DIRECTOR OF CHURCH AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

## Description

Position Summary

The Director of Church and Community Partnerships builds and stewards missional relationships that resource the youth and families served by Murphy-Harpst Children's Centers. This role carries two complementary responsibilities: cultivating congregational and pastoral partnerships across Georgia, and developing corporate and community partnerships in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) — together working to fund Murphy-Harpst's mission and support the Evolve program's continued growth. The ideal candidate brings pastoral credibility, an established network somewhere in the region south and east of Atlanta — Augusta, Athens, or a comparable East Georgia community — and the relational gifts to represent Murphy-Harpst's mission with warmth, conviction, and integrity.

**Church & Pastoral Stewardship**

• Build and steward missional partnerships with congregations, pastors, and church-affiliated foundations across Georgia, with a primary focus on the CSRA and North Georgia.
• Serve as a trusted, ordained representative of Murphy-Harpst in pulpits, church gatherings, denominational meetings, and pastoral networks, articulating the ministry's mission and needs with theological fluency.
• Develop and execute an annual church engagement strategy, including new partner identification, giving campaigns, and recurring stewardship touchpoints.
• Identify opportunities for congregations to provide volunteer support, in-kind resources, and mission trip or service-day engagement with Murphy-Harpst programs.
• Support cultivation of church-connected funding sources as Murphy-Harpst explores expansion of services to meet critical foster care needs statewide.

**Corporate & Community Engagement (CSRA)**

• Identify, cultivate, and steward corporate and community partners in the Augusta/CSRA market to provide funding and volunteer resources for the Evolve program.
• Coordinate volunteer engagement for Evolve, including recruiting, scheduling, and stewarding corporate and community volunteer groups.
• Represent Murphy-Harpst at CSRA civic, business, and community events to raise visibility and grow the local donor and partner base.
• Collaborate with the Director of Corporate and Community Engagement (Cedartown/Atlanta market) to maintain clear territory alignment and share best practices.

**General Advancement**

• Maintain accurate, timely records of partner engagement, moves management, and gift activity in the organization's CRM.
• Partner with the Advancement Services Coordinator to ensure donor communications, acknowledgments, and stewardship touchpoints for church and CSRA partners are executed with excellence.
• Represent the Advancement office in a manner consistent with Murphy-Harpst's mission, values, and centennial vision.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Vice President of Advancement.

## Qualifications
**Qualifications**
Ordained minister or equivalent pastoral/ministry credential strongly preferred, with demonstrated credibility among pastors and congregations.

• Established relationships within the Augusta/CSRA and/or broader East Georgia region (e.g., Athens) faith and business community strongly preferred, with the flexibility to serve congregations and partners across the area south and east of Atlanta.
• 3+ years of experience in ministry, nonprofit development, church stewardship, or a related relationship-based field.
• Comfortable and effective as a public speaker in church and community settings.
• Strong relational and written communication skills; ability to represent Murphy-Harpst with theological and professional credibility alike.
• Self-directed and comfortable with regular travel, including evenings and occasional weekends for church and community engagements.
• Familiarity with donor CRM systems (e.g., Bloomerang, Virtuous) a plus.
• Alignment with Murphy-Harpst's Christian mission and its commitment to serving children and families who have experienced trauma.