Associate Librarian, Operations and Communications

SUMMARY

The Mother Church Reading Room is a vibrant spiritual oasis in the city of Boston for neighbors, local college students, Church members and visiting tourists. The Reading Room team ensures that every visitor is welcomed and helped with professionalism, spiritual discernment and care. 

This position supports efficient and orderly day-to-day operations of the Reading Room, supporting the entire department. Tasks may include, but are not limited to technology support, submitting work and supply orders, compiling reports, maintaining department records (minute-taking and online file management), and serving as backup scrum master.

This position will also serve ongoing, weekly shifts in the Reading Room. The Reading Room affords daily opportunities to answer questions about Christian Science. These opportunities require spiritual discernment, wisdom and love. Developing and maintaining expert knowledge of the products that are published or sold by the Christian Science Publishing Society—and recommending them to meet specific needs—is an essential part of the job. It is equally important to contribute to an uplifting environment of healing and spiritual discovery.  

Church founder, Mary Baker Eddy, took great care in the selection of The Mother Church Reading Room Librarian. She describes the ideal candidate in the Church Manual: “He or she shall have no bad habits, shall have had experience in the Field, shall be well educated, and a devout Christian Scientist” (Man. 63:23–2 (to .)). Mrs. Eddy also describes the rule of conduct for any room where the Christian Science textbook is sold: “No idle gossip, no slander, no mischief-making, no evil speaking shall be allowed” (Man. 81:23). The Librarian and all Associate Librarians strive to uphold this standard of conduct. In support of this healing activity, the Associate Librarian prays for and metaphysically defends the mission and activity of The Mother Church Reading Room.

Requires strong administrative, problem-solving, technical and communication skills, initiative, flexibility, ability to work with a diverse team, and confidentiality. Must be detail-oriented and have experience providing outstanding customer service. The incumbent must have a solid grasp of the mission of the Church and must be actively engaged in furthering the cause of Christian Science.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This position’s primary responsibilities are to handle administrative and operational duties in a timely manner and uphold all the requirements of an Associate Librarian while serving shifts in The Mother Church Reading Room (TMCRR).

Operations and Communications Duties

• Works to strengthen TMCRR culture through discerning needs and responding.


• Has a detailed knowledge of TMCRR operations, procedures, and personnel.


• Oversees timely day-to-day office administration, which includes submitting work orders, tracking, and ordering supplies.


• Gathers and compiles fruitage, sales data, and other information to contribute to reports that the Assistant Manager and Manager deliver to stakeholders.


• Helps maintain clean and organized office and break spaces in TMCRR and the Publishing House offices. This includes arranging for equipment repairs as needed.


• Recommends opportunities for process improvements.


• Partners with the Office of the CIO (OCIO) to maintain TMCRR technology and resolve problems promptly. Serves as level-one support on weekdays, evenings and weekends for all Reading Room technology. Escalates questions and problems to Assistant Manager and OCIO as needed.


• Helps keep staff trained on the technology needed for their jobs.


• Prepares for and participates in weekly Agile team meetings.


• Serves as a backup to other team members when they are out of the office.


• Performs other duties as assigned.

Associate Librarian Duties

• Prays for, supports, and contributes to the healing atmosphere in the Reading Room. 


• Is responsible for sales and visitor service/satisfaction in The Mother Church Reading Room when on shift.


• Recognizes, supports, and communicates to visitors the unique role of The Mother Church Reading Room. 


• Maintains an expert knowledge of the products that are published or sold by the Christian Science Publishing Society and recommends them to meet specific needs a visitor may have. 


• Has a solid knowledge of the life and work of Mary Baker Eddy. 


• Keeps abreast of current developments in The Mother Church’s departments and activities, The Mother Church edifice, the How Do You See the World? experience, The Mary Baker Eddy Library, Christian Science Publishing Society publications and other Mother Church programs and communicates provide current information for visitors and callers. 


• Graciously corrects misconceptions about Christian Science in a wise and Christian manner. 


• Is able to quickly assess situations and respond with prayer and practical steps to bring solutions that support resolution.


• Hosts and coordinates events in the Reading Room, including doing the technical setup and facilitating discussions.


• Learns new technologies/procedures as the Reading Room continues to evolve.


• Contributes to daily reports when on shift. 


• Masters the detailed daily procedures of opening and closing the Reading Room, preparing for visitors, and handling literature. Keeps areas welcoming and neat.


• Attends and contributes to staff meetings.


• Keeps abreast of current trends in spirituality, spiritual healing, and church.


• Collaborates with team members on projects that support the Reading Room and Mother Church activities, as determined by the Manager. 

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND JOB CONTACTS

Reporting Relationships

• Supervisor:  Assistant Manager, The Mother Church Reading Room


• Supervises:  None

Regular Contacts

• Employees, customers, vendors, professionals.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Education/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree preferred or 3-5 years previous experience in tourism/hospitality, retail or event planning. 


• Experience in the following areas is desirable: communications, non-profit work, interfaith experience. 


• Experience communicating about Christian Science to the public. 


• Experience in the Christian Science field (i.e., branch church work, Reading Room, etc.).

Knowledge/Skills

• Understand and deeply value the mission and goals of The Mother Church, the life and writings of Mary Baker Eddy, the history of the Christian Science movement, and the purpose of Reading Rooms.


• Resilient, composed, and able to adapt to changing circumstances and changes of routine.


• Detail-oriented, team-oriented, self starting, and likes a challenge.


• Ability to prioritize tasks and multi-task while meeting deadlines with little to no supervision.


• Committed to providing a high-level customer experience.


• Effective communication skills: verbal and written.


• Experience with collecting and analyzing data preferred.


• Able to handle monetary transactions with ease and accuracy.


• Familiarity and experience working with workflow management platforms; Agile preferred.


• Patience, humility, intuition, openness to new ideas and new ways of communicating.


• Flexible, compassionate, and a desire to serve in the spirit of doing whatever is necessary.

Technology Skills

• Current with technology trends. Experience with Trello, Point of Sale systems, databasing software, website platforms, Slack, and Adobe products is a plus.


• The ability to learn new technology quickly and proficiently. Comfortable with searching the Internet for solutions.


• Strong familiarity with both Mac and PC operating systems.


• Provides basic technical assistance and troubleshooting as needed.


• Proficient using the latest versions of Google Suite.

Work Environment

• Warm and energetic work environment consisting of motivated staff members who are dedicated to their work and the mission of the Church.


• Opportunities for professional growth through mentorship and other professional development.


• Majority of time is spent in either a retail/sales environment when working in the Reading Room, or an office environment when working in the Publishing House. 


• Must be available to work some evenings, weekends and holidays, as needed.


• Works on multiple projects simultaneously while assisting with last minute questions, issues, or projects that arise.


• Activities include walking outside between buildings, being on your feet for extended periods of time, carrying items up to 20 pounds comfortably, as well as sitting for long periods in an office environment.

 Engagement with Christian Science

• Membership in The Mother Church and Primary Class instruction preferred.
  
  

Pay range: $33.90 - $50.85 hourly  

The pay ranges disclosed in our job postings are the compensation ranges the Church reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for a given position at the time of posting.

The offered salary will be determined by factors such as the applicant’s relevant education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities; and benchmarking, work location, and internal equity.