Provost

Job Summary: The Provost serves as the Chief Academic Officer providing strategic and operational leadership over all programs and faculty to ensure missional fulfillment through academic excellence aligned with the LBC Promise, Values, Differentiators, and President’s Vision.

Lancaster Bible College Distinctives:

About Lancaster Bible College: We provide an accredited university-level education for multiple careers with a unique focus on the Bible and biblical worldview, Christ, and Christian character.

Our Mission: We educate Christian students to think and live a biblical worldview and to proclaim Christ by serving him in the Church and Society.

Our Promise: We prepare students to flourish in college and in line, inside and outside the classroom, from the conviction that Christ is real and the Bible is true.

Our Values:  

• Biblical: We apply God’s Word to all of life.
• Stewardship: We maximize and multiply God’s resources.
• Collaboration: We work with others to accomplish our mission.
• Innovation: We strive to continually improve to give God our best.
• Servanthood: We serve others to bring out their best.

Our Differentiators:

• Biblical Integration: The Bible is the foundation of every academic program at LBC, both professional and ministry-related.
• Authentic Community: Faculty, staff and peers engage in genuine relationships that focus on spiritual growth, personal development and mutual care
• Relational Education: LBC faculty and staff tailor their interactions to students’ unique interests, gifts and talents and help align them with God’s calling
• Exceptional Location: Nestled between Lancaster’s vibrant city life and picturesque farmland, LBC students can experience the best of local charm with access to major East Coast cities.

Necessary Qualifications:

• A vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ and active participation in a local church.
• Healthy family relationships.
• A strong track record of effective higher education administrative experience with
  (1) A reputation of integrity, (2) Demonstrated organizational leadership, (3) Accreditation expertise, (4) Operational and financial stewardship, (5) Institutional accomplishments, (6) Collaborative spirit and experience internally (your organization) and externally (with other organizations).
• A demonstrated grasp of the challenges and opportunities facing higher education in general and biblical higher education in particular.
• A doctorate in educational administration or other relevant field of study.

Why this role is critical:

Lancaster Bible College is grateful for 92-years of missional faithfulness, educating Christian students to think and live a biblical worldview and to proclaim Christ by serving him in the Church and society.  We are determined to maintain missional fidelity while stimulating institutional innovation and progress to best achieve our mission in these days. We want to be “sons of Issachar” in our discernment (1 Chronicles 12:32), wise in our planning (Proverbs 3:13-18), bold like Deborah in our implementation (Judges 5), and always missional and gracious in our efforts.

As the Chief Academic Officer and member of the President’s Cabinet, the Provost provides the spiritual, strategic, and operational leadership for all academic programs and faculty. Consequently, this individual must be a high-level initiator, problem solver, and academic leader with operational agility, able to work through people, and who understands the business side of academics and creates alignment across people, processes, and priorities to further the mission of the College.

This leader will ensure academic excellence and spiritual integrity while driving institutional effectiveness and financial sustainability. The Provost integrates academic rigor, financial stewardship, and market awareness to ensure that every program advances both mission and margin.

The Provost in relation to the President, Executive Vice President, and Cabinet: Lancaster Bible College operates under the vision and direction of the President, who is a member of the Board of Trustees. The President functions as CEO and CSO (Chief Stewardship Officer) of the College, responsible for visionary direction while stewarding (championing and guarding) the missional and fiscal integrity of LBC. The President works with and through the Executive Vice President who oversees the Cabinet with and on behalf of the President to achieve the LBC Strategic Plan, which is usually drafted and pursued in three-year increments. The Provost, as Chief Academic Officer, carries a heavy responsibility on the Cabinet, which works prayerfully, collaboratively, diligently, and responsibly to serve LBC and fulfill our mission.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Leads the academic enterprise, ensuring academic excellence, and

• Provides direction while fostering the esprit de corps to achieve the President’s vision;
• Recruits, interviews, hires, and trains new staff;
• Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations;
• Oversees daily workflow of the Provost Office;
• Provides oversight to Academic Department Chairs, Associate Provosts and Executive Assistant.

