Job Description

Job Title: Secretary General of WEA

Reports to: International Council

Established in 1846, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is a network of churches consisting of national evangelical alliances (EAs) from 143 different countries, including 100 international organizations that have joined together to establish a world-wide identity, voice, and platform for the more than 600+ million evangelical Christians around the globe.

Purpose of Position

The Secretary General is overall responsible for the World Evangelical Alliance. He / she leads a global staff team engaged in fulfilling WEA’s Roadmap 2030 with four strategic priorities as follows:

Strong Evangelical Alliances

Influential Voice of Advocacy

Fruitful and Broad Collaboration

Effective Organizational Structures

Key Roles and Responsibilities

1. Leadership and Vision

Articulate and promote the mission, vision, and values of the WEA, fostering a cohesive direction for the alliance and its member organizations.

2. Representation

Serve as the primary spokesperson for the WEA, representing the organization at national, regional, and International levels, and engaging with global church leaders and communities.

3. Strategic Development

Facilitate the development and implementation of strategic plans that address both present and future needs of the WEA and its member organizations, ensuring alignment with the WEA’s mission. Also, establish alliances in places they do not yet exist, and strengthen existing ones.

4. Communication

Strengthen communication and collaboration among member organizations, fostering unity and a shared purpose within the global evangelical community.

5. Advocacy

Advocate for issues relevant to evangelical churches and communities, including social justice, religious freedom, and human rights, ensuring WEA’s voice is heard on critical global matters.

6. Resource Mobilization

Identify and secure funding and resources necessary for WEA initiatives, including forming partnerships with potential donors, churches, and organizations.

7. Administrative Oversight

Provide oversight to the WEA's administrative functions, including financial management, staffing, and operational effectiveness.

Key Competencies and Personal Profile

Theological competencies

  • Alignment with WEA’s values and its Statement of Faith.
  • Exhibit strong Christian character, and manifest high integrity in leadership.
  • Embraces Evangelical theology, unequivocal commitment to world evangelization.
  • Capacity for identifying trends and issues in the global church.
  • Proven theological knowledge with a theological degree preferred.
  • Ordained / registered minister with a credible evangelical denomination or movement.
  • Adequate knowledge of non-Christian faiths and other Christian confessions to relate to and work with leaders of these faiths / confessions.

Leadership Competencies

  • Motivational — seeks to inspire instead of control.
  • Demonstrates evidence of overseeing ministry, caring for staff and engaging in public discourse.
  • Experience in leading large and / or complex voluntary organization (where leadership authority is acquired through competence and persuasion, rather than position / title).
  • Ability to collaborate with and motivate board members and other volunteers.
  • Strategic — ability to recognise and prioritise the essential / urgent activity and that which can be deferred or done by others.
  • Has five or more years of experience in cross-cultural ministry leadership in a senior role.
  • Ability to lead an international team remotely
  • Team-player — ability to lead and motivate team members through visionary and systematic thinking instead of being a micromanager or solo operator.
  • Demonstrated ability to effectively oversee, collaborate with and hold accountable staff for delegated outcomes.
  • Strong organizational abilities including planning, articulating, delegating, program development, prudence in financial matters and task facilitation.
  • Has a demonstrated capability to develop and work through mutually beneficial partnerships and networks.
  • Has a proven record of successful fundraising including donor development, working with foundations and major donors, as well as use of fundraising events and mass marketing (email or direct mail) — preferably internationally.
  • Implements adequate reporting and processes that allow him / her the ability to understand, in appropriate detail, the organization’s many activities without micro-managing these activities.

Communication Competencies

  • Able to communicate with the public, the press, within church assemblies, and at global, regional and national events.
  • Is fluent in English.
  • Is able to act as a negotiator, mediator and conciliator
  • Has the ability to convey the vision of WEA’s strategic future to staff, the WEA constituency, the IC, volunteers and donors.
  • Has strong written, oral, and digital communication skills.
  • Has good public speaking skills.
  • Is a good listener — a record of pulling together ideas from multiple sources, hearing suggestions / critiques and adapting / fine tuning of ideas and initiatives.
  • Shows cultural intelligence — including divergent ways of communicating and decision-making (e.g. robust debating vs honorific deference, interpretation of silence, confrontation vs non-confrontation, etc.)
  • Capacity for dialogue (debate) with national / international religious leaders, high-level businesspeople (entrepreneurs and donors), and government and civic leaders.
  • Ability to advocate for human rights and freedom of the vulnerable and minorities.
  • Media savvy — capacity for utilizing all forms of electronic, video, and social media.

Practical Competencies

  • An academic degree at a bachelor’s level
  • Capacity for extensive international travel.
  • Disciplined in personal time-management, including strategic “dwell-time” and recreation.
  • Stable home / family / marriage, capable of supporting extensive periods of international travel.
  • Lives near an international airport with passport / citizenship(s) easily acceptable in the majority of countries around the world.
  • Understanding of global administration systems and organizational law.

The Secretary General
is a humble person
has unquestioned moral integrity
is above reproach
has a strong sense of divine calling to the SG position
is compassionate
has a satisfactory family situation
is Spirit-filled
is a servant leader
is gracious towards others
is not puffed up
has a history of spiritual discipline
shows grace to others
is a person of prayer and Bible study
has a generous spirit
has a right attitude to money
demonstrates spiritual maturity