Associate Vice President for Community & Belonging

The Associate Vice President for Community & Belonging serves as an institutional leader responsible for developing and advancing a university-wide strategy to cultivate a Christ-centered community in which all members of Calvin University can belong, contribute, and flourish. Rooted in Calvin's Reformed Christian tradition and guided by From Every Nation, the Associate Vice President provides strategic direction, institutional leadership, and accountable oversight for efforts related to belonging, intercultural engagement, community formation, and institutional climate.

Reporting directly to the President, the Associate Vice President serves as the President's senior advisor on matters related to community, belonging, intercultural engagement, and institutional climate. The role works across academic affairs, student life, human resources, enrollment, advancement, and other areas of the university to establish institutional priorities, develop measurable goals, coordinate implementation, and assess progress. The Associate Vice President is not a member of the Executive Leadership Team but may participate in leadership discussions at the invitation of the President when relevant to the role's responsibilities.

The Associate Vice President serves as a member of the University Council and contributes to university-wide alignment, communication, and shared leadership. The role leads through collaboration, theological discernment, organizational influence, executive judgment, and pastoral wisdom. It emphasizes stewardship rather than stand-alone programming, shared institutional responsibility rather than ownership by one office, and intercultural engagement as a vital expression of Calvin's mission in a diverse and complex world.

Core Responsibilities

University-Wide Strategy, Leadership & Accountability

· Develop, lead, and assess a comprehensive university-wide strategy for community, belonging, intercultural engagement, and institutional climate.

· Translate Calvin's Reformed Christian commitments and the priorities of From Every Nation into clear institutional goals, sustainable practices, and measurable outcomes.

· Serve as the President's senior advisor on matters related to belonging, intercultural engagement, community health, and significant campus climate concerns.

· Convene and lead cross-divisional teams responsible for advancing institutional priorities related to community and belonging.

· Partner with university leaders to incorporate belonging and intercultural learning into divisional plans, leadership practices, and institutional decision-making.

· Recommend policies, practices, resource priorities, and institutional responses that strengthen Christian community, trust, hospitality, reconciliation, and shared responsibility.

· Provide regular reports and recommendations to the President, University Council, and appropriate governance bodies.

· Coordinate the university response to significant community or intercultural concerns in partnership with the leaders who hold relevant operational, legal, academic, or pastoral responsibilities.

Institutional Learning, Climate & Assessment

· Lead a coordinated institutional approach to campus climate assessment, listening processes, and qualitative and quantitative measurement of belonging, intercultural engagement, and community connection.

· Establish university-wide indicators, benchmarks, and annual goals in collaboration with institutional research and campus partners.

· Analyze institutional data to identify strengths, disparities, emerging concerns, and opportunities for improvement.

· Develop and present an annual community and belonging report to the President, University Council, and appropriate governance bodies.

· Recommend institutional responses and coordinate follow-through when significant gaps are identified.

· Ensure that assessment results inform planning, resource allocation, professional development, and institutional practices.

People, Culture & Organizational Development

· Partner with Human Resources and university leaders to strengthen organizational culture, employee engagement, recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, development, and retention.

· Advise senior leaders on organizational and cultural factors affecting employee belonging, trust, and institutional effectiveness.

· Develop or oversee professional learning that strengthens intercultural competence, Christian hospitality, constructive dialogue, and leadership across difference.

· Support leadership development for supervisors and department heads responsible for cultivating healthy and mission-aligned team cultures.

· Assess and recommend mentoring, sponsorship, and support structures for employees from historically underrepresented and international backgrounds.

· Collaborate with Human Resources and legal counsel to ensure that community-building initiatives are consistent with institutional policy and applicable law.

Student Formation, Intercultural Learning & Community Life

· Establish institutional priorities for student belonging and intercultural engagement in partnership with Student Life and academic leadership.

· Partner with Student Life leaders to assess and strengthen student experiences of connection, participation, Christian community, and cross-cultural learning.

· Provide strategic guidance for student organizations and programs that advance intercultural learning, global perspectives, reconciliation, and constructive engagement.

· Collaborate with Enrollment, Student Life, and academic leaders to support the transition, persistence, and flourishing of students from a wide range of cultural and geographic backgrounds.

· Advise university leaders when student concerns reveal broader institutional or community patterns requiring coordinated attention.

· Contribute to efforts that ensure campus spaces, traditions, and practices reflect Christian hospitality, belonging, and global awareness.

Academic Partnership & Faculty Support

· Partner with the Provost and academic leaders to advance curricular and cocurricular learning related to global perspectives, intercultural competence, reconciliation, and faithful engagement across difference.

· Advise academic leadership on institutional patterns affecting classroom belonging and intercultural learning.