Academic Leadership:

• Lead all academic units, faculty, and academic support areas to ensure quality, integrity, and alignment with LBC’s mission and accreditation standards.
• Oversee the design, delivery, and assessment of undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and seminary programs.
• Champion biblical integration and faculty development across all learning modalities (traditional, online, and hybrid).
• Guide curriculum review and innovation in response to student needs, market realities, and mission priorities.

Operational & Financial Stewardship:

• Align academic structures, budgets, and resources to institutional goals, ensuring operational efficiency and sustainability.
• Use contribution margin analysis, cost-per-credit data, and enrollment trends to inform decision-making.
• Partner with CFO and VP of Enrollment Management to evaluate program viability and guide responsible expansion or sunsetting of offerings.
• Ensure data-informed decision-making through the use of institutional dashboards, analytics, and KPIs.

Change Leadership:

• Lead academic change with clarity and calm, applying structured processes for communication, implementation, and accountability.
• Protect presidential credibility by ensuring academic decisions are missionally aligned and clearly communicated.
• Foster adaptability and innovation while maintaining theological and missional integrity.

Faculty & Team Development:

• Cultivate a culture of candor with care, balancing accountability with empathy.
• Build leadership capacity among deans, department chairs, and faculty through mentoring, evaluation, and shared learning.
• Ensure hiring and evaluation processes reflect LBC’s values and vision for biblical higher education.

Accreditation & Compliance:

• Serve as the institution’s liaison to accreditation agencies including MSCHE, ABHE, and related professional associations.
• Lead preparation, reporting, and compliance for accreditation and academic quality assurance.

Strategic Communication:

• Translate presidential vision into actionable academic strategies with measurable outcomes.
• Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, including the Board of Trustees, to build understanding and support for academic initiatives.

Leadership Competencies:

The Provost will embody five key competencies essential to leading LBC in today’s higher education landscape:

1. Interpreter of Vision and Mission Steward – Ensures all academic decisions reflect LBC’s biblical foundation and presidential direction.
2. Future-Oriented and Market-Informed Innovator – Anticipates workforce and AI trends, aligning academic relevance with theological depth and missional purpose.
3. Change Architect with Clarity and Calm – Leads through complexity with steady communication, transparency, and courage.
4. Strategic Systems Thinker with Financial Acumen – Integrates mission, academics, and business realities; understands contribution margins, financial modeling, and academic ROI.
5. Relational Leader Who Practices Candor with Care – Builds trust, fosters accountability, and creates a culture of belonging.                                                                              

More on Education and Experience: 

• Demonstrated experience managing complex budgets and data-informed decision-making.
• Proven record of leading change and aligning teams toward institutional priorities.
• Experience in faith-based higher education and familiarity with ABHE and MSCHE accreditation standards strongly preferred.
• Teaching experience required; experience across undergraduate, graduate, and online modalities desirable.
• Experience is critical, however, we realize “10 years of experience” could simply be one year repeated ten times with no real growth. We want to see growth and achievement in your academic administration track record. Teaching or administrative experience in an Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) school is highly desirable.

Required Skills/Abilities:

Administrative Skills

• Planning – the ability to collaborate with other senior leaders to provide strategic planning, budget development, institutional assessment, and staffing requirements.
• Academic leadership – the ability to objectively evaluate and aggressively develop the academic program.
• Executive leadership – the ability to function as a senior leadership team member with the administration of LBC.
• Administrative leadership – the ability to collaboratively design and operate within the policies, procedures, and systems of LBC.
• Ministerial leadership – a demonstrated concern for personal evangelism, discipleship, spiritual formation, and the ability to guide LBC employees and students appropriately in Biblical principles.
• Leader development – the ability to develop leadership skills among academic department chairs and staff directors.
• Continuous improvement – the ability and demonstrated desire to grow, develop, and innovate as characterized by achievement in both personal and organizational matters.
• Discretion – the ability to maintain absolute confidentiality in handling all matters within LBC.
• Engagement – the ability to engage effectively with community leaders, Trustees, and members of the corporation board.

