Director of Care & Connections

DIRECTOR OF CARE AND CONNECTIONS

Hillside Fellowship

Senior Leadership Team | Full-Time | Exempt

Reports To: Executive Pastor

Schedule: Sunday - Thursday, with regular evening/weekend responsibilities

Benefits: As outlined in the Hillside Fellowship Personnel Handbook

ROLE SUMMARY

Hillside Fellowship believes that Jesus Changes Everything! Our mission is that we exist to worship God, by proclaiming Jesus, making disciples, rooted in the Word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God. Discipleship is a byproduct, as we know and make much of Jesus.

The Director of Care and Connections serves as a key leader at Hillside Fellowship, providing vision, leadership, and direction for assimilation, connection, community groups, volunteer engagement, and care ministries. This role helps create clear pathways for individuals to connect meaningfully, experience biblical community, receive first-level care, and access appropriate support through all seasons of life.

Serving on the Senior Leadership Team, this role partners with ministry leaders to foster a cohesive and integrated approach to discipleship, connection, and pastoral care. The Director of Care and Connections leads by developing leaders, building effective systems, and equipping teams to care for people with intentionality, wisdom, and compassion.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Connection Strategy + Assimilation Pathways

• Provide vision, direction, and oversight for all connection and assimilation strategies, ensuring alignment with Hillside’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities
• Develop and maintain clear pathways for individuals to connect, engage, and take next steps within the life of the church
• Oversee guest follow-up processes, ensuring timely, thoughtful, and effective engagement with new attendees
• Evaluate and improve connection systems to remove barriers and enhance accessibility and clarity

Membership + Engagement Processes

• Lead the membership process, including classes, interviews, and onboarding
• Ensure individuals are well-informed, supported, and meaningfully connected as they pursue membership
• Oversee systems that help individuals move from initial connection to deeper engagement in the church
• Partner with ministry leaders to ensure seamless connection into groups, serving, and discipleship environments

Volunteer Engagement + Serving Pathways

• Oversee volunteer recruitment, onboarding, and retention strategies across all ministries
• Develop systems to connect individuals to serving opportunities aligned with their gifts, skills and interests
• Partner with ministry leaders to strengthen volunteer culture, engagement, and sustainability
• Support leaders in building healthy, well-staffed teams across the church

Care Ministry + Pastoral Support

• Provide oversight and leadership for Community Groups. These serve as a key environment where people are known and live life in authentic community together. While discipleship is expected to be a natural byproduct of life in biblical community, the primary aim of Community Groups is connection, belonging, and care
• Provide leadership and oversight for all care ministries, including Biblical Care and other pastoral care environments
• Develop and maintain systems for effective intake, triage, and follow-up of care requests
• Equip and mobilize leaders and volunteers to participate in care ministry
• Ensure individuals and families are supported with wisdom, compassion, and appropriate resources during seasons of need

Life Events + Benevolence Ministry

• Oversee processes and coordination for weddings, funerals, memorial services, and baptisms
• Provide leadership for the benevolence ministry through Community Groups, under the care of the Community Groups Team Lead, including financial assistance and support systems
• Ensure members and families are supported during key life events with care, clarity, and intentional follow-through
• Partner with pastoral staff and ministry leaders to provide coordinated care and support

Leader Development + Team Leadership

• Lead, develop, and support direct reports overseeing key areas of Care and Connections (e.g., assimilation, care, community groups, and ministry support functions)
• Recruit, train, and develop volunteer leaders and teams to support connection and care ministries
• Build and maintain a healthy leadership pipeline (identify-invite-invest-involve-impart), identifying and equipping emerging leaders
• Establish and maintain clear expectations, roles, and rhythms across teams and leaders

Financial Stewardship + Ministry Oversight

• Develop and oversee the Care and Connections budget, ensuring that resources are stewarded wisely and aligned with Hillside’s mission and priorities
• Regularly review budget progress, practice good stewardship, and seek guidance as needed to support ministry goals
• Provide oversight and guidance to team members in managing their respective ministry budgets with clarity, accountability, and care
• Monitor ministry expenses and resource allocation throughout the year, making adjustments as needed to support ministry effectiveness

Collaboration + Churchwide Alignment

• Partner with other ministry areas to ensure clear and seamless connection pathways across the church
• Ensure alignment between care, connection, and the broader discipleship strategy of Hillside Fellowship
• Collaborate with other teams to ensure clear and effective communication of next steps, care opportunities, and resources
• Partner with staff and leadership teams to create a cohesive and integrated ministry approach

Additional Responsibilities

• This role may include additional responsibilities as needed to support the mission and leadership of Hillside Fellowship, with the scope of ministry growing and adapting as organizational needs change

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

Faith + Character

• Demonstrates a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ and embodies the culture and values of Hillside Fellowship (Galatians 5:22-23)
• Must be a member of Hillside Fellowship or willing to pursue membership within six months of hire

Education + Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; degree in ministry, counseling, pastoral care, or related field preferred
• Minimum of five to seven years of ministry leadership experience, including oversight of staff and/or volunteers
• Experience in assimilation, pastoral care, or discipleship environments preferred
• Demonstrated ability to lead through others, develop leaders, and build healthy ministry systems

Skills & Competencies

• Strong leadership, organizational, and communication skills
• Ability to think both strategically and relationally, with attention to detail and follow-through
• Ability to develop leaders and build healthy, scalable ministry structures
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and other communication and collaboration tools is required
• Ability to pass a background check is required