Wycliffe College is seeking a visionary and dedicated Principal. This important role involves providing academic, spiritual, and administrative leadership to foster a vibrant community committed to faith, scholarship, and ministry.
The Organization:
Wycliffe College is a historic, evangelical seminary rooted in the Anglican tradition, located in the heart of the University of Toronto, where it shares this dynamic campus. For almost 150 years, Wycliffe College has played a pivotal role in educating, training and forming men and women for service in the church and surrounding community. As a founding and integral member of the Toronto School of Theology (TST), Wycliffe offers a diverse range of programs designed to prepare students for various forms of Christian ministry and leadership. With a commitment to academic excellence and spiritual growth, Wycliffe College serves a diverse student body drawn from across Canada and around the world.
Wycliffe College offers several graduate degree programs, including the MDiv, MTS, MA and ThM, alongside doctoral programs such as the DMin and PhD. These programs focus on developing leaders equipped for ministry, scholarship, teaching, and service. The College is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The Role:
Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Principal of Wycliffe College is the chief executive, senior academic officer, and spiritual leader of the institution. This pivotal role requires a dynamic and visionary leader who can provide theological, academic, pastoral, and institutional leadership to foster a vibrant, faith-based community. They are responsible for setting the strategic direction of the College alongside the Board, seeking and securing funds to support its ongoing operations, and ensuring the development and implementation of initiatives that align with the mission and vision. The successful candidate will be instrumental in nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment that supports academic excellence, spiritual growth, and community engagement.
The Principal is responsible for overseeing the College's budget, academic policies, procedures, strategic academic planning, and development activities. The incumbent works collaboratively with faculty, staff, and the Board to ensure the delivery of high-quality theological education and to foster a positive and conscientious learning environment.
Key areas of oversight and responsibility are:
- Strategic Leadership and Vision – Provides visionary and innovative leadership while ensuring alignment with Wycliffe's mission, goals, and strategic priorities. Wycliffe College educates people for practical ministry and theological scholarship in Christ's global church and the world.
- Academic Stewardship – Models a healthy and positive academic culture of excellence in research and teaching and oversees the development, evaluation, and enhancement of academic programs, ensuring their relevance and alignment with higher education in the evangelical Anglican tradition.
- Fundraising and Partnerships – Establishes and maintains productive internal and external relationships and engages in fundraising and development activities to ensure long-term sustainability. Represents Wycliffe within the University of Toronto, the Toronto School of Theology, and the wider academic and ecclesial communities.
- Financial and Operational Administration – Oversees the efficient and effective use of financial and human resources to support long-term sustainability, including budget oversight; recruitment and retention of exceptional students, faculty, and staff; policy development and review; and issues management.
- Faith and Pastoral Guidance – Provides spiritual leadership and pastoral care to the Wycliffe College community, upholding and promoting the evangelical Anglican tradition while fostering ecumenical cooperation and belonging. Supports initiatives that advance the College’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
The Ideal Candidate:
As the ideal candidate, you demonstrate a deep love of the church and a profound understanding of the Anglican tradition, including its history, ethos, governance, and polity. You possess a PhD or equivalent in a theological discipline and have a background in university or seminary teaching, scholarship, and administration. Your record of achievement spans both ecclesial and educational contexts. Additionally, you exhibit a strong capacity for ecumenical collaboration. You are an experienced educational leader, adept at working inclusively and positively within diverse communities. Your leadership style is collaborative and consultative, inspiring and motivating large groups of people with integrity and authenticity. You have demonstrated success in managing change, building effective policies and procedures, and making transparent and sound decisions that align with institutional culture and values. You use your excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build trusting relationships, resolve conflicts, and engage with all constituents. You are a capable fundraiser, able to tell compelling stories that motivate potential partners to support the vision and future of Wycliffe College. Applicants for this position should have a deep affinity with Wycliffe’s mission, vision, and moral commitments, and must be able to subscribe to the College’s Six Principles.
Qualifications and Experience:
While the Search Committee recognizes that no one candidate is likely to meet all qualifications in equal measure, those listed below are particularly desirable and will be used to compare candidates.
- A PhD or equivalent in a theological discipline.
- Significant experience in academic leadership roles, ideally within a university or seminary setting.
- Knowledge of higher education governance and how to lead in partnership with a Board.
- Deep understanding of the evangelical Anglican tradition and ecumenical cooperation and belonging.
- Demonstrated success developing and executing a vision and strategic plan.
- Established skills in fundraising and building collaborative partnerships.
- Demonstrated experience in academic planning, program development, and quality assurance.
- Experience developing and reviewing institutional policies, procedures, practices, and processes.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Pastoral ministry experience is an asset.
You are someone with:
- A vibrant faith and exemplary Christian character.
- A credible, collaborative, and consultative leadership style.
- Courage, with the ability to make difficult decisions in the best interests of the College and its students.
- The capacity to face challenges and to exercise integrity, flexibility, and wisdom.
- The ability to work collegially and effectively, building trusting relationships both internally and externally.
- Exceptional communication skills, able to inspire vision and explain rationale.
- A commitment to well-being, with a strong ability to establish and model appropriate boundaries.
We will begin reviewing applications on August 26, 2024.
We will provide support and accommodation to applicants with disabilities, upon request.
If you need accommodation to equitably participate as a candidate in the recruitment process, please contact accommodate@kbrs.ca or communicate your needs to the recruitment professional named in the job description.
If you are interested in this opportunity, contact Kyle Steele at ksteele@kbrs.ca or Dr. Jennie Massey at jmassey@kbrs.ca or submit your full application package online by clicking Apply Now.
Wycliffe College is committed to employment equity and offers equal opportunities to qualified persons, including women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of colour, and other visible minorities.
