Senior Director of Jewish Student Life

As the Senior Director of Jewish Student life at Harvard Hillel, you will bear primary responsibility for supporting Harvard Jewish students as they create a Jewish community of meaning with and for one another. You will be in equal parts committed to an outcome – an inspiring Jewish community that deepens and sweetens students’ lives Jewish students – and a discipline of student empowerment, whereby students take responsibility for one another and their community, gaining life-shaping first-hand experience of the integrity and dignity of caring for others. This role means painting on a big canvas: ‘what,’ ‘how,’ and ‘who’ of all of Harvard’s Jewish students, undergraduate and graduate: how students (within and beyond the Jewish community) receive information about Hillel’s offerings; what trips (to Israel and elsewhere) students are designing, and their itineraries; making Shabbat and holidays into sacred communal moments that are widely accessible; nurturing a respectful and vibrant culture of religious (and other types of) pluralism; supporting the Campus Rabbi’s creation of a curriculum of Jewish education that draws on Hillel’s staff and the university’s Jewish faculty; forging a community of kindness and purpose; and presenting Israel to both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences. For the ‘how’: it will not be you or the staff, but students whom you mentor and guide, who will do this work – and you will always be looking beyond who is included or showing up, with the self-starting initiative to imagine and create new initiatives that expand the circle of belonging. From beginning to end, you will be a personal and Jewish role model for students and staff – leading with energy, brilliance, integrity, curiosity, and humility. The SDJSL leads a staff of 5.5 full-time employees, which is poised to grow over the coming years, and a budget of roughly half a million dollars (again, with potential for significant growth). The ideal candidate has extensive and intensive experience in immersive Jewish educational leadership – such as multiple summers as a rosh eidah at a summer camp – and has developed their own method of building tight-knit Jewish community through diverse registers including food, study, music, travel, and fun. Harvard Hillel sees Israel – the land, the people, and the state – as a pillar of Jewish identity, creativity, and complexity; alongside Shabbat, Torah study, and hesed. We are aware of, and respectful of, our student body’s vast diversity of experience, thought, and feeling related to Israel as reality and idea – and aim to both educate and empower, knowing that at times there will be an irreducible tension between these two values. Success in this job over several years will equip you with experiences, a reputation, and a network that will enable you to take on exciting and growing leadership in the Jewish community in the subsequent stages of your career. Areas of Responsibility: On-Campus Jewish Student Life, Jewish and Israel Education, Immersive Experiences, Communications & Supervision and Management. Who You Are: Any candidate for this position must be organized, animated by the potential and urgency of Jewish life, and deeply concerned with the welfare and flourishing of others.  The most important experience we are looking for is the ability to be a Jewish leader, organize people and projects, and the ability to inspire commitment and action. To be considered, candidates must demonstrate 4-8 years of experience in one or more of the following: Hillel, Jewish camping, Jewish education, or Rabbinic leadership. Additionally, we are looking for: Bachelor’s degree required, graduate degree preferred (could be rabbinic, Jewish education, business, social work, or other relevant to this work), High empathy and emotional intelligence, Comfort in managing teams as well as working independently and collaboratively, An embrace of the unpredictable, often improv-type nature of this work, including the capacity to absorb, learn from, and move past disappointments, Strong written and verbal skills, effective at communicating with a variety of stakeholders including students, parents, alumnae/i, and university partners, A commitment to pluralism and comfort with your Jewish identity so you may act as a role model and mentor for emerging Jewish adults & Owning your unique Jewish knowledge and experiences and inspiring others on their Jewish journeys. What You’ll Receive: A salary of $100,000-$120,000, depending on experience and qualifications, A network of students, parents, and university partners who will inspire you, and become life-long professional resources and partners, Opportunities for professional development, coaching, and Jewish study, Colleagues and support from across the Hillel movement, Travel opportunities, both domestically and internationally & A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, Tax Deferred Retirement Plan, Life, AD&D, and Long Term Disability insurances, Flexible Spending Plan, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave. Full-time. Apply on: https://boards.greenhouse.io/hillel/jobs/4502698005. https://hillel.harvard.edu. 

(12/9/24)