Managing Director

The Jewish Graduate Student Initiative (JGSI) is the movement for Jewish graduate students and alumni, the only
national organization solely dedicated to this demographic. Our mission is to support Jewish life on graduate
campuses and to connect Jewish grad students and alumni to their heritage and the greater Jewish community.
Our organization currently serves over 8,000 unique participants on an annual basis from 125+ graduate programs
across North America with Jewish engagement, programming and content.

JGSI seeks a dynamic, motivated, and talented Jewish professional to serve as our first Managing Director at this
pivotal time in JGSI’s growth. The Managing Director, reporting directly to the CEO and COO, will take a leading
role in a wide range of organizational initiatives spanning management, programming, and development.
The optimal candidate is an idealistic and energetic community leader who is entrepreneurial and a risk-taker with
a positive outlook; self-motivated and an independent worker; professional and detail oriented with excellent
written and verbal communication skills; has an outgoing personality and a love for Jews of all types and stripes;
and able to work flexible hours as needed.
This is a unique and exciting opportunity to join a growing and
supportive team, help build a movement, and service a critical yet underserved demographic in the Jewish world!

DETAILED POSITION OVERVIEW

The Managing Director will take a primary leadership role bridging all dimensions of our organization:

1. Management:
   • Reporting to the CEO and COO, be the inspiring team leader driving our 5+ full-time and 15+ part-time
   employees toward professional and personal excellence
   • Implement regular meetings with all team members, both individually, by department, and
   organization-wide to ensure efficient performance, build deep employee engagement, motivate
   progress, and promote buy-in to the organization’s mission
   • Work closely with employees and contractors to set and track ambitious goals and metrics;
   perform periodic formal and informal reviews
   • Help set policies and procedures for staff oversight and reporting
   • Working with Office Administrator, oversee human resources, conflict resolution (if necessary),
   and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, making recommendations as appropriate
   • Oversee the organization’s internal growth strategy, planning and implementing staff expansion
   • Assist with job descriptions and postings, interviews, hiring, onboarding, and termination
   • Other managerial responsibilities as needed

2. Program Services:
   • Reporting to the COO, oversee our operations team to ensure efficient and effective planning,
   coordination and logistics of our 520+ programs per year
   • Help set agenda for developing and implementing impactful, high-quality event and content
   offerings for our programming slate
   • Orchestrate program execution from concept to completion, utilizing the strengths of each team
   member for maximum efficiency and impact
   • Design and implement technology-based processes and systems for seamless user interface,
   event planning, marketing and communications, staff workflows, and data collection
   • Employ data-driven strategies to optimize participant journey spanning acquisition, retention,
   and transition, thus increasing overall mission outcomes
   • Set targets and perform analyses of key program metrics, outputs, and outcomes, from both
   mission and budgetary perspectives

3. Development:
   • Reporting to the CEO, oversee our development team and grantwriting process to support the
   organization’s fundraising activities and further its expansion
   • Supervise Strategic Projects Manager in her coordination of our team of research analysts and
   building, developing, recording, and maintaining all fundraising leads and activities
   • Help CEO, COO, and Executive Leadership Manager to set and achieve ambitious goals for donor
   portfolio growth, cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation
   • Monitor and analyze constituent engagement and communications utilizing technology
   • Design processes and workflows to optimize and streamline donor relations
   • Assist in grantwriting process, helping craft compelling data-driven program narratives, budgets,
   and financial documents for all grant applications and reports
   • With the help of the research team, monitor grant prospects, application deadlines and reporting
   compliance
   • Work with COO to provide development input for all written institutional materials (including
   Annual Report)
   • Assisting with other fundraising and organizational projects as requested

Experience, Qualifications, and Competencies
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or rabbinical ordination preferred
• Minimum 10 years professional experience
• Deep knowledge of and enthusiasm for Jewish community and engagement; familiarity with the Jewish
communal landscape
• Deep familiarity with nonprofit management including program delivery and fundraising strategy
• Ability to effectively manage multiple projects at the same time, prioritize tasks, identify, and mitigate
risks, and meet tight deadlines while still maintaining high-quality work
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with a multidisciplinary remote team
• Clear and effective written communicator with strong language and editing skills
• Strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills; high emotional intelligence
• Self-motivated, entrepreneurial, and loyal; will go the distance to get the job done
• Passionate commitment to the Jewish people and drive to build Jewish community and future leaders
• Open to new ways of doing things, direction and constructive feedback as appropriate; actively committed
to professional development for self and organization
• High technological competency with expertise in Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Zoom, CRM, etc.
• Preferred Location: NY/NJ or Mid-Atlantic