Chief Operating Officer

Job Location:

LCMS Corporate Synod - St. Louis, MO 63122, Position Type:
Full Time, Job Category:
Executive, The LCMS Mission

"In grateful response to God's grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities, and world."

The LCMS Board of Directors (BOD) is vested with the general management and supervision of the Synod’s business and legal affairs, including the review and coordination of the policies and directives of the Synod authorized by its Constitution, Bylaws and resolutions and of the plans and policies of the Synod’s boards and commissions. It provides for the administration, financial and operational support, and accountability of the activities of corporate Synod and the oversight and coordination of the same for the broader Synod, as all together pursue the objectives of the Synod as stated in Const.

Art. III: to conserve and promote the unity of the true faith, strengthening the witness of Synod members, providing for church worker training and care, for works of mercy, for Christian education, for resourcing of confessional unity, uniformity and variety in responsible practices and customs, ecclesiastical supervision, and protection of congregations and workers in the exercise of their duties and maintenance of their rights.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Synod is an officer of the Synod (Const. Art. XI

A) and the board’s executive, serving at the board’s direction in successive three-year terms as appointed, performing directly or supervising the following functions (Bylaws 3.4.1, 3.4.1.3):

• Administration of the financial affairs of the Synod, excluding the synodwide corporate entities, the districts, the Concordia Plans, and Concordia Plan Services. This includes supervision of all financial-related areas, including accounts receivable, cash receipts, general and cost accounting, internal audit, budgeting, and corporate insurance. This includes responsibility for corporate Synod finance (including service as Treasurer) and executive performance of the board’s oversight and limited supervision of finance for agencies of the Synod outside corporate Synod, such as the seminaries and universities, synodwide corporate entities, districts, etc.
• Administration of the responsibilities given to the Board of Directors in the Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod, now including non-theological, non-messaging aspects of communications and fundraising.

The Chief Operating Officer also works together closely with the Chief Mission Officer, who serves at the direction of the President of the Synod, in carrying out the programmatic, administrative, and financial functions of the national Synod (Bylaw 3.4.1.4) and serves as part of the Synod Administrative Team (Bylaws 3.5.1–3.5.1.1).

The Chief Operating Officer shall be selected with the consultation and concurrence of the President of Synod.

• Reports to the convention as a Synod officer
• Reports to the BOD, typically through the Board Chair
• Serves as part of the Administrative Team (Bylaw 3.5.1), which is under the leadership and oversight of the President.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) serves as the senior executive responsible for the oversight, coordination, and integration of the organization’s operational, administrative, financial, and compliance functions. Acting on behalf of the Board of Directors and in coordination with the President, the COO ensures that all organizational activities are executed efficiently, effectively, accountably, and in alignment with the Synod’s mission,…