Willow Creek Community Church is an egalitarian non-denominational, multi-site church in and across Chicagoland passionate about our vision of helping people take next steps to love God, love people, and change the world. Our desire is to see, value, and serve every person who takes a step towards us as a church. This means we work really hard to create physical environments that are not only welcoming, but are inviting. We want everyone to be seen and free from being distracted as they encounter Jesus and others. To us, it is totally unacceptable for anyone to slip through the cracks as they seek to interact and connect with us.
As the Guest Experience (GEX) Director at our Willow North Shore campus you are a passionate person who loves working with people, developing teams & leaders, and demonstrates high attention to detail. You understand the power of consistent, effective hospitality along the journey from site to seat. You will successfully lead large teams of volunteers and unleash them to cultivate warm, welcoming environments and touch points, for Willow Creek Community Church weekend services and special events, with an intentional consideration and focus towards first-time guests. In this role you'll also be a contributing teammate on the Central GEX Extended team. You will effectively communicate the vision of the GEX Ministry and successfully implement/execute its strategies at the campus level.
The salary range for this position is around $47,000 - $64,000 depending on experience and skill set. Our comprehensive benefits package includes health, dental and vision insurance, life insurance, retirement savings with company match, maternity and paternity leave, generous paid time off, mental health counseling reimbursement, and more.
Job Responsibilities
- Oversee the communication and implementation of Teams' vision, strategy, and initiatives at your campus while maintaining quality and execution standards in support of the aligned ministry model.
- Support and promote the use of all technological platforms (i.e. Rock, ServeFinder, etc.) as the primary tool for volunteer recruitment, tracking, and data collection/analysis. Serve as a coach & problem-solver on the capabilities and workflow processes at your campus.
- Lead the planning and execution of Discover Willow and Volunteer Centrals at your campus, while enlisting and empowering volunteer teams for roles such as set-up/tear down, registrations/check-in, table facilitators/coaches, and follow-up connection teams.
- Serve as a champion for Willow's volunteer engagement process at your campus, and ensure individuals have a personalized connection to have a meaningful volunteer experience.
- Build/cultivate a healthy, one-team GEX culture where volunteers are known and in relationship with others, encouraged, developed, and discipled in their relationship with Jesus.
- Effectively equip volunteers to operate from our ministry “why's” and consistently execute ministry strategy and hospitality best practices
- Plan for and execute events (i.e. weekend services, Christmas, Easter and others)
- Address customer service related challenges & issues in a timely, professional manner
- Ensure weekend environments are guest-ready, including lobby, auditorium, coffee shops, next steps area, parking lot, etc
- Oversee collection and submission of weekend service attendance metrics
- Partner with Willow's Security Director to provide management and care for campus-level security and medic volunteers
- Contributing, managing, and monitoring social media (commenting, responding) and weekly news email
Success is Defined As…
- Scaling of Central GEX multi-site strategy to the campus, operationally and efficiently
- A healthy span of care (1 leader for every 10-12 volunteers) is in place for the GEX team
- GEX volunteer teams are growing
- Systems are operating effectively and aligned - systems serve the mission.
- 1st time guests and guests looking to take a next step at Willow are personally followed up within 48 hours of “raised hand”.
Preferred Skills and Experience
Skills/Competencies:
- Interpersonal Relationships– demonstrate an approachable personality, able to win people over and bring out the best in them, connect & build relationships with volunteers
- Strategic: Ability to identify and articulate overall aims and interests and the means of achieving them.
- Communication: Ability to articulate shared vision, clarify actionable next steps, and provide feedback in verbal and written forms, to individuals and groups.
- Time Management: Ability to manage multiple projects/tasks at one time, keeping them moving forward with adequate levels of communication to appropriate stakeholders.
- Hard Worker: Is aware of the importance of their role and works hard to do their best.
- Systems Specialist: Ability to implement and maintain a variety of systems,, including technical applications, in order to streamline operations, enhance productivity, and drive long-term volunteer engagement.
Personal Characteristics:
- Coachable Learner: can take direction and feedback and has a great desire to learn.
- Collaborator: Enjoys working collectively and connecting people to maximize impact
- Energy Bringer- you set the tone for joy in the spaces you occupy
- “Others Focused” - you are regularly thinking about those who are not here yet and how we can serve them well
- Adaptable - situations and plans can change without notice; can you pivot while staying calm?
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor's Degree preferred, or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
- Experience in hospitality, customer service, and event planning/management preferred
- Experience with leading and managing volunteer teams required