The Performing Arts Academy Director is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organizational initiative, including scheduling and supervising volunteers, managing monthly activities, recruiting students, directing productions, and mentoring youth.
The Director’s duties include setting the scope of the program, defining deadlines and delegating tasks to team members. The successful candidate will have a passion for theatre, youth development, and the Lord Jesus Christ, along with strong leadership and communication skills.
Essential Job Functions and Duties
- Communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to young people
- Plan, schedule, and execute four (4) major performances per year
- Organize and conduct auditions, ensuring a fair and supportive process
- Recruit young people and others with gifts in the performance arts, e.g. music, dance, acting, etc.
- Lead regular rehearsals in the weeks leading up to each performance, ensuring that all participants understand their roles and responsibilities
- Provide guidance and support to youth, helping them explore and develop new skills in technology, video, costuming, stage and prop set-up, writing, directing, producing, etc.
- Foster a safe sanctuary for youth that encourages creativity, teamwork, spiritual growth, and personal growth
- Comply with child protection policies and procedures and be familiar with first aid
- Recruit, lead, and maintain volunteer ministry team
- Build relationships with parents, guardians, and churches to promote the program
- Meet with supervisor bi-weekly for goal setting, assessing progress in meeting goals, spending authorization, and reporting
- Allocate resources within a prescribed budget
- Maintain youth and program records in the YFC Hub according to the YFC USA model
Primary and Secondary Steward Responsibilities
Employees may be assigned a Primary Steward of any of the following: Volunteer(s), Donor(s), Vendor(s), Chapter(s), and Process, Standard and Best Practices (PSBPs).
All Employees are assigned to the role of Secondary Steward, which plays a supporting role to the Primary Steward to serve a chapter in a specific way, for a specific time frame as determined by the Primary Steward. Secondary Stewards can be assigned to focus on specific management issues like YFC compliance, legal, risk, strategic planning, fund development coaching, staff development coaching, new ministry site development, process stewardship or a variety of other equipping roles.
Spiritual Responsibilities
Because the overriding religious purpose and mission of Youth for Christ USA is to communicate and introduce the Gospel of Jesus Christ to young people and their families, and in that regard to make, educate and encourage life-long disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is very important that you as an employee in the movement of Youth for Christ be recognized as an associate minister of the Gospel. As an employee of Youth for Christ and an associate minister of the Gospel, YFC expects all employees to:
- Seek God’s guidance and wisdom, through prayer and meditation, for the organization as well as for specific ministry initiatives.
- Participate and lead regular times of prayer, devotion, and worship as a regular aspect of your role within YFC.
- Model empathy, humility, and care for all people. This includes promoting equity and inclusion in word and in the practice of faith expression. YFC employees will have an opportunity to be commissioned or licensed as a minister of the Gospel through the established Youth for Christ process, and/or ordained by an outside body recognized by Youth for Christ USA.
Position Requirements
Knowledge & Skills
- Actively pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ
- Involved in and supporting a local church by serving, being engaged in the community, and regularly attending
- Passionate about the mission and vision of YFC and seeing lost youth find hope in Jesus
- Uphold the YFC Statement of Faith
- Knowledge of theatre production processes and techniques, including directing, staging, basic lighting, sound, and set design
- Ability to lead, motivate, and relate to young people
- Ability to work with and communicate professionally with staff, donors, churches, and the public
- A spirit of collaboration with like-minded partners (individuals, pastors, youth workers, businesses, etc.)
- Administrative abilities for scheduling, recordkeeping, and working under deadlines of the program and the Chapter
- Able to shepherd and lead volunteers
- Pass a national background check
Our cultural attributes are not about competency. It is an obedience to the call of Christ on our lives. YFC believes that spiritually healthy adults fosters healthy relationships with our kids. We place a heavy commitment and emphasis on developing and equipping a Christ-centered life marked by Enduring Humility, Relentless Trust, Joyful Camaraderie, Courageous Faithfulness and Kingdom Inspired Diversity. Willing to demonstrate and/or possesses the following:
- Ability to humbly serve and honor others even in difficult situations with prayer, consistency, transparency, and resilience. (Enduring Humility)
- Demonstrates proper reliance on God, others, and self through generous giving of time and skills, by collaboratively incorporating others’ ideas, welcoming candid input, recognizing others’ need for grace and extending forgiveness and empathy. (Relentless Trust)
- Prioritizes others’ needs for a missional outcome, characterized by joy, with active listening and problem-solving skills, while encouraging and empowering fellow believers. (Joyful Camaraderie)
- Trusts God with new approaches and changes, and communicates needs and limits with emotional intelligence, while seeking confidence and wisdom in Christ. (Courageous Faithfulness)
- Seeks authentic Christ-Centered relationships with people of various backgrounds, fosters an inviting environment and empowers historically marginalized groups and indigenous populations (within the local context), through active listening, inclusion, advocacy for those who are vulnerable and respect of others’ experiences. (Kingdom Inspired Diversity)
Education & Experience
- Education required: High school diploma (minimum); some college or Associates degree in Theatre Arts, Education, or related field preferred
- Experience required: three (3) or more years of direct ministry experience and leading youth theater productions
- Character: strong Christian leader who has exhibited integrity
Fundraising Responsibilities
All YFC employees are expected to regularly and actively participate in faithful activities that advance the stewardship functions of YFC USA. These activities will include—but are not limited to— extending invitations to fund raising events, recruiting personal circle of influence/YFC donor contacts, sending letters, handwritten notes, personal calls, and personally ministering to donor contacts.
EEO Statement
Youth For Christ (YFC) provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, age, handicap, marital status, or other unlawful discriminatory characteristics in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.
YFC is classified as an Association of Churches and as such our hiring practices reflect that designation. As a religious nonprofit organization, YFC incorporates within each leader role, the requirement to model, teach, share and live the faith. The relationship between YFC’s mission and each of its leaders is its lifeblood and as such does at all times and in all instances reserve the right to make employment decisions based upon a person’s religious beliefs, personal character and lifestyle consistent with our understanding of the Bible or with our overall goals and requirements for Christian ministry.
We seek to create a workplace that is intentional about Kingdom Inspired Diversity. Our commitment to our employees extends to their opportunities for growth, development, promotion, training and compensation.
We will make reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with known disabilities, unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to the organization.