Community Stewardship Coordinator (Shika)

OUR FOUNDATION & MISSION

The New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care is a non-profit 501(c)(3) transforming the culture of care. Since its inception in 2007, NYZC has been a trailblazer in pioneering the contemplative approach to care and medicine, developing innovative education, conducting groundbreaking research, and offering spiritual care for those facing suffering in all its many forms, including illness and end-of-life. The Zen Center holds a steadfast dedication to Soto Zen tradition with an expression of this practice through education and service in the community. The integration of Zen practice, transformational education, intimate care, and supportive community sets the Zen Center apart. Today, our programs are internationally recognized and have reached tens of thousands of individuals.

WHAT WE DO

Zen Practice

We offer opportunities for the practice and study of Soto Zen Buddhism for new and advanced practitioners alike through daily online meditation, free introductory courses, bi-annual 90-day online practice periods, retreats, graduate-level classes, and a Certificate in Soto Zen Buddhist Studies. For those wishing to become formal Zen students, we offer a complete path of practice under the guidance of an authorized teacher, as it has been for seekers of the Way since the beginning of Zen.

Education

Recognized as leaders in the field of contemplative care and contemplative medicine we offer a range of educational programs for professional healthcare providers, volunteer caregivers, and those seeking graduate-level education in spiritual care and Soto Zen Buddhism. We are also the only Zen Buddhist-based organization accredited by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, to offer Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) for those pursuing professional chaplaincy.

Care and Support

We offer care and support to those facing grief, loss, illness, aging, and end-of-life—all of which are sacred journeys. We also offer communities of support and connection for professional and non-professional caregivers coping with the unique and challenges of caring for others.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Community Stewardship Coordinator holds a relational and integrative role at the heart of the Zen Center. This position is responsible for cultivating, sustaining, and deepening connection across three interwoven communities:

1. Soto Zen Sangha , including current Zen practitioners, members, retreat participants, and program attendees
2. Alumni of Foundations in Contemplative Care (FCC)
3. Alumni of the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship (CMF)

This role is contemplative, organizational, and strategic . The Coordinator ensures that people who have been touched by the Zen Center’s teachings remain connected to practice, to one another, and to the ethical and relational commitments of the Soto Zen lineage.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Sangha Nourishment & Community Care

• Support the vitality of the current sangha, including:
  • Regular practitioners
  • Newcomers entering practice
  • Participants in retreats and multi-week offerings
• Coordinate community touch points such as:
  • Orientation gatherings
  • Practice check-ins
  • Community listening spaces
• Work closely with teachers and staff to ensure that:
  • No one is lost at the margins of participation
  • Transitions (arrival, deepening, stepping back) are handled with respect and careHelp cultivate a sangha culture rooted in belonging, accountability, and mutual responsibility

2. Alumni Leadership & Program Oversight: Contemplative Medicine Fellowship & Foundations in Contemplative Care

• Design, lead, and oversee a coherent alumni engagement strategy for CMF and FCC
• Curate and coordinate alumni offerings, including:
  • Ongoing practice opportunities
  • Alumni retreats and days of practice
  • Study groups, peer gatherings, and reflective forums
  • Cultivate and support mentors for these offerings.
• Serve as the primary relational bridge between alumni and the Zen Center
• Collaborate with faculty and guiding teachers to ensure offerings are:
  • Rooted in Soto Zen Practice
  • Clinically and ethically appropriate
  • Responsive to the evolving needs of alumni
• Track participation, engagement, and qualitative feedback to support program learning and sustainability
• Lead the interviews for Foundations in Contemplative Care and collaborate with the teachers, team and mentors

3. Retreat & Offering Integration

• Partner with program and operations staff to:
  • Support retreats as continuity points rather than isolated events
  • Ensure retreat participants are meaningfully welcomed into ongoing practice
• Assist in post-retreat follow-up and pathways into sangha life
• Model and hold awareness of how Zen practice, programs, retreats, and alumni offerings interrelate as a single ecosystem

4. Outreach as Community Relationship Building

• Engage outreach as an extension of practice and care
• Craft communications that reflect:
  • Clarity
  • Warmth
  • Ethical integrity
  • Respect for people’s lived realities
• Collaborate with communications staff (if applicable) to ensure outreach is:
  • Aligned with Zen Center values
  • Accurate and timely
  • Grounded in invitation rather than urgency or pressure

5. Cross-Team Collaboration & Institutional Memory

• Work collaboratively across Zen Center to support shared goals
• Maintain clear documentation of:
  • Practice and Alumni pathways
  • Community engagement rhythms
  • Lessons learned across offerings
• Contribute to the long-term resilience of the Zen Center by helping ensure that relationships endure beyond individual programs or staff transitions

What It Means to Serve in This Role

Serving at the Zen Center is a practice of right livelihood—of service and responsibility.

This role requires someone who:

• Understands that how work is done matters as much as what is done
• Is shaped by the ethical commitments of Zen practice and in relationship with their teacher and the sangha
• Can hold complexity, vulnerability, and ambiguity with steadiness
• Approaches community as something to be tended, not managed

This staff role is expected to:

• Uphold the Bodhisattva Precepts in professional and personal conduct
• Practice respectful communication, even in moments of tension
• Receive feedback as part of ongoing maturation
• Steadily engage their own formal Soto Zen practice, in relationship with a Zen teacher and actively and regularly participate in the sangha, as a grounding for their service

CLOSING NOTE

This role is for someone who understands that community is a living thing , that practice ripens over time, and that institutions endure only when relationships are held with integrity, humility, and care.

To serve here is to participate in something larger than oneself—and to do so with attention, devotion, and accountability.

Qualifications

• Dedicated Formal Soto Zen practice in a student-teacher relationship or a dedicated sangha member in relationship with the Guiding Teachers and weekly/daily practice within sangha
• Completed Foundations in Contemplative Care and at least one unit of CPE
• Demonstrated experience in community building, alumni relations, or program stewardship
• Have completed or completing a Master in Spiritual Care or related discipline.
• Strong relational intelligence and emotional maturity and flexibility
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Comfort working with clinicians, caregivers, and contemplative practitioners
• Ability to manage multiple initiatives with steadiness and care

• Familiarity with healthcare, chaplaincy, or caregiving contexts
• Experience holding space for groups in reflective or practice-based settings
• Capacity to work both independently and collaboratively

• This is a full time, salaried position paying $75,000–$80,000 annually, commensurate with experience and includes 10 paid holidays and paid vacation time, as well as sick and bereavement leave. The position also includes options for health insurance and employer provided vision, and dental benefits. Opportunities to participate in NYZC programs are available to all staff.
• This position is located and works in New York City. Weekend and evening hours are required at times to support NYZC offerings.
• The New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care is an equal opportunity employer and seeks applicants from diverse backgrounds.