Student Formation Program Coordinator

Student Formation Program Coordinator 

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The Veritas Forum is a fast-growing, strategic ministry that partners with Christian thought leaders, professors, campus ministries, and students to engage universities and the broader public with the ideas that shape our lives. Veritas puts the Christian faith in dialogue with other beliefs and invites participants from all backgrounds to start conversations that matter. 

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Veritas operates several student formation programs. Our Forum events on college and university campuses host scholars from differing perspectives for conversations that explore life’s biggest questions with rigor and respect, inviting participants from all backgrounds to seek truth together. Through the Augustine Collective network, we convene and support student teams to produce campus journals of Christian thought, which illuminate the breadth of student and human experience with the Christian story. For student leaders seeking to develop a public voice that is deeply formed by a Christian vision of truth, we offer Veritas Institute, a week-long summer intensive, and the Veritas Institute Fellowship, a year-round continuation of Institute for personal formation, cohort reflection, and public articulation. 

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The Student Formation Program Coordinator will help lead implementation of Veritas’s strategic student formation programs, especially Institute and the Fellowship. He or she will report to the Senior Manager of University Partnerships and will work particularly closely with the Director of Community Formation and the Director of the Augustine Collective, as well as other Veritas staff, student teams, and advisors. The role requires regular travel to campuses, for which all costs will be covered. This is a permanent, full-time position, but the role can be structured as a minimum two-year commitment for the right candidate. 

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Key Responsibilities

The Student Formation Program Coordinator will mainly divide her or his time between the following areas:

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Recruit for and implement strategic, high-investment student formation programs (50%)

The Student Formation Program Coordinator will be an essential member of the team implementing Veritas Institute and the Veritas Institute Fellowship, along with the Director of Community Formation, the Director of the Augustine Collective, and the Senior Manager for University Partnerships. Beyond general collaborative program planning responsibilities, specific duties will include:

  • Recruitment for Veritas Institute and the Fellowship
    • Identify strong candidates for these programs from Veritas’s existing student network, including through personal recruiting visits to ecosystem partner campuses
    • Lead communication with campus partner organizations around nomination and recruitment
    • Identify untapped sources for participant recruitment to strengthen applicant pool
    • Assist with communications throughout application process; participate in application review and applicant interviews
  • Operational implementation for Veritas Institute
    • Contribute to maintenance and improvement of underlying databases and systems
    • Steward relationship with hosting venue, including managing communications regarding space needs, participant numbers, housing, and meals
    • Arrange logistics for offsite program events (transportation, meals, etc.) as needed
    • Lead post-event feedback collection
  • Operational implementation for Institute Fellowship
    • Assist with communications throughout the year around Fellowship events, timelines, and deliverables
    • Coach 6–8 Fellows on their projects throughout the program
    • Arrange logistics for additional virtual and in-person gatherings as needed
    • Lead feedback collection throughout and after Fellowship conclusion
  • Other implementation and planning responsibilities for Veritas Weekend as needed, including:
    • Lead execution of Veritas Institute spotlight lunch 

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Mobilize campus partnerships around 6–10 Forum events and 2–4 Augustine Collective journals (40%)

  • Lead or co-lead student team development and event execution for 6–10 Forums
    • Work with University Partnerships staff to set goals and develop strategies that support high-quality Forums on 4–8 ecosystem partner campuses
    • Cultivate strong, trust-based relationships with campus ministers and students on identified campuses
    • Act as an engagement coach and consultant guiding the planning team’s decisions on engagement approach, outreach strategy, and Forum design components that will best serve their campuses
  • Equip and develop student teams for production of high-quality journals of Christian thought
    • Coach editors-in-chief of 2–4 Augustine Collective (AC) campus journals
    • Create materials for expanded and improved journal campus outreach
    • Assist with other AC duties as identified and assigned by the Director of the AC

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General organizational service and professional development (10%)

In conversation with his or her manager, the Student Formation Program Coordinator will also participate in the broader strategic and operational work of Veritas as needed, under the guidance of senior departmental staff.

