Chief Operating Officer United Methodist Church

Job Details

Pay: $75,000 – $80,000 a year

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Central United Methodist Church (Fayetteville) is a senior executive responsible for overseeing the organization’s operations, ensuring organizational effectiveness, and leading human resources initiatives. This role involves working closely with the Senior Pastor and Executive Pastor to translate the church’s vision into actionable strategies through effective systems, clear communication, and healthy accountability. The COO plays a vital role in executing cross-functional initiatives that support the church’s mission and growth.

• Serve as the primary leader for ministry operations and execution.
• Translate leadership priorities into actionable plans, systems, workflows, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead project management processes for major church initiatives.
• Standardize and improve organizational systems and ministry workflows.
• Monitor progress on strategic priorities and drive execution across departments.
• Collaborate with the CFO and ministry leaders in planning, prioritizing, and stewarding ministry resources in support of strategic goals.

• Serve as a key liaison between senior leadership and ministry teams.
• Ensure organizational alignment across staff and volunteers.
• Foster accountability, collaboration, communication, and operational clarity.
• Support strategic planning and organizational development initiatives.

• Oversee all human resource functions, policies, and procedures.
• Ensure employment law compliance and policy consistency.
• Supervise onboarding, performance management, staff development, and employee relations practices.
• Support hiring, succession planning, and organizational design efforts.
• Lead initiatives that strengthen staff culture and organizational health.

• Provide operational oversight for:
• Connections
• Hospitality
• Outreach support systems
• Volunteer engagement systems
• Next Gen support functions
• AVP Team operations
• Strengthen communication pathways and ministry execution systems throughout the organization.

• Demonstrated Christian maturity and alignment with the mission and values of Central United Methodist Church.
• Minimum 7 years of senior leadership experience in church, nonprofit, education, healthcare, corporate, or comparable organizational environments.
• Proven experience leading multi‑department operations, organizational systems, or complex team structures.
• Demonstrated success designing, implementing, and improving organizational processes and workflows.
• Significant project management experience leading large‑scale initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Experience overseeing staff, performance management, coaching, and organizational accountability systems.
• Experience with HR policies, personnel practices, compliance, employee development, and organizational culture initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and build consensus across diverse teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

• Master’s degree in Business, Leadership, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Nonprofit Leadership, Ministry Leadership, or related field.
• Experience in large‑church, multi‑campus, nonprofit, or mission‑driven environments.
• Experience with Church Management Systems (ChMS), HRIS platforms, project management software, and workflow tools.
• Experience in organizational development, change management, strategic planning, or executive leadership.
• Familiarity with Methodist or other connectional church structures.

• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to learn and effectively utilize church management systems (ChMS), HR information systems (HRIS), project management platforms, and organizational workflow tools.
• Comfortable leveraging technology to improve communication, project execution, reporting, and organizational effectiveness.

This position offers an opportunity for a dedicated leader to make a meaningful impact within a vibrant faith community by ensuring effective operations that support spiritual growth and community engagement.

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan