Disaster Emotional and Spiritual Care Program Manager

This posting will close November 2, 2026, at 11:00 pm central time.

About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 3 million members in more than 8,600 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of “God’s work. Our hands.,” the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA’s roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.

The Lutheran Center (national office) is located in Chicago, Illinois. A staff of approximately 400, under the leadership of the Presiding Bishop, serve as administrators, advisors, conveners, partners, and resource people for the ELCA and its ministries. Staff lead the work of national, domestic, and global ministries and programs including Lutheran Disaster Response, ELCA World Hunger, Service & Justice, Christian Community and Leadership, and Innovation. We are also home to five of our separately incorporated ministries: The Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA, Women of the ELCA, Lutheran Men in Mission, the ELCA Foundation and the ELCA Federal Credit Union.

About the position

Through the Service and Justice unit, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Organization (CWO) shall foster and facilitate this church’s engagement in service with and among communities and promote efforts to call and act for justice. The work of ELCA Service and Justice includes engaging in mission, service, and justice in accompaniment with churches and organizations in other countries. The Service and Justice unit serves as a channel through which churches in other countries engage in mission to this church and society.

Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a ministry of the ELCA, accompanies communities impacted by disaster through response, recovery, preparedness and resilience-building efforts in the United States and globally. Grounded in Lutheran theology, LDR works alongside congregations, synods, community organizations and global partners to share God’s hope, healing and renewal with people whose lives have been disrupted by disaster.

This position serves as the Disaster Emotional and Spiritual Care (DESC) program manager for a three-year Lilly Endowment-funded capacity-building initiative focused on strengthening, deepening, and expanding LDR’s Disaster Emotional and Spiritual Care (DESC) initiative. This role will provide centralized leadership for building a coordinated, scalable, and sustainable emotional and spiritual care infrastructure across ELCA synods.

This role will oversee the development, implementation, and growth of synodically-based and regional DESC teams. This includes coordinating training efforts, managing logistics, supporting volunteer team development, and serving as a key liaison between LDR staff, synods, facilitators, and partners. This role will help move LDR from an ad hoc model of emotional and spiritual care to a structured, replicable, and sustainable system.

This is a full-time, term contract (starts fall 2026, ends March 31, 2029), exempt, Chicago-based position. This position has responsibilities that will require being in the office a minimum of 2 days each week and more as needed.

The eligibility of a candidate for positions may depend on the residency of the candidate, and the budget for the role, including salary or pay, insurance coverage, and/or tax burden. Candidates for this position must reside within the fifty United States or the District of Columbia and be authorized to work lawfully in the United States. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

1. Oversee implementation and coordination of a three-year Lilly Endowment-funded grant initiative related to building Disaster Emotional and Spiritual Care programmatic infrastructure for Lutheran Disaster Response.

2. Serve as the primary liaison and program lead for LDR’s Disaster Emotional and Spiritual Care (DESC) programming, coordinating across LDR staff, synods, congregations, partners, trainers, and volunteers to implement the grant-funded initiative.

3. In partnership with LDR’s Training and Networks team, lead the coordination, delivery, and ongoing development of DESC training across the ELCA’s domestic footprint. This includes advancing trauma-informed, skill-based curricula and expanding accessible learning formats (facilitated, asynchronous, and blended). Ensure the DESC education portfolio is theologically grounded in ELCA accompaniment and aligned with the Service & Justice MERGE (Migrant, Economic, Racial, Gender, Environmental) justice framework.

4. Lead the design, development, and ongoing support of synod-based DESC teams, including recruitment, onboarding, and long-term sustainability. Establish and operationalize standardized practices for activation, debriefing, and follow-up, and develop protocols, role descriptions, and codes of conduct. Advance a Training of Trainers (ToT) model to build and scale a network of locally based facilitators.

5. Develop and sustain strong partnerships with synod leaders, disaster coordinators, clergy, and lay leaders, while leading communication, collaboration, and peer learning across DESC teams through regular virtual and in-person convenings.

6. Lead and support evaluation and reporting efforts by tracking DESC team formation, training outcomes, and activations; documenting best practices to inform a scalable expansion model; and preparing written reports to meet grant reporting requirements.

7. Other duties as assigned.