DEPARTMENT: Jewish Education and Engagement
REPORTS TO: Associate Vice President, Jewish Education and Engagement
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW:
The Jewish Federations of North America (“JFNA”) represents 146 Jewish Federations and over 300 Network communities, which raise and distribute more than $3 billion annually for social welfare, social services and educational needs. The Federation movement, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning).
POSITION SUMMARY:
JFNA is looking for a Director of Federations Engagement Initiative to lead, design, and implement a Federation-based initiative to transform Jewish education and engagement across North America. The initiative will organize Federations to implement a complex, high-impact project able to change the lives and Jewish connections of younger Jewish families.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Project Design:
• Work with a range of stakeholders—a consulting partner, a lay chairperson and committee, Federation professionals, inside of JFNA—to gather and integrate ideas into a coherent strategy.
• Manage stakeholder process to develop decisions on a range of implementation issues, related to which Federations participate, what it means to participate, what it means to facilitate several rounds of the initiative, and so on.
• Design and implement a fall conference (possibly attached to a reenvision JFNA GA), which will feature a track for ~250 Federation leaders, allowing them to design the initiative and start the work.
• Design and implement an approach to raise funds, primarily from Foundations; manage an internal JFNA team and committee support in raising these funds.
Project Implementation:
• Build the system by which participating Federations will design their approach to the work.
• Communicate regularly, as a group and organically/ one-on-one, with participating Federations.
• Design and implement regular meeting opportunities for participating Federations that will ensure that their professional and lay leaders have the skills and knowledge needed to do their work.
• Build a system for sharing lessons learned with the larger Federation system.
• With a consulting partner, design and oversee implementation of a project evaluation; relate this system to Federations’ engagement outcomes, which should serve as the basis for tracking this work.
• Oversee and manage the project budget.
• Participate in JFNA’s larger education/ engagement team, collaborating in the design of JFNA’s larger strategy for education/ engagement and planning writ large.
• Other duties as assigned with or without accommodation.
QUALIFICATIONS:
• 10-15 years of senior level management or equivalent experience.
• Graduate work (at least MA or equivalent) in education, Jewish communal life, or a related field.
• Proven track record of focused, issues-oriented strategic leadership.
• Extensive experience as a project leader with complex and diverse stakeholders and moving pieces.
• An understanding of strengths and challenges in Jewish education and engagement today.
• Experience developing the trust of senior and experienced volunteers.
• Literacy in financial management and budget development.
• Creative, assertive, and vision-driven.
• Able to experiment; comfortable with risk and uncertainty.
• Flexible, able to gather iterative feedback to develop a collaborative strategy.
• Highly articulate, able to convey a vision orally and in writing.
• Strategic, able to develop an idea toward a given purpose.
• Competent in breaking down, supervising, and directly implementing project steps.
• A quick study and eager to dive fully into complex information to develop subject matter expertise.
• Able to travel within North America and overseas as required.
