Director and Chief Advisor for Community and Belonging

The Director and Chief Advisor for Community & Belonging serves as a senior institutional leader responsible for cultivating a Christ-centered campus community where all members of Calvin University are able to belong, contribute, and flourish while actively engaging across cultural, global, and experiential differences. Rooted in Calvin’s Reformed Christian tradition and guided by From Every Nation, the Director provides vision, leadership, and constructive guidance for building a community marked by hospitality, trust, justice, reconciliation, intercultural competence, and shared responsibility.

Working in close partnership with the President, senior leadership, faculty, staff, and students, the Director/Chief Advisor advances practices that deepen belonging and foster meaningful intercultural engagement – helping the campus to grow in its capacity to honor the dignity of every person as an image-bearer of God. This includes leadership focused both on the relational experience of belonging and on the learning experiences that prepare community members to navigate cultural differences with humility, courage and Christian Wisdom.

The Director/Chief Advisor supports the university’s formation through collaboration, discernment, assessment and pastoral presence. The role emphasizes stewardship rather than compliance, community-building rather than standalone programming, and intercultural engagement as a vital expression of Calvin’s mission in a diverse and complex world.   

Core Responsibilities:

Belonging, Intercultural Leadership & Institutional Strategy

• Provide strategic leadership for cultivating a campus environment that reflects Calvin University’s Reformed Christian identity and commitments to reconciliation, hospitality, belonging and intercultural engagement.

• Partner with senior leadership to integrate belonging and intercultural learning into institutional priorities, strategies, and decision-making.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the President on matters related to belonging, intercultural issues, and institutional health.

• Lead and oversee programs and initiatives that strengthen trust, connection, shared understanding, and constructive engagement for all members of our campus community.

Institutional Learning, Climate & Intercultural Assessment

• Support ongoing institutional learning through campus climate assessments, listening practices, and qualitative and quantitative measures of belonging, intercultural engagement, and community connection.

• Collaborate with campus partners to establish indicators of progress related to belonging, intercultural learning, and community flourishing.

• Monitor and report on belonging and intercultural engagement efforts through annual reports and communications to leadership and governance bodies.

• Identify areas where belonging or intercultural gaps exist and support constructive institutional responses.

People, Vocation & Intercultural Formation

• Collaborate with Human Resources to support recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, and retention practices that foster belonging and intercultural competence, especially for individuals new to Calvin or from underrepresented backgrounds.

• Support professional development that strengthens cultural competency, Christian hospitality, and vocational formation among faculty and staff.

• Advise and collaborate on mentoring and support structures for employees from historically underrepresented and international backgrounds.

Student Formation, Intercultural Learning & Community Life

• Partner with Student Life leadership to strengthen belonging, cross-cultural understanding, global awareness, and community engagement.

• Support student organizations that promote intercultural learning, global perspectives, and meaningful engagement across differences.

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

Faculty Support, Academic Integration & Intercultural Curriculum

• Serve as a resource for faculty navigating complex classroom dynamics related to cultural, global, or racial differences.

• Collaborate with academic leaders and faculty colleagues to support curricular and co-curricular efforts related to global perspectives, intercultural learning, reconciliation, and faithful engagement with differences.

• Provide consultation and resources for faculty seeking to strengthen classroom belonging and interculturally aware pedagogy consistent with Calvin’s theological commitments.

Community Partnerships & External Engagement

• Build and maintain partnerships with local, national, and global communities that support intercultural learning, belonging, and Calvin’s commitments to reconciliation and public engagement.

• Represent the university in external forums, conferences, and conversations connected to belonging and intercultural engagement.

• Collaborate with advancement and external relations colleagues to support partnerships and initiatives that enrich the university’s intercultural and belonging commitments.

Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Required:

• Personal commitment to the Christian faith and its Reformed expression.

• Demonstrated ability to articulate and live out Christian commitments to community, reconciliation, justice, belonging, and intercultural engagement.

• Master’s degree in higher education leadership, organizational development, theology, sociology, psychology, intercultural studies, or a related field.

• Minimum of 7 - 10 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education or mission-driven organizations.

• Experience leading community-building intercultural engagement or belonging-focused initiatives.

• Strong skills in listening, facilitation, collaboration, cross-cultural communication, and assessment.

• Ability to build trust across differences and navigate complex relational and intercultural dynamics with wisdom and care.

Preferred:

• Experience in faith-based or mission-centered institutions.

• Familiarity with Reformed Christian theology and its implications for reconciliation and intercultural life.

• Experience with higher-education compliance areas related to community well-being (e.g., Title VI/IX).

• Experience with global partnerships, international programming, or study-away programs.

• Bilingual or multilingual abilities.

Key Competencies:

• Strategic Discernment

• Collaborative Leadership

• Cultural and Theological Competence

• Intercultural Communication & Engagement

• Community-building Leadership

• Empathy, Courage, and Pastoral Wisdom

• Institutional Stewardship and Accountability