Description
Purpose and Scope
To support the Diocese of Phoenix in its mission, this position provides support to advance the Catholic Church's mission of promoting and strengthening the Sacrament of Marriage. This position focuses exclusively on supporting the planning, marriage preparation process and implementation of programs and resources to assist parishes and diocesan ministries in fostering thriving marriages rooted in Catholic teaching. The Marriage Support Coordinator (MSC) works under the supervision of the Director of the Office of Marriage, Family Life, and Spirituality. The MSC maintains relationships with clergy, lay leaders, and parish marriage preparation leaders who work directly in the parishes. The MSC acts as a bridge between the Director and parish leaders, ensuring effective communication and collaboration.
Essential Job Functions
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Program Development and Implementation
- Provide materials and resources for Marriage Prep Coordinators in the Parishes.
- Promote and organize training for the trainers within the Marriage Preparation teams who serve in the parishes. These training sessions are based on workshops and are aligned with the evolving Diocesan Policy and the vision of Bishop Dolan.
- Organize, prepare and oversee the Certification Program for Marriage Coordinators at least once a year.
- Receive registration information from the NFP Admin to input into the database and follow up on those registrations in accordance with the marriage preparation process.
- Enters the schedules of all English and Spanish Marriage Preparation NFP courses.
- Schedules for all courses 6-8 months ahead for the upcoming year with instructors and facilities.
- Prepares materials for all Marriage Preparation classes in both English and Spanish, including introductory packets for Love for Life Retreats, Transformed in Love, God’s Plan Seminars, and NFP manuals. Responsibilities include assembling supplies, class lists, certificates, and items for purchase, and coordinating with volunteers as needed.
- Maintains a consistent inventory of packets and class binders, notifies the director when supplies are low, and places orders as approved to ensure materials are always available.
- Prepares rosters and certificates for all courses and delivers them to the clients.
- Keep an updated database of Parishes and staff and their training.
- To promote the vision of TILMA during the certification process.
- To foster opportunities for growing a culture of collaboration between parishes.
- Be in constant communication and provide continuous support to Marriage Prep Coordinators and Instructors.
- Facilitate communication between diocesan leadership and parish staff.
- Support parish coordinators in the implementation of diocesan-wide initiatives. Facilitate the catechumenal pathways of marriage life framework for parish marriage preparation leaders.
- Support the implementation of diocesan marriage policies at the parish level.
- Serve as a bridge in providing support and attention to parish marriage preparation leaders working with couples in intercultural and interreligious relationships.
- Update the website with content related to the sacrament of marriage, including calendars, events, and other relevant information. This role does not involve design or changes to the web system but focuses solely on content updates for the Marriage Preparation Coordinators and the promotion of events organized by the office.
- Collaborate in designing surveys and provide feedback on the results. This position involves assisting in the creation of surveys and reporting the results to the Director to identify opportunities for improving processes and services within the Office of Marriage, Family Life, and Spirituality. The position does not involve making decisions or evaluations.
- Collaborate to create content for website and social media or any the newsletters of the Diocese.
- Processes stipends, disbursements, deposits and bank reconciliations.
- Acquires and maintains knowledge of related Diocesan programs for clients.
- Participate in planning for Budget meetings and provide financial summary report for the events as needed
- Collaborate during the events of the EDS and MFLS Office according to the needs of the Office
- Collaborates and provide feedback in any Policy updates as needed, as well as Bishop Dolan's pastoral plan.
Training and Support
- Provides support parish staff and volunteer marriage mentors to facilitate marriage-related programs effectively.
- Schedule and promote formation opportunities for clergy and lay leaders on the theology of marriage and best practices for supporting couples.
- Promote and support the organization of marriage preparation classes in parishes, organized in collaboration with parishes within deaneries, and also in retreat centers.
- Organize a database of instructors and experts in the area of marriage preparation, under the supervision and approval of the Director.
Collaboration and Outreach
- Serve as a resource for parishes and ministries seeking guidance on marriage preparation related matters.
- Bridge gaps between different departments and ministries.
- Collaborate with other diocesan offices and external organizations to ensure access to high-quality resources and services for couples preparing for marriage.
- Serve as a bridge between the parishes and ministries such as Engaged Encounter, which provides weekend retreats for engaged couples to discuss their future lives together. Facilitate collaboration and communication between these entities.
- Collaborate in the promotion of marriage-related events and resources to the Catholic community via diocesan communications channels.
- Coordinate meetings with Parish Marriage Preparation Coordinators by deaneries.
Administration and Compliance
- Assist the Director in identifying and referring situations where parish marriage preparation leaders are not adhering to diocesan policies or following the vision of the Bishop's pastoral plan.
- Follow up on the effectiveness of programs and initiatives through participant feedback and measurable outcomes. Report the results to the Director for evaluation.
- Manage budgets, calendars, and materials related to Marriage Preparation programs.
Provide technical support to users of the Tracking and Perseverance System, a web-based platform for managing data of couples registered for courses and classes at the parish level, as well as retreats organized at the diocesan level. This system is designed, organized and managed by the Office of Marriage and Family Life.
Requirements
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree. Certification or license from an accredited source, or its equivalent experience related to this field.
- Minimum of 3 years of experience in marriage ministry, parish ministry, or pastoral care.
- Practicing Catholic in good standing, with a strong understanding of and commitment to the teachings of the Catholic Church on marriage and moral teachings.
- Must have a demonstrated working knowledge of applicable church documents on marriage life, particularly, Familiaris Consortio, Human Vitae, Amoris Laetitia, Catechumenal Pathways of Marriage Life and Theology of Body.
- Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and ability to manage virtual training platforms.
- Self- motivated to create bridges of communication within the parishes of the Diocese and other organizations.
- A basic understanding of Theology of the Body or willingness to be trained in the first six months of hiring.
- Deep understanding of Catholic theology on the Sacrament of Marriage and Theology of the Body.
- Open to explore and study new initiatives for improve the mission of the Department of evangelization
- Ability to engage and inspire individuals and groups through effective communication and teaching.
- Cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with diverse populations.
- Flexibility and creativity in developing programs tailored to parish needs safeguarding the compliance of the Diocesan Policies.
Preferable Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
- Certification in marriage-related programs (e.g., FOCCUS, Witness to Love, God’s Plan, Transformed in Love or similar).
- Certification in marriage ministry programs or commitment to be certified through any of the options presented by the Director
Work Environment
- This job operates in a professional office environment.
- This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.
Physical Demands
- This is largely a sedentary role; however, some filing is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stand, as necessary.
Other Duties
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
