Experiential Education & Sustainability Manager Job Posting

Job Summary

The American Jewish University (AJU) embraces learners of all ages and uses its convening power to meet the needs of the entire community. The Brandeis-Bardin Campus (BBC), located in Simi Valley, is the AJU’s 2,800-acre retreat center. The BBC is the year-round home to hundreds of organizational retreats and life cycle events, and the summer home of the Brandeis Collegiate Institute (BCI) and Camp Alonim. Choosing a career with AJU and the BBC means joining an institution during a time of a new vision, ready to identify and explore new territories in Jewish education. With a vibrant mission and values, great benefits, and strong community involvement, AJU is an ideal team to join.

The Jewish Experiential Education & Sustainability Manager is responsible for year-round Jewish experiential and nature programming on our Brandeis-Bardin Campus.

The BBC seeks a creative self-starter who can manage current programs, as well as join a team excited about nurturing a vision for the future. We are looking for a hard-working, creative, Jewishly knowledgeable teammate, who is ready to jump into a busy schedule, curate existing programs, dream about new possibilities, and mentor future outdoor educators.

Duties and Responsibilities: 

Experiential Programming - With the educational team, develop a wide range of outdoor Jewish experiential programming utilizing the land and philosophy of the Brandeis-Bardin Campus. Train staff to lead these educational programs and supervise/oversee their implementation. Other activities and programs might include hiking, Sundays in the Park festival, outdoor cooking, survival skills, etc.

JENE Fellowship - Recruit, train and supervise the JENE fellowship program, a semester-long outdoor education training course. Recruit fellows for both Fall and Spring semesters, design and deliver the fellowship curriculum, train fellows in daily tasks and educational programming, and manage all aspects of the fellowship.

Sustainability - Develop a vision for a more sustainable campus.

STEAM Lab/ Animal area - Develop curriculum for our STEAM (Science, Teva, Earth, Animals, Mensch) Lab. Support animal care and the staff. Assist with regular repairs and maintenance of all equipment and animal enclosures. Assist with vet runs, as needed.

Administrative - Maintain strong communication and regularly meet with department heads and program managers to best ensure the highest quality of programming is being created and delivered to the guests and clients of Brandeis. Manage the Teva budget and purchasing card.

Agricultural Responsibilities - Part green thumb, part creative initiative! Maintain and develop agricultural elements at Brandeis, experimenting with new methods of permaculture, vertical gardening, and hydroponics. Agricultural endeavors may also include aquaponics, upraised beds, and composting.

Spaces/ Equipment - Maintain all of the areas within the Teva department. In addition to the above, this also includes various program spaces, overnight sites, trails, vehicles, fellowship housing, storage areas, and office spaces.

Summer - Support BBC summer programs: (1) Help set up the Camp Alonim/ Gan Alonim Teva program for success by training and coaching their summer staff in advance of the summer program. This may also include prepping overnight spaces as well as developing curriculum for their summer programs. (2) Support the Brandeis Collegiate Institute (BCI) by running one 3-week Avodah project each summer and leading the BCI overnight.

About You:

Strengths that will make you a good fit for this position are listed below. We are open to applicants with a variety of experiences. We are looking for someone who:

Loves working with people of all ages and from all walks of life - children, teens, young adults, families, youth groups, private and public schools, local/national organizations, Road Scholar, etc.
Has a solid knowledge of and experience in experiential education.
Is passionate about outdoor Jewish education.
Gets excited by the process (and the challenge) of creating and developing new programming.
Enjoys being part of a thriving team of co-workers and can also work effectively independently.
Possesses strong interpersonal skills and collaborates well with others.
Has supervisory experience and can recruit, hire, and train a team of part-time staff.
Is a “big picture” thinker who enjoys digging deep and thinking outside the box.
Has the patience to see long-term projects from beginning to end.
Qualifications

Basic Jewish content knowledge (degree in Education or Judaic Studies preferred)
Technologicaly proficient and basic office skills – phone and email, Microsoft Suite & Teams.
Comfort with on-line teaching, including Zoom and other platforms.
Acquire/maintain a level 2 Archery Coaching Certification
Acquire/maintain a certification in axe-throwing safety.
CPR and First Aid certified.
WFA or WFR certification preferred.
Supervisory and Training Responsibilities:

Supervise and train two semester-long cohorts of JENE Fellows per year.
Supervise and train additional part-time outdoor education staff, as needed, throughout the year to support year-round programs.
Although there is no direct supervisory role during the summer for Camp Alonim or BCI, pre-summer training of summer staff will be required.
Physical Requirements:

The physical demands listed below are representative of those that must be met by an employee in this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable people with disabilities:

Typing, writing, reading, hearing, and speaking
Standing and walking for several hours, as well as sitting, climbing, and squatting
Physical labor, including shoveling and lifting up to 30 pounds
Handling of large and small animals
This position comes with on-campus housing, utilities and internet. This may not be all inclusive and responsibilities may change over time.

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