Technical skills

• General management – the supervision/management skills to lead more than one hundred variously gifted people in a matrixed, multi-site academic setting.
• Financial management – the ability to lead the preparation, coordination, and execution of academic department budgets as one of the largest components of LBC’s budget.
• Critical thinking – the ability to discern truth and situational dynamics in a range of professional and personal settings to inform sound decision making.
• Legal and regulatory expertise – an understanding of the laws affecting academia and their impact on LBC.
• Communication skills – the ability to communicate clearly in verbal and written form in a variety of settings to a range of audiences.
• Analysis – the ability to analyze academic, social, cultural, and regulatory trends.
• Teaching – the ability to design and teach in one’s field of expertise born from direct classroom or online teaching experience.

Creative skills

• Innovation – the capacity to develop new and relevant enhancements to deliver the academic program.  
• Strategic thinking – the ability to develop a strategic and comprehensive academic program in a biblically sound manner.
• Future orientation – the ability to anticipate and prepare for strategic changes in the higher education environment.
• Cultural understanding – the ability to understand existing and emerging dynamics to create both a positive organizational culture, a positive cross-cultural work and learning environment.
• Problem solving – the ability to solve complex problems in a team environment.
• Decision making – the ability to make difficult decisions and implement them with dignity.
• Planning – the ability to guide the development of multiple department and program plans as well as participate in developing LBC’s strategic plan.

Duties/Responsibilities:

Technical – Those specific activities required to complete clearly defined tasks.  

• Apply logic and critical thinking to daily administrative efforts.
• Lead and inspire volunteers and full-time, part-time, and adjunct employees.
• Communicate clearly and positively in verbal and written form.
• Evaluate and redesign procedures, programs, plans, and budgets as necessary. 
• Provide employee effectiveness assessments annually for all direct reports.
• Provide semi-annual staffing projections to the senior leadership team.

Administrative – Those activities which serve to achieve positive and measurable results through other people.

• Senior leadership team responsibilities:
  • Oversee LBC’s academic departments, library staff, institutional assessment staff, digital learning staff, online education staff, adult education staff, and academic program.
  • Collaborate with other senior leadership team members to guide LBC’s internal management controls.
  • Collaborate to develop, execute, and manage the LBC budget.
  • Lead the hiring efforts for all faculty and staff under the Provost, in collaboration with the President and the Office of People and Culture.
  • Prepare quarterly reports from the Provost to the Board of Trustees.
  • Develop subordinate leaders professionally and spiritually.
  • Ensures faculty development.
  • Manage LBC’s faculty educational grant program in collaboration with the President’s senior leadership team.
  • Lead the planning and execution of all Commencement activities.
  • Collaborate with the appropriate offices to maintain the published catalogue and each year’s academic calendar and class schedule.
  • Perform other duties as needed for the good of the LBC ministry.

• Academic responsibilities:  
  • Guide LBC’s systematic institutional assessment initiatives.
  • Lead the department chairs, program directors, and seminary leaders in developing premiere, cost effective annual academic programs in accordance with LBC’s priorities and with each department.
  • Lead the development of appropriate curriculum and academic programs.
  • Oversee On-Campus and Online education aligned with Board direction.
  • Guide the development of new programs of study.
  • Oversee sites and/or programs offered through partnerships in Boca Raton, Oregon, Uganda, Brazil and elsewhere.
  • Lead the Academic Leadership Team.
  • Advise the President on academic matters.

• Liaison responsibilities:
  • Responsible for effective relations with the Pennsylvania Independent College and University Research Center (PICURC).
  • Responsible for effective relations with the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE).
  • Responsible for effective relations with the International Alliance for Christian Education (IACE).
  • Responsible for effective relations with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) and other accrediting bodies.
  • Responsible for the College’s preparation, hosting, and reporting efforts for accreditation agencies and academic compliance visits.

Personal Expectations – The ability to present oneself professionally and to create the environment for people to flourish.

• Leadership – demonstrate a Biblical pattern of leadership characterized by an appropriate respect for and use of authority.
• Dignity – treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their position or the circumstances of the moment.
• Credibility – maintain the trust of the LBC constituency through decisions, actions, and communication. 
• Public speaking – speak publicly with truth and grace on behalf of LBC in spiritual or professional groups.
• Personal financial stewardship – manage one’s personal finances in an appropriate manner consistent with biblical stewardship principles.
• Appearance – dress and groom oneself in a conservative and professional manner, appropriately befitting an LBC administrative leadership role.