Job Opening

Scripture Accessibility Director

Added: July 10, 2023
Department: Information Technology
Location: Orlando, FL (preferred)
Report to: Vice President Information Technology
Peers: Application Development Director, Infrastructure Director, Internship Director, Technology Advancement Director
Job Status: Exempt
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Who you are

First, you're a committed Christian who knows the power of scripture and desires to see God's word in the hands of people worldwide. You're also a seasoned leader, with ministry skills sharpened by many years of experience.  You'd like to bring your expertise and knowledge to a team of professionals working in ministry to bring the Bible to every nation, people, and language. 

You love to travel the world.  You appreciate the fellowship of Christian brothers and sisters, drawn together to translate and share God's word. You have a heart for mentorship and love helping your teammates grow in their career and faith. You have a long history of completed projects, and can articulate the lessons learned in making them successful.

Who we are

Our team is a group of Software Developers, Dev Ops engineers, Infrastructure Techs, and Support People, working at a growing non-profit that is helping to make the Bible available to everyone, everywhere. You can learn more about our organization at https://wycliffeassociates.org/. This is the kind of place that rewards intensity, ambition, drive, and creativity.

Wycliffe Associates is a Christian ministry, and our mission of Bible translation is a special calling. Wycliffe Associates trains Christians all over the world to become Bible translators and we seek to safeguard the integrity of the Scriptures through that process. While specific skills and experience are a major part of this role, what is most important to Wycliffe Associates, and to the Lord, is a person's heart. The person who fills this role should have a special calling from the Lord for ministry. In this role you will be considered a minister of the gospel. For such a high calling, our lives and values should reflect that pure and holy calling. As we are told in 1 Peter 1: 15-16, But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.

The job you'll do

You'll work with dozens of people directly supporting Mother-Tongue Bible Translators all over the world. Some days you'll be doing desktop publishing, preparing scripture for print. Other days you'll be uploading and cataloguing deaf sign-language Bible files. And other days you'll be training people in Africa, Asia, or beyond, on Zoom, Teams, or in person. You'll travel overseas a couple times a year to experience the reality of translating scripture in the hardest places -- places without consistent electricity, internet, and sometimes food or water. You'll help turn translated scripture into Bibles in hand. You'll have the responsibility and authority for shaping the systems and workflows that will achieve the vision of "A Bible in Every Language."

What we'll do for you

We’ll give you a place where you can use your skills to invest in your team, improve yourself, and serve the global church in a meaningful way.

  • Paid education and training
  • Paid certification attempts (pass or fail)
  • Two weeks paid vacation to start, plus paid holidays
  • Health Insurance for you and your family
  • 1 Paid conference per year

The Details

Position Summary: The Scripture Access Director is a vital link between international translation teams and the pipeline to producing finalized scripture products in print and digital. The Scripture Access Director champions the importance of accessible scripture, in service of life-changing encounters with the gospel, transformed lives, and discipleship to Jesus. The Scripture Access Director also works within the Information Technology Team to assist in the creation of processes and systems to convert translated scripture into consumable products.

Job Responsibilities:

  1. Assist Wycliffe Associates in understanding the various issues, problems, and desires of accessibility as expressed by international churches and Christians.
  2. Create, brainstorm, and collaborate with Information Technology, Translation Services, and international friends and partners, to develop solutions for scripture accessibility, applicable to all manner of media.
  3. Work with Translation Services Regional Directors to follow up on what should be accessible digitally, in print, or as otherwise requested by local bodies of believers.
  4. Work with content teams to move translation work through the pipeline to accessibility and affirm it is accessible. Resolve issues with access to translations on the Wycliffe Associates Content Server Reader and Bibleineverylanguage.org.
  5. Assist in converting translated scripture to USFM files and containers. Prepare Android apps with Scripture App Builder and/or prepare print-ready Bible files as requested by translation teams.
  6. Prepare, organize, and publish digital media files for audio and video translations.
  7. Provide training in the use of accessibility tools such as PTXprint or Scripture App Builder.
  8. Help ensure that appropriate CC BY-SA 4.0 licensing statements are used in published scripture and resource products.
  9. Coordinate with the Translation Services division in the effort of encouraging translation through accessibility.
  10. Coordinate collection of data about scriptures printed and digital scripture usage.
  11. Manage WA project funding allocated to Information Technology for accessibility.
  12. These duties are not exclusive and with consideration of your job duties and other skills, this job description can be added to or taken away from at the discretion of the Vice President of Information Technology.

Personal and Professional Qualifications

Professional Qualifications:

The ideal candidate possesses knowledge and experience in both Scripture Publishing and Technology. Recognizing that this blend of skills is uncommon, we are happy to entertain candidates with experience in either Scripture Publishing or Technology in a ministry context.

  1. B.A. or B.S. degree or equivalent job experience.
  2. Two years of experience working with USFM scripture and desktop publishing to produce print-ready PDFs. Familiarity with audio and video media file management and publishing.
  3. Intermediate scripting skills in Python or another appropriate language for manipulating text and data.
  4. Two years of experience in a role bridging relationships between non-technical international people and technologists.
  5. Able to work effectively with a virtual team. Willingness to travel internationally up to 10% of the year.
  6. Demonstrated ability in ministry management. Must be an able team leader who encourages and enables staff to be successful in their work.
  7. Able to collaborate with technical people providing general direction and guidance.

Personal Qualifications:

  1. Have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and live a life in full alignment with our statement of Core Beliefs.
  2. Has signed an acceptance and acknowledgment of the Wycliffe Associates statement of faith and doctrinal statements.
  3. Should sense a call from God to ministry and have a genuine caring for people.
  4. Should have personal warmth that invites confidence and possess a personal integrity that never forfeits the trust that is offered.
  5. Ability to be at ease with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
  6. Demonstrate the attitudes of a servant leader.
  7. Able to delegate work to others. Able to facilitate and coordinate the work of others.
  8. Highly self-motivated and directed. Keen attention to detail.
  9. Able to communicate effectively in oral and written form.
  10. Able and desire to learn new technologies, improve skills, and adapt to change.
  11. Able to establish effective working relationships with staff at Wycliffe Associates, and other partner organizations.
  12. Able to follow accounting practices established by Wycliffe Associates.

Wycliffe Associates makes employment decisions in accordance with applicable federal and state employment laws and regulations. As a religious organization, we are entitled to make employment decisions on the basis of religious beliefs and practices of the applicant or employee.

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