Information about the organization
Liberia Mission, Inc. (LMI) is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty for children and families through material and spiritual support and a Catholic education. LMI alleviates poverty and promotes societal transformation by providing quality education, a loving home, and life skills training for children and youth so that they may become capable, responsible, and compassionate citizens and future leaders of Liberia. To support the achievement of these objectives, the pillars of LMI are God + Education + Work.
Liberia Mission was founded on November 3, 2003, just as the dust was settling from Liberia’s Second Civil War. The Mission consists of a secure 10-acre campus and an adjoining 15-acre farm property. The main campus houses St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School, St. Michael the Archangel Chapel, a student-run piggery, separate residence buildings for boys and girls, and accommodations for program managers and volunteers. The school is staffed by Liberian administrators and teachers, and accredited by the Liberian Education Council and the Ministry of Education. Liberian houseparents, cooks, and security guards staff the residential program.
LMI is rooted in a Franciscan understanding of Catholic spirituality and is financially supported in large part by Franciscan Works, a U.S.-based non-for-profit organization. For more information regarding Franciscan Works and LMI, please see www.franciscanworks.org.
Position Description
Location: Blacktom Town, Montserrado County, Liberia, West Africa
Employment Type: Full Time
Reports to: Franciscan Works Board of Directors
Supervises: Liberia Mission, Inc. Program Staff and Missionaries
Length of Position: Minimum commitment of 2-3 years
LMI’s Mission Director oversees the program activities of the Mission’s school, residential homes, and church with a spirit of servant leadership that promotes capacity building of local staff and development of programs with the overarching aim to help children to become compassionate citizens and leaders of a peaceful and productive Liberia of tomorrow. The Mission Director is responsible for shepherding and advancing various spiritual, educational, and work-based programs implemented at the Mission in collaboration with numerous partners based both stateside and in Liberia.
Responsibilities
- Collaborating with LMI’s stakeholders (e.g., government and/or religious social workers; school families; Archdiocese of Monrovia, including the Catholic Education Secretariat) to promote and embody the Mission’s identity, vision, goals, and values.
- Oversight of all day-to-day operations and administrative functions of the Mission, including the residential program, school, chapel, farm, piggery, and related micro-business.
- Promoting communication, collaboration, and accountability amongst all program staff, activities, and objectives through the scheduling and holding of routine meetings with various departmental supervisors and staff.
- Ensuring that missionaries, volunteers, and visitors are acting in concert with LMI’s staff and organizational principles through dedicated mentorship and training.
- Overseeing the financial activities (bookkeeping, cash flow, reporting, budget management) of LMI programming in coordination with LMI’s Finance Officer, and fostering accountability and integrity relative to all grants received from Franciscan Works and other entities.
- Developing near-term, mid-term, and long-term improvement program goals for Liberia Mission on a proactive basis, so as to provide opportunities to pursue various funding avenues.
- Representing LMI in an ambassadorial role to the greater Liberian community and visitors to the Mission; this includes dealings with Liberian governmental entities, such as the Ministry of Gender, the Ministry of Education, and the Liberia Revenue Authority, and collaboration with NGOs that help support Liberia Mission.
- Implementing existing institutional policies and procedures; and, collaborating with the Franciscan Works Board of Directors to develop necessary institutional policies and procedures. This includes, but is not limited to, implementation of the Policy for the Protection of Beneficiaries (PPB), which contains protocols, best practices and other standards of conduct that guide life on the Mission.
- Preparing monthly reports to the Franciscan Works Board of Directors, in its capacity as the organization responsible for granting the financial support used to help sustain the Mission. These reports provide updates on the status of grant-funded projects, and other items, as may be requested from time to time by the Board of Directors.
- Managing human resource (HR) issues, including implementation of HR policies and procedures and hiring/termination, training/supervising/evaluating managers, and other direct-report staff.
- Promoting development practices and staffing capacity that are empowering, sustainable, and aligned with LMI’s mission, vision, and program goals
Qualifications and Experience Required
As Mission Director, you are skilled in management, administration, and organizational development. Your motivation for leadership stems from a God-centered call to serve and work alongside people of various cultures in a developing country. You believe that love, compassion, collaboration, effective communication, and community-building are central to the process of working towards LMI’s goals of developing Liberia through the education of its youth. You recognize that development work is full of rewarding experiences, as well as challenges that require patience, the ability to listen, critical thinking, humility, and creativity in order to grow with and through challenging times. Your resilience, adaptability, desire to learn, perseverance, and ability to care for self while caring for others enhances your role as Director of LMI.
Minimum Qualifications:
– Bachelor’s degree in Education, Social Sciences, Business Administration, or another relevant field;
– International experience/experience working and living in the developing world;
– Experience in management, administration, and organizational development;
– Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and with a proactive attitude;
– Fluent in English and able to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing;
– Practicing Catholic (preferred, not required);
– Ability to live and work with simple living and office accommodations;
– Experience working with children and youth, especially at-risk youth and/or those who have experienced trauma or who have other special needs.
How to Apply
If you feel the call to serve at Liberia Mission, Inc. and believe that you have the required skills and competencies for the position, please send your application materials (cover letter, resume, and list of references) to jobs@franciscanworks.org. Please direct your application to the attention of the Interim Executive Committee and title the subject line of your email as follows, “Mission Director Application.” If you have questions regarding the position, please send them to the above email address.
Additional Information
The Mission Director receives a modest monthly stipend, round-trip airfare to/from Liberia, international health insurance, a multiple-entry visa for Liberia, and room and board on site at the Mission.