Video & Creative Operations Manager

Creative Team Project Manager

At Awana, we believe true change happens in the communities when children and youth are transformed by the gospel and engaged in Biblical discipleship in the presence of a caring adult. We believe that kids can come to know, love and serve Jesus, following Him for a lifetime. This is why, for 75+ years, Awana has been working with leaders in local churches in the US and around the world, providing solutions that equip these women and men to make disciples in children and youth.

Today, God is using Awana to reach over 10 million kids in 140 countries around the world. With over 500,000 equipped leaders in 91,000 clubs/churches, Awana is able to play a vital role in global evangelism and discipleship of children and youth. If you are passionate about being integral to reaching kids with the gospel, join us, and become a part of our global cause.

Summary

At our ministry, we are passionate about forming lasting faith in every child, everywhere! In this role, you will play an important role in furthering our mission by managing a central process designed to deliver on-time, on-budget Creative Team projects and products in collaboration with internal and external partners. This position will shepherd projects, oversee creative production workflows, including print and video, and lead project teams toward delivery.

In this role, you will collaborate with team members across the ministry to ensure the creative team serves partners with clarity, timeliness, and excellence in execution.

You'll thrive in this role if you can successfully combine project management, people-centric EQ, knowledge of creative tools, resources, and concepts with a heart for mission work that directly impacts the lives of children and youth around the world. We're seeking someone who views story-telling through creative logistics not just as a series of tasks, but as vital ministry work with eternal value.

This position is primarily remote with occasional travel required based on strategic organizational meetings. Primary travel locations would be our offices in St. Charles, IL or Nashville, TN. Other travel may include domestic US and/or international on occasion as ministry needs would indicate.

Hiring Range for this position is: $65,000 - $69,000

Who We Are Looking For:

• An exemplary leader who builds, mentors, and engages assigned team(s) in a remote-first workplace while ensuring the team's processes and work exceed the standards of operational and cultural excellence.
• A good steward of the assigned budget(s), allocating appropriate expenses for effective ministry in line with our vision and mission.
• Team player who supports, upholds and demonstrates the Awana values in internal and external communications and relationships.
• Collaborative partner who has a natural ability to cultivate genuine relationships with our internal team and external partners.
• Logical problem solver who proactively communicates workflow and/or deadline status to the team.
• Self-motivated, goal-oriented professional with a passion for helping fuel exponential ministry growth.
• Flexible team member who is open to taking on new responsibilities and easily adapts to shifting priorities and needs.
• Champion of children to belong, believe and become resilient disciples.

Key Responsibilities:

Project and Operational Management

• Oversee all scheduling, assigning, and tracking project progress and tasks across the Creative Team.
• Efficiently interface with project management software/tools to manage, track and report status for projects/tasks.
• Manage ongoing project tracking by maintaining current information on job status, costs, deadlines, and other pertinent information for all Creative team projects.
• Serve as production liaison for Creative team.
• Suggest and implement specific ideas and systems for improving efficiency and productivity.
• Assess team member capacity and recommend timeframes and deadlines. Suggest alternative project completion solutions, such as balancing workloads or using outside resources.
• Ensure team members are tracking with responsibilities, costs, and upcoming deadlines.
• Track the Creative team's progress within Fiscal Year expectations and goals. Timely communication of progress back to the team leader to ensure success and changes as necessary.
• Collaborate with the Creative Director regularly to review project status and plan future activity.

Video & Creative Production Leadership

• Lead and manage a growing video team, including video editors, animators, and contract videographers.
• Oversee the planning, coordination, and execution of photo and video shoots to ensure alignment with ministry objectives and brand standards.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to translate ministry goals into clear video and storytelling deliverables.
• Manage relationships with external production vendors and freelancers, ensuring quality, efficiency, and adherence to budget.
• With input from the video team, develop and maintain a clear, centralized process for all video projects, from concept to final delivery.
• Partner with teammates to align visual storytelling with the broader brand strategy.
• Ensure consistency and excellence in all video content across ministry channels and campaigns.

What You Need:

• Minimum 5+ years managing projects and teams, including ad-hoc and contractual, and through use of project management software, ideally in a ministry or creative agency environment handling non-profit clients.
• College degree in a related area of study desired but not required.
• Strong sense of timing, pacing, storytelling, and visual aesthetics to guide engaging narratives.
• Basic understanding of video editing and production principles, including color grading and composition.
• Expertise in project management (e.g., Asana) and basic level video editing software understanding (e.g., Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, etc.).
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize, multi-task, meet deadlines, make preliminary decisions and change course of action quickly.
• Basic budgeting and reconciliation experience.
• Excellent ability to collaborate with and communicate ideas to team members.
• Intermediate Google Suite skills.
• Occasional local and out-of-town, overnight travel may be required.
• General understanding of the Bible and the Christian Church in its various expressions preferred.
• Experience with Awana Club, curriculum, resources, & solutions is a plus.
• Valid State driver's license and US Passport required.
• Eligibility to work in the United States is required; this position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to communicate. The team member is also required to regularly utilize computer equipment (e.g., screens and keyboards) to perform work. Awana recommends maintaining ergonomic posture, utilizing properly positioned computer equipment to minimize strain, and taking regular breaks to stretch and move around. May be required to lift, carry, handle, operate video equipment in the course of this job. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision. Local and out-of-town, overnight travel may be required.

What We Offer:

As a ministry that equips leaders to reach kids with the gospel and engage them in lifelong discipleship, we value our team that makes this happen and are excited to offer:

• Mission-driven work that changes the lives of children and youth around the world.
• Remote-first work environment, allowing you to do the majority of your work from where it is you call "home". We also have two office locations designed for collaborative work and connection with colleagues in St. Charles, Illinois, and Nashville, Tennessee, that can be used at your convenience.
• Workplace culture that prioritizes prayer, a Biblical worldview, intentional connection, flexibility, family, and community engagement.
• Benefits package, including a variety of programs you can choose from to meet you and your family's needs. Some of these include medical, dental & vision health insurance, paid family leave, 401(k) & Roth 401(k) retirement savings plans with employer match, generous paid vacation & holidays, adoption assistance, college scholarship, an employee wellness program, and more!

This Job Description reflects the current assignment of essential functions and is not meant to be all-inclusive. Responsibilities may be assigned or reassigned to this job at any time based on the needs of the organization and may be modified to reasonably accommodate an individual with a disability or for other reasons. Please note, this opportunity