Assistant Director at Boston University Hillel

Role Overview

Make your mark on Jewish student life by joining Boston University Hillel as its Assistant Director. This is a big, exciting job for BU Hillel, working at the largest private university for Jewish students in the world. This position will be in charge of the undergraduate student life and engagement pillar of BU Hillel, serving 4,000 Jewish undergraduate students. We welcome candidates who are thirsty to be in relationship with Jewish students. This position leads and supervises a team of 6 staff serving undergraduates at BU Hillel. If you’re team-oriented, never give up, and truly believe that you must “be the change you wish to see in the world,” then this is the position for you! This position reports to the Executive Director and works closely with the CEO and COO. BU Hillel is a Zionist organization that is focused on putting students in relationship with the state, land, and people of Israel. Part of this role is overseeing Israel education, engagement, and travel, and we are excited to welcome a professional who is thrilled about this being part of their job. With the current ongoing crisis in Israel, we are focused more than ever on fighting hate and antisemitism.

This person will be a member of the senior leadership team, along with the CEO, Executive Director, and COO. This job is geared toward someone who aspires to be a senior leader of a Hillel, and there are significant opportunities for development and advancement of career.  

What You’ll Do

Supervision and Management

• Supervise, mentor, and support the growth of 6 staff members serving undergraduates, including Springboard Fellows, Engagement Fellows, Israel Fellows, IACT/Birthright professionals, Wellness professionals, and more.
• Create annual performance plans for each supervisee, including mid and full-year performance reviews, weekly 1x1s, professional development plans, etc.
• Conduct weekly supervision of each staff member, implementing performance tracking, supportive culture, and Jewish leadership into their work.

Student Engagement

• With the CEO and Executive Director, design and execute an engagement strategy aimed at both breadth and depth for 4,000 Jewish undergraduates and 30,000+ attendees each year.
• Develop and manage a cohort of 200+ student entrepreneurs and 40+ initiatives as part of human-centered design initiatives aimed at helping students ignite their passions around Jewish life.
• Recruit, supervise, and lead our internship/fellowship programming, engaging 75+ students annually
• Oversee on-campus signature events, pop-up outreach events, and student-led micro-community programs.
• Connect with prospective students and their families, educating them on Jewish life at BU Hillel.
• Oversee the collection of our engagement data in partnership with Hillel International.
• Develop key insights through 1x1 conversation on how to create an engagement program with high levels of reach and depth

Marketing

• Manage all student life marketing efforts and channels reaching 5,000 students each week across multiple platforms.
• Oversee Hillel’s marketing channels, including mass emails, Instagram, Facebook, website, hard copy flyering, postering, videography, photography, etc.
• Supervise communications intern team, helping support weekly work with marketing vehicles.

Immersive Travel

• Lead recruitment for 250+ short and long-term immersive travel program participants, including Israel trips, Alternative Service Trips, and short-term retreats
• Manage recruitment and logistics of all Israel travel programs, including 2 Birthright buses, 1 Israel Uncovered (Maccabee trip), and 1 Onward Israel trip each year.
• Oversee 5-10 short-term immersive travel retreats each year in and around Boston.
• Coordinate recruitment, marketing, and outreach for one alternative spring break service trip each year to an international destination (trips are based on ideals of Tikkun Olam).

Jewish and Israel Education

• Partner with the rabbinic team to implement outreach, marketing, and logistics for all Shabbat and holiday programs.
• Teach/facilitate Jewish Learning Fellowship classes across various semester topics.
• Support the rabbinic team to implement outreach, marketing, and logistics for our award-winning Jewish Learning Fellowship programming reaching 250+ undergraduates each year.

What You’ll Get Out of It

• A salary of $80,000-$100,000, depending on level of experience
• High-level professional development to help develop core skills and gain expertise from changemakers, engagers, and Jewish life experts.
• Mentoring and career coaching to help you during and after your position
• A network of terrific colleagues from across the Hillel movement.
• Travel opportunities, both domestically and internationally, multiple times per year.
• 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.

Who You Are

We are most interested in someone who is organized, driven, and mission-focused.  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. In terms of prerequisite requirements, we are open to candidates with the following:

• Significant Jewish communal life experience in any of the following: Hillel, Jewish nonprofit, Jewish camping, Jewish education, Rabbinic leadership

and/or

• Significant experience with relationship-based work in areas such as: student engagement, community partnerships, nonprofit management, corporate social responsibility, arts management

and/or

• Significant experience with for-profits that is relatable to this work, who also has very strong Jewish lay leadership background

Additionally, we are looking for:

• 5-8 years of experience
• Bachelor's degree required, graduate degree preferred (could be rabbinic, Jewish education, business, social work, or other relevant to this work)
• Knowledge of what makes people tick - you can connect people’s passions and interests to Hillel’s mission
• Comfort in managing teams as well as working independently and collaboratively
• An entrepreneurial spirit - things may not always go according to plan, but you understand that ambiguity is part of developing great new opportunities
• 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 to be on a Jewish journey

About Boston University Hillel

Boston University Hillel is at the hub of a world-class university, in the thriving city of Boston, right near Fenway Park. Home to 4,000 Jewish undergraduates and 2,000 Jewish graduate students, BU Hillel’s mission is to inspire, educate, and empower BU students to lead meaningful and joyous Jewish lives. We engage 4,000 students per year, 600 qualify as in-depth relationships. 200 students travel with BU Hillel each year. We have 160+ student leaders and 120+ lay leaders.

BU Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International. Hillel International enriches the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich the Jewish people and the world, and envisions a world where every student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel.