Pastor’s Assistant

Catholic Charities Jacksonville; Saint Augustine (FL); On-site; USD 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

St. Anastasia Catholic Church in Saint Augustine, FL is seeking a dedicated Pastor’s Assistant to support the pastor with discretion and professionalism, handling varied parish duties and coordinating with ministry teams.

The role focuses on calendar management, communications, liturgy coordination, and administrative tasks. This full-time position requires a respectful understanding of Catholic mission and strong organizational skills.

Qualifications

• Proficient in MS Word, Excel, Gmail Calendar, and Scheduling Software.
• Working knowledge of accounting programs and Parish SOFT.
• Must possess knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Church and its Mission.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Pastor’s calendar, schedule appointments, and prepare correspondence.
• Manage phone calls, take messages, and communicate with Pastor.
• Generate routine correspondence and respond to parish emails and calls.
• Attend weekly staff meetings and Parish Pastoral Council meetings.
• Coordinate Sacrament of the Sick communications for priest visits.
• Organize liturgy details, readings, and music coordination with staff.
• Administer the Parish Safe Environment program with volunteers.
• Cross-train to cover the parish Administrative Assistant when needed.

Skills

MS Word

Excel

Gmail Calendar

Scheduling Software

Parish SOFT

Accounting programs

Customer service

Office administration

Organization

Communication

Tools

Parish SOFT

Scheduling Software

Email

Job description

Pastor’s Assistant

Reports to: Pastor

St. Anastasia Catholic Church

Full Time, 35 hours per week

Pay Range: $22.00 - $23.00 per hour

FLSA: Hourly, Non-Exempt

Position Summary

The Pastor’s Assistant is the personal assistant to the pastor. This individual is responsible for maintaining a complete level of professionalism and confidentiality in all matters while providing support and administration skills in varied aspects of parish life and in coordination with others in ministry. Provides direct assistance to individuals necessitating an elevated level of professional empathy, tact, courtesy and diplomacy.

Duties And Responsibilities

• Manage the Pastor’s calendar, schedule appointments, and meetings, and prepare correspondence.
• Manage phone calls, take clear messages and communicate effectively and timely with Pastor.
• Generate routine correspondence, digital and written. Respond to parish emails and calls in a timely manner.
• Attend weekly staff meetings and bi-monthly evening Parish Pastoral Council meetings.
• Receive calls for Sacrament of the Sick and act quickly and effectively with clear and complete information to coordinate a Priest to administer the Sacrament in person.
• Organize funerals in coordination with the priests which includes providing detailed information to the scheduled presider, sacristan and music director regarding all details of the liturgy. Collaborate with pastoral staff and volunteers to guide families in choosing readings, music, liturgy details, reception inurnment, etc. Ensure fees are paid and distributed. On occasion, may require presence and assistance with setting up the service.
• Administer everything related to the Columbaria, including selling niches, scheduling inurnments, ordering memorials, record keeping, and other administrative tasks.
• Schedule weddings in coordination with the Pastor, communicate with the Music Director, draft letters of delegation for Pastor, ensure wedding files are collected, marriage license mailed, and fees paid.
• Maintain parish calendar. Collaborate with the Director of Faith Formation and Business Administrator on scheduling parish activities of all kinds. Events must be approved by the Pastor in writing and approvals maintained for future reference.
• Maintain parish membership records and sacramental records.
• Organize and maintain a filing system for all important parish documentation.
• Request availability from parish clergy in advance so Pastor can prepare the liturgical schedule every two months.
• Function as a liaison between parish ministries and the Pastor, keeping communication channels open and clear.
• Proofread bulletin prior to weekly transmission. Ensure parish announcements and Universal Prayer are reviewed and placed in church.
• Work with the parish Administrative Assistant on miscellaneous items such as Flower and Flag Memorials, prayer requests, etc.
• Crosstrain to cover for the parish Administrative Assistant as needed.
• Prepare the annual statistical report for Pastor.
• Administer the Parish Safe Environment Program in collaboration with the Director of Faith Formation. This includes working with volunteers to create a Virtus profile, schedule Background checks and assist volunteers with enrollment in a Protecting God’s Children class. Prepare the semi-annual Diocesan Safe Environment report.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Pastor.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Proficient in MS Word, Excel, Gmail Calendar, and Scheduling Software.
• Working knowledge of accounting programs and willingness to learn Parish SOFT and various programs custom to office environment.
• Must possess knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Church and its Mission.
• Must have the ability to respect, promote, accommodate, and not in conflict with the mission, moral and social teachings, doctrines, and laws of the Roman Catholic faith.
• Excellent customer service skills, professionalism, hospitality, empathy, tact, courtesy and diplomacy.
• Ability to adapt to a small office environment.
• Strong organizational and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to multi-task and set priorities to manage time efficiently with emphasis on meeting deadlines.

Language Skills

Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, vendors, employees, and the public.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

REASONING ABILITY

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.

WORKING CONDITIONS

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Flexibility to work evenings and weekends, when necessary, and ability to travel and drive one's own vehicle to various diocesan locations.