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  • Serve at other Veritas and ecosystem events, including but not limited to the Scholars Summit and/or the Graduate Scholars Conference
    • Responsibilities to be identified and assigned based on organizational need and the Coordinator’s particular skills and gifts
  • Proactively identify areas for personal, spiritual, and professional development that will serve the Coordinator and Veritas

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Work Experience & Skills

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QUALIFICATIONS

A qualified applicant should demonstrate: 

  •  A mature Christian faith.
    • Grounding in the regular disciplines of Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with other believers in the context of a local church, and displays a growing faith evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit in your life.
  • Love for the university.
    • Shows a depth of understanding of the mission of Christian thought on university campuses, including the spiritual and intellectual formation required to present a credible and faithful Christian witness.
    • Experiences deep drive and joy around mobilizing campus partners for catalytic events that host large, broad, worldview-diverse audiences.
    • Has a passion to equip college students to serve and shape the culture on their campuses through unfolding the breadth and beauty of the Christian story. 
  • Healthy relationships. 
    • Has a track record of cultivating trust-based relationships that allow him/her to influence and mobilize students, colleagues, and partners. 
  • Applicable skills. 
    • Demonstrates (a) administrative or program leadership experience within the higher-education, non-profit, or business sector; (b) excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to inform, coach, and cast vision to students, faculty, and colleagues; and (c) the capacity to be self-directed, prioritize, and lead a team towards defined goals and outcomes. 
    • At time of writing, Veritas’s tech stack includes Google Workspace, Airtable, Asana, and claude.ai; the ideal candidate will be already familiar with these tools and ready to jump in on using them for operational excellence. 
  • College education and relevant experience. 
    • A bachelor’s degree (at minimum) is expected. The ideal candidate is already familiar, whether through educational, ministry, or other work experience, with the environment faced by students in Veritas’s leadership programs, and has meaningful experience in program management, campus ministry, volunteer coordination, and/or event planning/production. 
  • Enjoys frequent travel.
    • Able to travel throughout the year for event planning and to work closely with Veritas partners. 

Culture

Veritas is a fast-paced, mission-driven, performance-oriented culture. The right candidate for this role will be excited to join an organization where everyone is expected to:

  • Be a team player. You’ll collaborate with other University Partnerships team members on a regular basis, and serve your colleagues in other program areas (e.g., Scholars, Media, Development, etc.) as needed with a positive and problem-solving attitude.
  • Commit to your role. You’ll dive in every day on the role and job description you’ve been hired for, which should match your passions and skills.
  • Own your outcomes. You’ll be a self-motivated self-starter who sets clear goals, anticipates problems, perseveres, and holds yourself accountable. 

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Position Overview 

Status | Full Time 

Location | United States — Remote (Eastern Time work hours) 

Reporting | This role reports to the Senior Manager of University Partnerships.

Benefits & Compensation | The Veritas Forum offers benefits and compensation commensurate with experience and competitive with other nonprofit organizations.

Travel Requirements | 20–25 days each year for participation in staff gatherings and service at Veritas conferences (scheduled far in advance, set organizationally); 6–12 additional trips to affiliated campuses for student recruitment, leadership trainings, and public events (scheduled on shorter notice, set individually)

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About Veritas 

The Veritas Forum partners with Christian thought leaders, professors, and campus fellowships to support the intellectual credibility of Christianity in the university and the broader public sphere. Veritas is propelled by an ambitious vision to see universities become places where the big questions asked by students are not the reason they lose their faith, but the reason they find it. 

Driving this vision are three core pillars of work: campus dialogue, community formation, and content engagement. We come alongside students, faculty, and campus ministers to help create Forums on university campuses around the world that invite intellectually curious students and scholars to explore life’s big ideas. In support of this work, we connect, form, and train networks of students and faculty leaders who carry on the conversations through journals and scholarship, and we extend the conversations to global audiences through digital media. 

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Our Name & Beliefs

“Veritas” is the Latin word for truth—and a word commonly found in university mottos; it refers to our belief that truth can be sought and found. “Forum” refers to our commitment to creating spaces where ideas can be openly shared and discussed. We are grounded and motivated by the historic Christian faith that seeks to love God and neighbor. We affirm the Nicene Creed and are ecumenical and invitational in our approach. 

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Best Christian Workplaces

The Veritas Forum has been certified as one of the Best Christian Workplaces in 2023 for a commitment to strong employee engagement and a flourishing workplace culture.