with a willingness to learn and grow in cross-cultural communication as you engage with Christian leaders and staff around the world.
- A genuine desire to be a lifelong learner.
- Capable of working well as part of a team, as well as independently.
- Must have a willingness to take initiative.
- A humble posture in your approach to ministry, and in your relationships.
Via is a non-denominational Christian ministry, and we have a discernment process with every potential Via staff member to ensure we align in our Theology, Vision, and Values before we ever look at whether someone is the right fit for the specific role. Learn more about our Statement of Faith along with our Mission, Vision, and Values.
Pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 702 (42 U.S.C. 2000e I(a)), Via has the right to, and does, hire only applicants who agree with Via’s Statement of Faith, Mission alignment, and conduct themselves in accordance with our religious beliefs.
- Compensation: We have healthy salaries to ensure our staff and their family thrive now and in the future, but salary ranges are established on need-based factors such as whether you’re single or married, your age, and ministry location. This is different from the corporate world, but normal in the missions world.
- Insurance: For U.S. citizens, we have group health insurance through United Healthcare, long-term disability insurance, and optional vision and dental insurance. For the rest of our multi-national staff, we work with them to ensure they have adequate coverage for healthcare insurance
- Time Off: Full-time staff start with 15 vacation days, and that can grow to 20 over the years. Via also has 10 paid holidays, which may vary by country.
- Development: One of Via’s Care Values is to invest in the spiritual, emotional, financial, and professional health of our staff. We have a rhythm of a monthly day of prayer, reflection and planning, along with other personal and professional development opportunities.
- Retirement: While many have differing views on what retirement is, we do desire all staff to save and invest for the future. U.S. citizens who are employees are encouraged to utilize our 403(b) retirement account with Guidestone.
Most staff are also trained and expected to mobilize a team of ministry partners to provide the finances to cover their compensation and personal ministry expenses. We call this Ministry Partner Development (MPD). This decentralized approach to fundraising helps mobilize more people to join us in God’s global mission and our ministry, allows the Via to grow exponentially as God brings the workers, and provides you with a team of people who partner with you in prayer and are invested in your work. We just so happen to be the world’s leading ministry in equipping ministry workers in MPD (i.e., personal support raising) so we’ll provide you with the training, coaching, and resources you need. Check out two of our resources: What is Personal Support Raising and 5 Keys to Personal Support Raising.
- If you are interested in taking the next steps, you can expect a series of conversations with our Personnel team and other staff as we both get to know each other. We have a staff application and multiple steps in the process to ensure that you would thrive here. We will also be in prayer together, for God’s guidance and wisdom.
You can go to https://www.viastudents.org/join/get-started
