Director of Wellspring Leadership Initiatives | Shalom Hartman Institute of North America

Mission and Philosophy

The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. Our mission is to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century.

Position

SHI NA is recruiting an experienced, dynamic, motivated, thoughtful, and organized individual to direct SHI NA’s Leadership Initiatives for campus, youth movement, and camp professionals in North America.

The Director of Wellspring Leadership Initiatives will be responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to build a transformative network of Jewish professionals serving the fields of college campus, youth movements, camps, and other informal Jewish educational settings. Using the Shalom Hartman Institute’s curricula (including iEngage and Foundations of a Thoughtful Judaism), unparalleled faculty, and growing body of digital content, the Director will build, lead, and implement high impact programs that support the most talented Jewish education professionals across multiple fields.

This work will build on a substantial base of work carried out over a decade, most notably the Hartman Fellowship for Campus Professionals and the Campus Professional Network which has grown to 100 professionals from dozens of campuses. Two years ago, the Institute launched programs to serve summer camp directors. The Director of Wellspring Leadership Initiatives will continue to broaden and expand this work to reach professionals in related fields of teen programming and programs serving young adults.

The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker with deep knowledge of the American Jewish community, strong familiarity with North American campus, youth movement and / or camp networks and culture, and a passion for creating learning opportunities for Jewish leaders about Israel. This person will be an excellent communicator, extremely organized, independently creative and generative of new opportunities, strong on follow-through and relationship-building, and a quick learner. This individual will additionally possess a strong understanding of and commitment to the work of SHI NA more broadly. This position reports to the Senior Vice President, National Programs, and is based in our New York office.

Responsibilities

Program Development:

• Develop and strengthen an effective strategy to grow the impact of Hartman learning for professionals serving campuses, camps, and youth movements across North America, with a special focus on the content areas of iEngage (Israel, Zionism, Jewish peoplehood, and pluralism);
• Oversee and manage the implementation of all programs for professionals in informal Jewish education fields, such as cohort leadership programs, alumni network programs, consultations, targeted in-person and virtual learning, and more;
• Identify and recruit talented professionals to join these programs, and sustain ongoing relationships with professionals already in the Hartman network;
• Build and sustain mutually beneficial relationships with partner institutions, including Hillel International;
• Work closely with SHI NA content consultants to develop strategic educational plans for each program, and to prepare faculty for teaching;
• Work collaboratively with colleagues on the Wellspring team, who lead programs for young Jewish leaders ages 15-25 and formal Jewish education professionals;
• Stay abreast of developments in Jewish campus, camp, and youth movement life;
• Develop and oversee evaluative practices that contribute to a culture of reflective learning, including in-house evaluations and program evaluations carried out by third parties;
• Maintain understanding of Hartman curricula, including their goals and broad content.

Fundraising and Management:

• Supervise support staff, and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues in development, marketing, and the Jerusalem campus, as well as with SHI faculty;
• Sustain relationships with existing and prospective funders and partner with colleagues to build new relationships;
• In partnership with the Institute’s development team, assist with writing grant proposals and reports;
• Shape and oversee the program budget.

Qualifications

• Proven experience and success in senior Jewish communal leadership positions;
• Experience working on a North American college or university campus, summer camp or youth movement;
• Excellent communication skills including experience in editing, writing, and public speaking;
• Deep understanding of major issues facing Israel and communal tensions regarding Israeli politics; a commitment to SHI NA’s values-based approach
• Capable of working independently as well as collaboratively;
• Flexible work style with the ability to work under tight deadlines and with shifting priorities in a dynamic, high-energy environment;
• Exceptionally organized and detail-oriented with a strong professional demeanor;
• Good sense of humor;
• MA or equivalent;
• Willingness to travel, including stays of 7-10 days (potentially more) to Jerusalem twice a year.

Salary range and benefits: $120,000 - $150,000, commensurate with experience. Very competitive benefits package.