· Support the development of faculty resources and professional learning in collaboration with appropriate academic offices.

· Serve as a senior consultation resource when complex classroom or academic community matters involve cultural, global, or racial differences.

· Ensure that initiatives involving faculty roles, curriculum, or academic policy respect faculty governance and established academic decision-making processes.

Community Partnerships & External Engagement

· Represent Calvin University in selected local, national, and global settings related to Christian community, belonging, reconciliation, and intercultural engagement.

· Develop strategic partnerships with churches, community organizations, educational institutions, employers, and global partners that advance institutional priorities.

· Collaborate with Advancement to identify funding opportunities and communicate the impact of Calvin community and belonging initiatives.

· Strengthen relationships with alumni and community partners who can contribute expertise, mentoring, networks, and resources.

· Monitor relevant developments in higher education, the church, and the workplace and advise university leadership on their implications for Calvin.

Organizational Leadership & Resource Stewardship

· Lead, coordinate, develop, and evaluate assigned staff and programs.

· Establish annual priorities and performance expectations for the Community & Belonging team (a matrixed cross-divisional team).

· Develop and collaborate on the management of the team operating budget and recommend strategic investments.

· Evaluate existing programs and recommend their continuation, redesign, consolidation, or conclusion based on mission alignment, institutional priorities, and measurable impact.

· Build effective operating relationships across divisions without duplicating the responsibilities of Human Resources, Student Life, Academic Affairs, and other university offices.

· Ensure responsible documentation, communication, assessment, and stewardship of institutional resources.

· Perform other senior leadership responsibilities as assigned by the President.

Qualifications

Required

· Personal commitment to Jesus Christ and an ability to affirm and advance Calvin University's Reformed Christian mission.

· Demonstrated ability to articulate and embody Christian commitments to human dignity, community, hospitality, justice, reconciliation, belonging, and intercultural engagement.

· Master's degree in higher education leadership, organizational leadership or development, theology, sociology, psychology, intercultural studies, business administration, human resources, or a related field.

· Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience in higher education and/or a relevant corporate, nonprofit, or mission-driven organizational setting.

· Demonstrated experience leading institution-wide or enterprise-level initiatives involving organizational culture, employee or student engagement, community development, intercultural engagement, talent development, or belonging.

· Experience advising executive leaders and working effectively across multiple organizational functions or divisions.

· Demonstrated experience translating organizational mission and strategy into measurable goals, sustainable practices, and accountable implementation.

· Experience leading teams, supervising professional staff, and managing budgets or significant organizational resources.

· Demonstrated competency in organizational change, facilitation, conflict navigation, cross-cultural communication, and institutional assessment.

· Ability to build trust across differences and navigate complex relational, theological, cultural, and organizational dynamics with wisdom, courage, and care.

· Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with executive leaders, governing bodies, employees, students, and external partners.

Preferred

· Doctoral or other terminal degree in a relevant discipline.

· Senior leadership experience in a Christian higher education or mission-centered organization.

· Experience working within a complex, decentralized, or shared-governance environment.

· Familiarity with Reformed Christian theology and its implications for institutional life, reconciliation, and intercultural engagement.

· Experience with institutional assessment, organizational change, crisis response, or strategic planning.

· Working knowledge of legal and regulatory matters affecting higher education and workplace community, including Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX.

· Experience with global partnerships, international education, or culturally diverse organizations.

· Bilingual or multilingual abilities.

Key Competencies

· Executive and Strategic Leadership

· Mission and Theological Discernment

· Organizational Culture and Change Leadership

· Collaborative and Cross-Divisional Leadership

· Intercultural Competence and Communication

· Community-Building and Institutional Trust

· Assessment and Data-Informed Decision-Making

· Conflict Navigation and Constructive Dialogue

· Executive Presence and Communication

· Pastoral Wisdom, Courage, and Empathy

· Operational Accountability and Resource Stewardship

Reporting Structure

Reports directly to the President and serves as a member of the University Council. The Associate Vice President is not a member of the Executive Leadership Team but may participate in Executive Leadership Team discussions at the invitation of the President when relevant to the role's responsibilities. The position works in close partnership with the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Provost, Human Resources leadership, Student Life leadership, Enrollment leadership, Advancement, and other university leaders. 

FAITH and EDUCATIONAL COMMITMENT

1. Commitment to the educational mission of Calvin as a Christian liberal arts University affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church.

2. A commitment to the Christian faith and to the integration of faith, learning, and student development.

DIVERSITY COMMITMENT

Demonstrated awareness and commitment to effectively establishing relationships and positive communication across multiple dimensions of diversity including, but not limited to, race, gender, physical limitations, class, or religious perspectives.