Superintendent of Schools

Job Description

SUPERINTENDENT OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS - DIOCESE OF SAGINAW
A Transformational Leader for Apostolic Mission

The Moment
The Diocese of Saginaw exists to courageously proclaim the living Gospel so that Jesus may lead people to salvation through his healing, love, and mercy. Our schools are not a department of that mission - they are an important outpost of the New Evangelization.

A transformational leader is needed because the moment in the history of our schools calls for more than an administrator. It calls for a dynamic leader who champions the future of our schools through relationships, winning the trust of principals and staff, pastors and the diocesan team - leading as one heart and one mind on mission. This leader will turn our schools toward Christ and will not rest until every school is unmistakably Catholic, genuinely healthy, and on fire to send disciples into the world. This is not a caretaker role.

What Success Looks Like - Three Outcomes
1. Catholic Identity in Every School (the most important priority)
Christ is at the center of every building - not as one subject among many, but as the air the school breathes. Sacramental life, catechetical integrity, and the formation of the whole child are non-negotiable and must be visible in every classroom and hallway, on the playground and on the sports field. Our goal is to form every child to discover their unique, God-given calling in life and to contribute to the common good of society as disciple makers - sent to bring Christ into the world they enter.

2. Healthy Catholic Leadership in Every School
Build a genuinely healthy leadership team in every building with clarity, trust, and shared ownership, not silos and survival. Inspire and form school leaders, staff members and school stakeholders to be fully aligned with the Bishop's vision for an apostolic diocese.

3. Transformed School Culture for Mission
Lead and implement the shift from maintenance to mission. Making our schools engines of evangelization that form and send disciples. Cascade the diocesan mission into families and out into our communities.

The Leader We Are Looking For:
• Catholic identity above all - defends and deepens the faith of our schools as the first and final measure of success. This is why our schools exist.
• A disciple in motion - visibly living the Gospel, drawing others into an encounter with Jesus.
• A team player who leads through relationships - who wins the trust of principals and staff, pastors and the diocesan team; who cultivates genuine fraternity and leads as one body. This transformation is built on relationships, not directives.
• A vision-caster who creates vision and makes it contagious. One who inspires and galvanizes people to mission.
• A builder of healthy leadership - forms leaders and leadership teams; develops people, not just programs.
• A culture transformer - diagnoses what a school actually believes and rewards, and has the courage and patience to be an agent for change when necessary.
Essential Duties
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Bishop and a primary voice of his teaching mission to families, parishes, and the wider community.
• Cultivate trusting, collaborative relationships with principals and staff, pastors, pastoral administrators, the Bishop and his diocesan leadership team - leading as a true partner on a shared mission.
• Safeguard and strengthen Catholic identity, sacramental life, and curriculum integrity across every school.
• Build and lead a healthy Office of Catholic Schools that exists to serve principals, parishes, and families.
• Recruit, hire, form, evaluate, and develop principals who become disciple-making leaders, and help them build healthy leadership teams in their buildings.
• Gather principals regularly for formation, fraternity, and shared planning - forging one mission-aligned team, not a collection of isolated schools - one heart and one mind.
• Facilitate conflict resolution among the school system, principals, employees, and families when necessary.
• Visit every diocesan school and provide principals, pastors, and the Bishop with honest written feedback - observations, goals, actions, and measures of progress.
• Steward budgets, staffing, accreditation, curriculum development and implementation of all school curricular areas, and day-to-day operations with excellence, transparency, and integrity.
• Participate with local and state public schools, MANS, National Catholic Education Association, and other professional associations focused on the renewal of Catholic education, as well innovation for human flourishing rooted in the principles of the Church.

Mission Values Embodied:
The leader does not merely manage the schools' mission values - he or she embodies them:
- Ambitious for God and His Kingdom
- Authentically Human
- Docile to the Holy Spirit - God is the Architect

Qualifications:
A practicing Catholic and credible witness to the faith, committed to lifelong discipleship. Proven leadership in turning around or transforming an organization, with demonstrated skill in hiring, developing, and holding leaders accountable.

Strong background in Catholic education and school operations - principal or superintendent experience preferred. Master's in educational administration or a related field, meeting State of Michigan and accreditation requirements. A relational, collaborative, and decisive communicator who works well as part of a team.

This is a full-time, exempt position that reports to the Bishop of Saginaw.

About the Employer

The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw was established on February 26, 1938 by Pope Pius XI. Its territory included 16 counties, carved out the Diocese of Grand Rapids and the Archdiocese of Detroit, in Michigan's "thumb and index finger."

Today, the Saginaw diocese covers 11 counties in eastern mid-Michigan within the Roman Catholic Province of Detroit: Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac, and Tuscola.

The diocese encompasses 6,955-square-miles of land and is home to an estimated 132,000 Catholics, according to the 2000 Census.