Director of Student Experiences

Civic Spirit, a non-partisan organization focused on civic education, currently seeks a full-time Director of Student Experiences dedicated to providing youth and teens in faith based communities with impactful co-curricular educational experiences throughout the year.

Over the past four years, Civic Spirit has developed a proven and innovative approach to the teaching of civic education, applicable in all demographic and educational settings with a particular focus on Jewish, Catholic, Christian, and Islamic day schools. Through professional development and coaching, Civic Spirit educates, inspires, and empowers schools to enhance civic belonging, democratic fluency, and civic skills in their student body, faculty, and larger communities. Students are engaged through classroom learning as well as through co-curricular and inter-school activities. To date, we have partnered with over 50 faith-based schools initially in the Northeast and increasingly throughout the United States. Hillel International is the fiscal sponsor of Civic Spirit. This relationship provides opportunities for professional development and collaboration.
Civic Spirit is moving into a phase of significant growth and expansion to not only new schools and communities, but also to experiential education associated with camps, youth movements, and community service organizations. As a part of our scaling process, we are expanding our team to include a professional whose focus is student engagement.
Civic Spirit is looking for an experienced, enthusiastic, organized, and entrepreneurial educator to serve as our Director of Student Experiences, which includes the Student Delegates Program, Civic Spirit Day, and other opportunities yet to be created. This personable and dynamic individual should have an exceptional understanding of high school and youth programming, camping, leadership development, recruitment, and engagement.

This senior staff position will report to the Executive Director and work closely and collaboratively with the Director of Programs, Director of Education, and other members of the Civic Spirit professional and lay team. Civic Spirit’s student experiences will complement and leverage our work in the realm of formal education to provide training for youth and camping professionals as well as opportunities for student leaders to gain the knowledge, skills, and sensibility to become responsible participants in the civic life of their community and our democracy.

Job Responsibilities:
● Organize and implement student programming including the Student Delegates Program and Civic Spirit Day (program design, event management, recruitment, communications, evaluation, follow-up, etc.) that provides experiential civic learning and student leadership development coupled with opportunities for authentic student contributions to their larger community
● Oversee the national expansion and growth of student programming with in-person and online components, which includes transferring Civic Spirit’s approach to informal/ experiential educational settings (youth movements, camps, community centers, etc.)
● Develop a vision and criteria in partnership with the Civic Spirit team for student experiences of excellence that align with our teacher and student offerings as well as the field of civic education
● Develop trainings, provide coaching, and serve as a resource for experiential educators (camp, youth group and community centers, etc) who will implement civic education in their spheres of influence
● Partner with local communities (elected officials, civic leaders, thoughts leaders, clergy) to seed and create ongoing experiences for students, as well as with university-based civic education organizations to help bridge the gap between high school and college civic learning experiences
● Administer, interpret, and share evaluation data to measure the impact of Civic Spirit’s student experiences with stakeholders and inform the direction of student experiences
● Collaborate with and assist the Civic Spirit team on teacher focused programming (the Summer Institute, We the Educators, etc.) to encourage student participation and foster schoolwide impact
● Serve as a Civic Spirit ambassador by presenting at workshops and representing and promoting the organization at workshops and conferences

Experience and Qualifications:
● At least 5 years of experience in leadership in informal or formal education focused on high school and youth. Professional experience in education, civics, community service, camping, or college engagement, preferably in faith based setting
● Experience working with diverse communities (e.g. politically, religiously, racially, and/or socio-economically). Commitment to non-partisan civic education and supporting the civic engagement of young people with a range of political perspectives
● Sense of entrepreneurialism – experience experimenting and developing new models, programs, or curriculum for educational programming and engagement
● Strong interpersonal skills - Exceptional ability to communicate and build relationships with youth and teens, as well as with lay leaders, parents, and other stakeholders
● Excellent project management, program planning of all sizes, implementation, and administrative skills
● Budget - Understanding of and ability to work within a departmental budget
● Supervision - Ability to lead and manage staff in person and via Zoom.
● Strong oral and written communication skills
● Ability to work independently and collaboratively as a “team player” other staff
● Available to work some weeknights and Sundays throughout the year during the year
● Ability to utilize a website, social media, e-blasts, and other modes of communications to promote and administer programming
● Well versed in latest high school and youth engagement techniques and ability to leverage those to create exciting, impactful experiential programs

Full-time Position. The ideal candidate will be local to New York City and be able to work both onsite and remotely, with flexibility. This position includes occasional evenings and weekend hours for special events and meetings, as well as some travel to participating communities.
Salary is $75,000-$85,000 annual - commensurate with experience.

Anticipated start date of December 1, 2022, but earlier start date is preferred.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Qualified candidates should send a cover letter and resume to Rabbi Charles Savenor, Executive Director.