Administer Justice (AJ) is a national ministry headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, empowering vulnerable neighbors with the help of a lawyer and the hope of God’s love through the home of the church. Our vision is to expand access to justice and Jesus through 1,000 gospel justice centers transforming lives in the name of Christ. Before this can happen, we need a talented Vice President of Finance & Operations. You will be part of a team doing what has never been done before - advance gospel justice for the underserved through local churches across America.
AJ’s VP of Finance and Operations will define the process and implement the financial and human resource systems needed to support substantial growth over the next five to 10 years. They will continue to build and manage effective and efficient systems, including financial, accounting, human resources (HR), legal, information technology (IT), and physical infrastructure. As a member of the senior leadership team, their careful financial and people analysis will provide critical guidance for leadership to make strategic decisions as well as for Gospel Justice Centers to have excellent transparency in center operations, leading to the health and expansion of new sites nationwide.
THE PROBLEM WE ARE ON MISSION TO SOLVE
Today there is a crisis in America. It goes beyond the economy, the pandemic or race relations. When you look carefully, even within your own neighborhood, the crisis leaving a devastating wake - is in our Justice System. America ranks 115th in the world for providing affordable access to justice. Today, 1 in 3 Americans cannot afford the high cost of lawyers. Did you know that one of your neighbors is turned away from legal help every second – that is 120 people in the time it takes to read this page - and 36 million requests this year. While TV and movie characters say “you have the right to a free attorney” that is only true if you are charged with a serious crime - NOT if you are the victim of violence, unfairness or discrimination. Without legal guidance, individuals are 21% more likely to be abused, 47% more likely to experience financial, physical, and emotional loss, and 70% more likely to need public assistance.
OUR HISTORY
In 2000, our current CEO, Bruce Strom, founded Administer Justice to provide volunteer- led legal aid in the Chicago area. Our name comes from a Christmas gift made by Bruce’s wife Helen of daily justice verses. One of those verses comes from Zechariah 7:9-10: “This is what the Lord Almighty said, ‘Administer true Justice, show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’”
In 2013 Moody published Bruce’s first book, Gospel Justice, which helped launch a separate national legal-aid planting ministry called Gospel Justice Initiative. In the Fall of 2018 Administer Justice and Gospel Justice Initiative merged for greater synergy. In 2019 the board determined to solely use the name Administer Justice. Today, the “new” Administer Justice has the best of both worlds - a robust service infrastructure along with a highly duplicable “business in a box” national rollout model.
Administer Justice is led by a dynamic 11-member Board of Directors that is committed to our founding Chairman John Robb’s vision for 1,000 Gospel Justice Centers transforming lives in the name of Christ.
In 2021 our CEO solicited two separate million-dollar gifts to hire a stellar team to multiply impact across the United States. Those gifts were intended to be used to advance growth resulting in an intended annual deficit gap while fundraising increases and other growth takes place. One key function of this role is to monitor this gap through a strategic cash flow forecasting and analysis tool.
In 2023 we entered several new partnerships with national leaders like Prison Fellowship to multiply our capacity to expand through more churches in more strategic communities. Our current strategic markets are Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Portland, and Phoenix. At the end of 2023 our CEO published his second book, Persevering Power, with InterVarsity Press. This book, a new podcast called Restore Justice, and new speaking opportunities are fueling continued expansion and to build on this growth a talented VP of Finance & Operations is critical.
THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR MINISTRY: GOSPEL JUSTICE CENTERS
AJ is the only legal aid ministry to uniquely affirm dignity and sustainability, be Biblical and Holistic, and Church-led, Team-Supported, and Neighborhood Based. Each center is Christian demonstrating the love of God and the love of neighbor. Justice for the poor is God’s heartbeat and is the second most prominent theme in the Bible. God’s restorative justice compels us to see our neighbor as a person to be loved, not a problem to be solved. We do ministry with, not for, neighbors in need.
