Executive Director of Religious Affairs

Reports To: ISB President (board of directors) 

Direct Reports: All Resident Scholar roles 

Position Summary: The Executive Director of Religious Affairs (EDRA) holds ultimate responsibility for the ISB’s religious mission, scholarly integrity, and pastoral leadership. The holder serves as the community's senior religious authority, sets the vision and standards for all religious programming, supervises the Directors who execute that vision, and coordinates major initiatives throughout the year (i.e. Ramadan).

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide religious and strategic leadership across all Religious Affairs departments
• Supervise, mentor, and evaluate all Directors/Associate Directors in the Religious Affairs department
• Serve in a formal Resident Scholar capacity: deliver khutbahs/lectures, issue or coordinate fiqh-based guidance for the community, and mentor other Resident Scholars within the mosque
• Approve religious curriculum, rulings, and policy positions
• Partner with the Executive Director of Operations and Board on budget, logistics, staffing, and facilities needs tied to religious programming
• Attend ISB Council meetings regularly to provide Religious Affairs status updates and raise relevant topics
• Represent ISB in interfaith, community, and civic engagements as the senior religious voice

Core Competencies

• Developing and mentoring senior religious staff into greater leadership capacity
• Navigating scholarly disagreement among Directors and arriving at unified organizational positions
• Delegating effectively across a broad span of control (8+ direct reports)
• Conducting performance reviews and accountability conversations with resident scholars

Required Qualifications

• Formal Resident Scholar credential: ijazah, degree from a recognized Islamic institution, or equivalent recognized alim/alima-level scholarly training
• 8+ years in senior religious/community leadership
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-department teams
• Strong public speaking and khutbah delivery experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced Arabic fluency
• Prior experience as head Imam or equivalent senior clergy role
• Graduate degree in Islamic Studies, Theology, or nonprofit leadership