Senior Jewish Educator at GW Hillel

Senior Jewish Educator at GW Hillel

Role Overview

Join GW Hillel in a newly expanded Senior Jewish Educator role designed to inspire every Jewish student and shape the future of Jewish education on campus. Serving on our senior leadership team, you will work in partnership with staff, students, and stakeholders to dream big, innovate, and implement initiatives that focus on Jewish identity development, Jewish education, and self-authorship. With the recent announcement of a $4 million transformational gift to launch an ambitious Jewish education and literacy initiative at GW Hillel, you will craft and implement this vision and strategy in partnership with GW Hillel’s Executive Director and help advance GW Hillel’s overall student engagement and educational goals. This position is not only responsible for delivering excellent educational programming, thoughtful engagement initiatives, and pastoral presence, but also for designing, innovating, evaluating, and scaling GW Hillel’s educational model. 

As a Jewish educator and leader, you will inspire and guide Jewish students at GW, working with them to build vibrant and meaningful Jewish communities. You will design an arc of Jewish experiences for each student GW Hillel encounters. You will play a key role in helping students live lives of meaning and building Jewish community through meaningful educational opportunities. 

What You’ll Do

Leadership & Vision

• Sit on the Senior Leadership Team, shaping and developing the educational vision of GW Hillel. Collaboratively design and implement our education and literacy initiative that embodies a vision of Jewish engagement that deeply respects the Jewish identities and needs of every student. 

• Serve as a thought leader, champion, and resource for Jewish learning among the professional team. 

• Build and maintain strategic connections with university and community partners, and with thought-leaders and organizations in the Jewish educational world, to bring the best opportunities to our students as we work to integrate Jewish education into all we do.

• Support students in their Israel engagement and education and their responses to antisemitism, and work with Senior Leadership to address these issues systemically on our campus.

Experiential Education

• Develop, lead, and evaluate educational opportunities that enable Jewish students to cross three key thresholds: articulating the self, belonging in community, curating & creating Jewish experiences. In addition to opportunities such as cohort-based learning, 1:1 study, and Shabbat and holiday programming, you will think creatively about how to integrate learning into all aspects of GW Hillel’s culture beyond what is currently offered.  

• Serve as a pastoral and/or guiding presence to students. You will be a listening ear, strong shoulder, and wise counselor to students on their paths of adulting and Jewish exploration.

• Mentor and coach student leaders to create high-quality experiences that are rooted in Jewish values for their peers.

• Ensure that all programming is intentional, evidence-informed, measurable, and aligned with GW Hillel’s long-term educational impact goals.

• Coordinate and support Shabbat, High Holiday, and other religious observances in a pluralistic and inclusive manner. 

Student Engagement 

• Build and maintain an engagement portfolio as a measurement of success; create spaces for meaningful 1:1 dialogue to support individual Jewish journeys and to assess communal needs with Hillel staff, as a result of trends discovered from repeated engagement work. 

• Cultivate individual relationships with a wide array of students to understand the diverse GW student experience. 

• Staff immersive experiences, including Israel trips with an eye toward building deeper relationships with students and engaging them in GW Hillel upon returning. 

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date student engagement data, and actively participate in measurement and assessment efforts to evaluate impact, inform strategy, and strengthen student engagement outcomes.

A week in the life could include…

• 10+ student one-on-ones ranging from exploratory coffee dates with new students, text studies, coaching student leaders, and counseling students with pastoral needs. 

• Developing engaging and educational Jewish content for a new initiative that builds Jewish wisdom and literacy.

• Working with a major philanthropic partner to identify best practices in Jewish educational settings to implement at GW Hillel. 

• Planning, recruiting, and hosting vibrant and robust Shabbat experiences on campus. 

• Leading 2-3 cohort-based learning experiences. 

• Leading staff learning so all staff are equipped with Jewish knowledge and understanding for an upcoming holiday

• Attending a GW Council of Chaplains meeting as GW Hillel’s representative. The interfaith group of chaplains works collaboratively to support GW students and works directly with the University Chaplain and Center for Interfaith & Spiritual Life. May include requests for crisis care and support. 

Qualifications

• An advanced degree in Jewish education, rabbinical ordination, Jewish studies, or a related field from an accredited institution.

• 4+ years of professional experience in Jewish education, Hillel, youth movements, camping, or similar experiential learning environments.

• Proven success in community building or immersive experiential learning, and previous experience in project design and implementation.

• Experience with innovative curriculum design, educational research, or program evaluation.

• Strong pastoral, mentoring, and coaching skills.

• Training and experience in counseling, staff supervision, leadership development, and administration is desirable.

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• A strong knowledge base of Jewish content, ranging from traditional Jewish texts to contemporary Jewish wisdom, culture, and a wide range of Jewish sources.

• Expertise in leading complex conversations about Judaism and Israel in ways that are approachable and meet students with respect, curiosity, and compassion, wherever they are in their personal Jewish journey.

• An approachable, dynamic, and engaging personality, with outstanding interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.

• Embrace of Jewish pluralism and acceptance of every student’s Jewish identity

• Motivation for healthy risk-taking toward professional and organizational growth

• A team-oriented approach and strong work ethic. You like to work with others and can also get things done independently. 

• Ability to work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the non-profit marketplace. The salary range for this role is $90,000 - $130,000, with the final offer based on experience, background, and the scope the candidate brings to the role.

• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, Life, AD&D, and Long Term Disability (LTD) insurances, Flexible Spending accounts, vacation/sick time, and parental leave. 

• Dynamic professional development, mentoring, and skill-building opportunities through our Hillel movement, and other avenues as needed.

• Travel regionally and abroad, particularly to Israel.

• A work community that values professional growth and personal balance.

About GW Hillel

You will join a team of creative thinkers who are thirsty to work together to build a meaning-driven, dynamic, warm community that allows students to be seen, appreciated, and challenged to grow their Jewish identities. Proudly serving more than 3,000 Jewish undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students at the George Washington University, GW Hillel aims to give students the tools they need to live vibrant, meaningful Jewish lives during their four years of college and beyond. Our students are thirsty to build meaningful relationships, grow their leadership skills, and have college experiences that mark a pivotal time in their lives.