Disaster Emotional & Spiritual Care Program Lead

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is seeking a Disaster Emotional and Spiritual Care (DESC) program manager for a three-year Lilly Endowment-funded initiative. The role provides centralized leadership to build a scalable DESC infrastructure across ELCA synods and Lutheran Disaster Response.

Based in Chicago, this full-time, term contract starts fall 2026 and ends March 31, 2029; remote work limited to 2 days in office; requires residency and work authorization in the United

Qualifications

• 3+ years of related experience in disaster response, emotional/spiritual care, pastoral care, or related fields.
• Experience designing or facilitating training programs, especially adult learning and trauma-informed approaches.
• Experience in event planning and onsite management; budget tracking and stakeholder coordination.
• Excellent interpersonal communication; ability to work across diverse stakeholders and contexts.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; ability to manage multiple projects and be timely.
• Understanding of faith-based leadership or denominational structures is preferred.
• Commitment to DEIA and ELCA mission.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the three-year Lilly Endowment grant for DESC infrastructure.
• Serve as primary liaison for DESC programming across LDR staff, synods, partners.
• Lead DESC training coordination across ELCA’s domestic footprint, including trauma-informed curricula.
• Develop synod-based DESC teams: recruitment, onboarding, sustainability, and ToT model.
• Build partnerships with synod leaders, disaster coordinators, and volunteers; coordinate gatherings.
• Support evaluation and reporting; track outcomes and prepare grant reports.
• Other duties as assigned.

Job description

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is seeking a Disaster Emotional and Spiritual Care (DESC) program manager for a three-year Lilly Endowment-funded initiative. The role provides centralized leadership to build a scalable DESC infrastructure across ELCA synods and Lutheran Disaster Response.

Based in Chicago, this full-time, term contract starts fall 2026 and ends March 31, 2029; remote work limited to 2 days in office; requires residency and work authorization in the United