The Director of Music is responsible for leading our music ministries, working in close collaboration with church ministers, music program participants, and congregants to create music that serves the worship and musical life of the congregation and builds community.

The Director:

• Oversees all music presented at the church, honoring a broad diversity of musical traditions and cultures.
• Directs and supervises choirs for all ages as well as bell choirs and other instrumental ensembles, working closely with clergy and other leadership to create meaningful and spirit-filled worship.
• Inspires a nurturing music community that is fully integrated into the life of the church, fostering a program that serves both the deeper spiritual needs of the congregation and the goal of musical excellence.
• Demonstrates high-level expertise in conducting and knowledge of musical technique.
• Manages all music programming and staff in a manner that is enthusiastic, people-oriented, and fully in the spirit of our ministry.
• Creates programming that is imbued with Unitarian Universalist values.

Overall requirements and responsibilities:

• Provides professional leadership of a broad range of music activities at church, including regular service anthems, hymnody, and incidental music, special Music and Worship programs, additional holiday-based services, and a variety of other church programs requiring musical support.
• Works collaboratively and meets regularly with ministers and staff in service of the larger mission of the church.
• Directs vocal and instrumental ensembles, employing established professional practices, and engendering growth in musicianship, ensemble consciousness, vocal proficiency and instrumental skill.
• Possesses sufficient keyboard proficiency to accompany groups as needed.
• Supervises music staff and volunteers, including keyboardists and other ensemble leaders. Interfaces with the representative music council to serve the needs of music ministry participants.
• Coordinates implementation of music in the worship life of the church, including scheduling choirs and ensembles, choosing music, and managing our extensive music library.
• Programs anthems, various performance pieces, and hymns from a diverse range of genres, cultures, and philosophical/religious perspectives, with the understanding that striving for musical excellence at church needs to be in service to our worship and congregation.
• Leads hymnody and other congregational and informal singing with enthusiasm, joyfulness, and mindful accommodation for people of all singing abilities.
• Provides occasional solo or collaborative performances of postludes, offertories, and other forms of incidental music during church services
• Demonstrates comfort with and willingness to learn contemporary music and information technology, including sound reinforcement, online performance broadcasting, music notation, and online collaborative tools.
• Connects effectively with our sextons (House & Grounds team) regarding audio/visual support and other technical requirements.
• Assumes a pastoral role in nurturing the well-being of the members and families of the music program.
• Enthusiastically encourages participation in services and other church music events by amateur and professional musicians drawn from the wider community, reaching out to people of all ages, abilities, and cultural perspectives to cultivate music as a spiritual and communal resource.
• Works with the Director of Religious Education to support music in children and youth worship, and promotes children’s and youth musical participation in intergenerational services.        

This position reports to the Senior Minister.

Hours: Position includes regular night and weekend hours. Establish regular office hours, and may work some hours from home as well. 

Salary: The Director of Music will be between a 0.75 FTE and 1.00 FTE position, depending on the configuration of the music staff team. Salary is commensurate with experience and background. Master’s degree preferred.                            

Job Environment:  First Unitarian (Unitarian Universalist) Church of Portland is a liberal church with a long-standing commitment to social justice and spiritual growth within the Portland community. The congregation is striving to live out its commitment to be an anti-racist and multicultural institution. With 800 members, First Unitarian Portland is one of the largest in the Unitarian Universalist Association.  

Excellent music has long been a major avenue of spiritual expression and service at First Unitarian. Please visit our Music Program page for a more complete description.

First Unitarian Church is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building and maintaining a diverse workplace. People of color, women, working-class, LGBTQI are encouraged to apply.

Please send a cover letter and resume/CV, and video links of performance or rehearsals, as well as other inquiries to Music_Transition@firstunitarianportland.org. The application deadline is February 15, 2026.