No one does justice alone and we have a unique 9-role team that serves once a month (typically on a Saturday morning for 4 hours). The advisory session helps the client get answers to important legal questions that often are the cause of stress, fear, anxiety, and despair. In just a few minutes of expert guidance, peace is experienced, and practical help is provided. In addition to the attorney(s), the remaining support team acts as a caregiving group, providing everything from hospitality and prayer to follow-up. A typical center will touch the lives of 40-60 people each year - including single moms, veterans, elderly, immigrants, and other vulnerable neighbors in need. We measure client impact and consistently have 93-94% report the legal need was met and 94-95% report experiencing a greater sense of God’s love and hope for their life!
The only charge for a client is a $30 co-pay providing value to the client. With the average hourly rate for an attorney exceeding $300/hour, this one-time charge is not meant as a barrier but as a means of obtaining buy-in. The $30 comes back to our national support center and enables us to provide the insurance, database, and systems needed to sustain operations without any cost to the local church. We invite individuals called Torchlighters to make a one-time gift of $5,000 to cover the initial costs of opening a Gospel Justice Center. Once opened the site is self-sustaining. A one-time gift provides a lifetime of impact.
We believe strongly in the local church. Clients step into a church on a Saturday who would never visit the church on Sunday, but they return because of the experience they had at the Gospel Justice Center. Most legal issues can be resolved in a single visit, others require additional visits or additional coaching. Every client receives a unique step-by-step plan to address their situation. Every plan is followed up by a client follow-up advocate. This wrap-around care and model is unique and transformative.
HOW WE OPERATE
Our mission is to empower vulnerable neighbors with the help of a lawyer and the hope of God’s love.
Our work centers around four core values for staff to embrace as we each do our PART. This is an acronym for Professional, Adaptive, Result-Oriented, Team Player. We are one team operating in three internal divisions: Engage, Equip and Ensure. This role leads the Ensure division which handles financial strategy, oversees operational finances, human resources, technology, facilities, and the transparent stewardship of resources. Our Engage Team raises awareness and support while expanding impact through communication and ways to get involved. Our Equip Team launches and sustains Gospel Justice Center operations by training volunteers to empower vulnerable neighbors through next-step plans. The VP of Finance & Operations will join a collaborative team of 16 staff and over 1,000 volunteers. Additionally, you will oversee two key vendors with multiple employees servicing Administer Justice in day-to-day financial operations (bill pay, reconciliations, donation receipting, donation compliance filings, and payroll) and IT functions (server hosting, firewall monitoring/protection, device review/updates, and other IT infrastructure monitoring/assistance).
YOUR OPPORTUNITY
Administer Justice is currently seeking a talented full-time VP of Finance & Operations to strategically help advance our fast-growing national ministry. We are looking for an energetic and high-capacity leader who has demonstrated leadership in finance, HR, IT, and operations. This person is excited for the joy and challenge of applying his or her time, talents, and treasures to make a profound impact in the lives of thousands of vulnerable neighbors as they seek justice and find freedom to the glory of God.
The individual who assumes this role will report directly to the CEO and be an integral member of the senior leadership team, working to make strategic decisions for the organization. They will also be responsible for the following 4 areas:
Finance/Compliance
Human Resources
Data/IT and infrastructure
Facilities
The impact you will have: When done well you will experience joy from:
SKILLS NEEDED
The skills needed to ensure the success of the role include:
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Success in this role is measured by:
QUALIFICATIONS
Administer Justice (AJ) is a national ministry headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, empowering vulnerable neighbors with the help of a lawyer and the hope of God’s love through the home of the church. Our vision is to expand access to justice and…
The position is full-time salaried exempt and provides health insurance, 3% matching retirement plan, holidays, paid time off days, cell phone reimbursement and other reimbursements.
The position is full-time salaried exempt and provides health insurance, 3% matching retirement plan, holidays, paid time off days, cell phone reimbursement and other…
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If after reading this description, you have interest in the VP of Finance & Operations position at Administer Justice and you feel you meet the qualifications for the role, you are invited to submit the following information for consideration:
Application Deadline 11:59pm on Sunday, May 26, 2024
If after reading this description, you have interest in the VP of Finance & Operations position at Administer Justice and you feel you meet the qualifications for the role, you…