Archdiocese of Newark accepting applications for Chief Operating Officer

The Archdiocese of Newark is now accepting applications for a Chief Operating Officer. Please see the role description and application instructions that follow.

Chief Operating Officer
Ministerial expectations
The Chief Operating Officer is an important contributor in creating, together with the Cardinal Archbishop, an environment conducive to the vibrant spiritual life and religious mission of the Archdiocese of Newark.

General description
The Archdiocese of Newark serves over one million Catholics in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark.  The Archdiocese of Newark has an annual revenue of approximately $500M including the Archdiocese’s 212 parishes and 71 schools. The Archdiocese of Newark has over 3,700 employees in total, including priests, religious, and lay members, with over 500 of those employees located at the Archdiocesan Center.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) will support the Archbishop in making overall priority and resource allocation decisions for the Archdiocese and is a core administrative leader at the Archdiocesan Center. The COO will work in close coordination with the Archbishop, Vicar General, and senior staff to develop recommended priorities, goals, plans, and budgets for the Archbishop’s input and approval.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a new role for the Archdiocese. The COO will be a direct report to and core partner of the Archbishop, overseeing all administrative operations, helping lead the planning and implementation of pastoral initiatives, and supporting the Archbishop in making overall priority and resource allocation decisions for the Archdiocese. The COO will also work in close coordination with the Vicar General, and together they will be responsible for the pastoral and administrative priorities of the Archdiocese.

The COO will support the Archbishop in setting and implementing strategic priorities for the Archdiocese, including Forward in Faith Together: Our Road Ahead. The COO’s work will include overseeing planning and prioritization processes, determining the supporting organizational and resource requirements for priority initiatives, and overseeing implementation in a complex environment. Importantly, the COO will create and implement the consultative processes (e.g., bishops, priests, staffs, councils) that will comprise important inputs in the development and implementation of these strategic priorities.

The COO will oversee all administrative leaders of the Archdiocese and will be responsible for ensuring that each functional area builds strong professional capabilities while ensuring important pastoral sensibilities.  The COO will oversee the day-to-day responsibilities of the functional leaders and ensure they work together on Archdiocesan priorities as a well-functioning, coordinated team. Functional leaders reporting to the COO will include Communications and Public Relations, Finance, Human Resources, operational components of Pastoral Life, and Schools. 
The COO will be a core thought partner for the Archbishop, supporting him in making significant decisions by leading the analysis, criteria-setting, option evaluation, and input gathering for these decisions.
Finally, the COO will oversee the overall stewardship of the organizational and financial resources of the Archdiocese, ensuring that resources are allocated to priorities and are managed effectively and efficiently.
In addition to having the appropriate operational leadership experience needed to excel in the role, the COO will have a strong understanding of Church life through academic experience, parish involvement, or other diocesan involvement and will be equipped to recruit and develop a faith-filled, collaborative, high-performing administrative leadership team. The COO will develop a strong, Catholic team-based working culture at the Archdiocesan Center.
Interested candidates should submit a resume/CV and letter of interest to the Archdiocese of Newark’s search committee staff at sean.ryan@rcan.org by November 26th, 2019. As part of the letter of interest, candidates should describe any experience in and comfort with working in the Catholic Church context.  
If interested candidates have specific questions prior to or following application submission, please contact the office of the Archdiocese of Newark’s search committee Chair Kathleen Boozang, 
+1 (973) 642-8750

Specific duties and responsibilities
The following specific responsibilities are representative of duties required in this position. They may be unilaterally but reasonably changed based on the working environment and departmental needs.

Supports the Archbishop in setting and implementing Archdiocesan priorities
Helps oversee planning and prioritization processes
Oversees implementation, including determining the organizational and resource requirements and managing effective operationalization
Implements consultative processes (e.g., bishops, priests, staffs, councils) as important inputs for priority-setting and implementation

Oversees the administrative operations of the Archdiocese
Sets administrative priorities for the Archdiocese and for each functional area (e.g., Communications and Public Relations, Finance, Human Resources, operational components of Pastoral Life, and Schools)
Oversees the work of high-performing functional leaders in the overall effort to improve capabilities, decision-making and systems
Ensures coordination across departments on administrative issues / projects.
Helps set specific direction and implementation plans on high priority initiatives.
Performs risk assessment and mitigation
Emulates a culture of compliance
Recruits and develops a faith-filled, collaborative, high-performing administrative leadership team
Develops a strong, Catholic, team-based working culture at the Archdiocesan Center

Brings strategy, planning and organizational expertise in support of ministries and pastoral initiatives
Provides oversight to the planning and implementation aspects of ministerial and pastoral initiatives, including Forward in Faith Together: Our Road Ahead
Supports the analytics, planning, organization and implementation of other pastoral initiatives
­­

Supports the Archbishop in significant decision-making
Oversees the fact gathering, analysis, criteria-setting and option evaluation required for good decision-making
Gathers and synthesizes the collective input of other leaders on the decisions
Ensures timely decision-making processes and effective implementation of the decisions

Oversees the stewardship of financial and other resources of the Archdiocese
Ensures stable ongoing “core” operations
Oversees fundraising efforts and pacing of funding for strategic initiatives
Ensures adequate Archdiocesan liquidity for obligations
Assesses Archdiocesan risks and develops risk mitigation strategies.
Helps set overall resource allocation and clarifies inherent tradeoff
Other duties as assigned

Qualifications and skills
Practicing Catholic with strong understanding of Church life and relationships through academic experience, diocesan, or national church involvement
Strong strategy and analytical skills
Strong transformation and change management skills
Strong skills in priority-setting, goal-setting, and achieving outcomes
Strong oral and written communication skills
Strong teamwork and collaboration
Strong ability to adapt to organizational structures and cultural nuance
Strong record of experience in organizational management; experience leading complex organizations
Strong organization, transformation and change management experience
Comfort working in environment with multiple constituents where awareness-building and consensus-building is important

Educational background
MBA, Master’s in Not-for-Profit Management, JD, or other similar advanced degree preferred

Physical demands
The physical demands are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.