Program Director

Overview

Job Title: PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Position Number: 8102859

Work Modality: Fully Remote Work

Job Category: University Staff

Job Type: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt

Campus: Off-Campus/Remote

Department Name: INSTITUTE FOR PASTORAL STUDIES

Location Code: INSTITUTE OF PASTORAL STUDIES (03200A)

Grant Funding: Yes

Program Director

Catholic Education Network to Enact and Resource Synodality (CENTERS)

Loyola University Chicago, Institute of Pastoral Studies

Position Type:
Full-time, Grant-funded (5 years)

Reports to:

Dean, Institute of Pastoral Studies

Location:

Chicago, IL with national travel required

About CENTERS

The Catholic Education Network to Enact and Resource Synodality (CENTERS) is a $10 million Lilly Endowment-funded initiative housed at Loyola University Chicago's Institute of Pastoral Studies. CENTERS is a collaborative network of 16 Catholic colleges and universities across the United States working to implement synodality—the Church's official mode of proceeding emphasizing shared discernment, participation, and co-responsibility among all the baptized. This transformative initiative responds to Pope Francis's global call for ecclesial renewal and Pope Leo XIV's continued emphasis on unity and Catholic social teaching.

Position Summary

Loyola University Chicago seeks a dynamic and efficient leader to serve as national director of the grant-funded Catholic Education Network to Enact and Resource Synodality (CENTERS). Growing out of engagement with the  Synod on Synodality, the sixteen-university network housed at Loyola University Chicago's Institute of Pastoral Studies seeks to cultivate synodal leadership across Catholic Higher Education nationally, in close conversation with local dioceses and international partners, including the Holy See.

Housed at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, the Director serves as the executive officer for the CENTERS Initiative, ensuring that collaborative projects, fellowships, convenings, communications, evaluation, and budgeting proceed on schedule, and reflect synodal principles.
Other responsibilities include developing and aligning with the consensus of the Steering and Leadership Committees, liaising with Lilly Endowment, overseeing day-to-day operations, coordinating the inter-institutional network, and driving strategic planning and implementation for all grant-supported activities.

The ideal candidate will have a graduate degree in theology, leadership, or a related field (ideally a terminal degree). S/He will have demonstrated organizational and administrative expertise, along with a fluency in the contours of policy, strategic vision, mission/identity, and organizational management in both church and university contexts. A familiarity with the methods of synodality and community organizing is desired, but not strictly necessary.

S/He will work closely with the grant PI's to envision, coordinate, implement, and report on various elements of a larger project with various local, regional, and national initiatives. A willingness to contribute collaboratively within a team dynamic and an ongoing commitment to pastoral formation in educational settings are essential and compulsory.

The Director also teaches one graduate course each academic year that advances theological and pastoral understandings of and engagement with synodality.

• Program Leadership & Governance:
  Serve as executive officer for the CENTERS Initiative, translating committee decisions into actionable plans;
  Chair (or co-chair) Leadership Committee meetings when rotating into that role and prepare materials for all Steering Committee sessions;
  Maintain and grow productive relationships with Core Partners, Network Participants, Regional Tables, Advisory Council, bishops, and external collaborators;
  Ensure program alignment with Vatican implementation timeline (2026-28) and synodal methods and virtues.
• Project & Grant Management:
  Develop and manage annual work plans, grant timelines; monitor deliverables across multiple work streams;
  Oversee sub-grants to partner schools, ensuring compliance with Lilly Endowment guidelines and Loyola's sponsored-program…