Executive Director - WKHS Grant

Executive Director, Wisdom Keepers, Hope Seekers Project

The Executive Director serves as the chief operational officer for the Wisdom Keepers, Hope Seekers (WKHS) project, a five-year, multi-institutional initiative funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. to strengthen Black theological education and build sustainable pathways for faith leadership across seven Historically Black Theological Institutions (HBTIs). This position reports directly to the Principal Investigator (Dean Kenyatta Gilbert) and is responsible for day-to-day project management, strategic implementation, partnership coordination, and programmatic excellence across all three pathways.

Internal contacts include executives, administrators, faculty, students and staff of the Howard University School of Divinity and the university at large. External contacts include the seven HBTI partner institutions (Hampton, Payne, Hood, ITC, Shaw, Virginia Union), denominational partners (AME, COGIC, NBC, PNBC, AMEZ, CME, PAW, TFAM), UNCF staff, consultants, evaluators, and Lilly Endowment program officers.

Strategic Leadership & Project Management (40%):

• Implement the overall WKHS strategic vision in collaboration with the Principal Investigator.
• Oversee all three project pathways: Faith Leadership Pathways, Ministry Sustainability & Digital Innovation, and Shared Endowment Fund.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project timelines, deliverables, and milestones.
• Convene quarterly strategic planning sessions with multi-institutional partners.
• Monitor project progress against goals and implement corrective actions as needed.
• Ensure compliance with Lilly Endowment grant requirements and Howard University policies.
• Prepare and coordinate quarterly progress reports and annual narrative reports to funders.
• Coordinate with Howard University Office of Sponsored Programs on financial compliance.

Partnership & Collaboration Management (30%):

• Serve as primary liaison to seven HBTI partner institutions.
• Facilitate WKHS Council meetings and governance structures across multiple institutions.
• Build and maintain relationships with denominational partners and UNCF.
• Manage subaward agreements and ensure partner institution compliance and reporting.
• Facilitate annual convenings and biennial conferences bringing together 30+ stakeholders.

Program Development & Implementation (20%):

• Oversee Faith Leadership Laboratories across 10 participating institutions/denominations.
• Direct Summer Bridge Intensive programs and Pathways Resource Materials development.
• Ensure quality implementation of Digital Repository, AI Peer Learning Cohorts, and Digital Faith Narratives Collection.
• Oversee Continuing Pastoral Education and Wisdom Keepers Wellness Programs.
• Monitor Graduate Student Research Grants, Church Impact Initiative Grants, and Faculty Innovation Fellowships.

Fundraising & Sustainability Planning (10%):

• Support endowment campaign planning and strategy development.
• Coordinate cultivation events and donor engagement activities.
• Identify and pursue additional funding opportunities to sustain project initiatives.
• Develop sustainability plans for program continuation beyond the grant period.

Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Core competencies include effective leadership and management skills with strategic thinking and systems-level planning, deep understanding of Black church traditions, HBCU contexts, and theological education landscape, expertise in project management methodologies and grant compliance requirements, strong financial management and budgeting skills for large complex grants ($1M+ budgets), excellent written and oral communication skills, skill in program development, execution, and evaluation, documented success as an innovator and creative problem solver across multi-institutional contexts, ability to establish and maintain effective and harmonious work relationships with staff, faculty, students, university officials, denominational leaders, and the general public, cultural competency and sensitivity to HBCU and Black church traditions, and proficiency with project management software, data systems, and collaborative technologies.

Minimum requirements include a Master's degree in Theology, Divinity, Higher Education Administration, Business Administration, Nonprofit Management, or related field required; Doctorate (Ph.D., D.Min., Ed.D., DBA) preferred. Minimum 7 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, theological education, or nonprofit management, including at least 3 years managing multi-institutional partnerships or collaborative initiatives and demonstrated experience managing complex grants or funded projects ($1M+ budgets). 15 years of related work experience may be substituted in lieu of educational qualifications.

Compliance Salary Range Disclosure $90,000-100,000