The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is seeking a driven, skilled, and tactful professional to serve as our Director of Jewish Community Engagement to inspire diverse Jewish leaders, organizations, and communities across the Bay Area to engage with JCRC’s work building a just society and secure Jewish future. This hire comes as we embark on a new strategic plan to address rising antisemitism and hate, delegitimization of Israel, widening racial and economic inequities, and a weakening of our democracy. This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer.
This individual will work closely with key JCRC staff, Board Members, Council Members, and Jewish communities to implement our ongoing programmatic strategy that advances JCRC’s critical community relations work. In particular, the Director of Jewish Community Engagement will steward our reimagined Bay Area Leadership Council, and build strong and trusted relationships with Jewish communal leaders.
We are looking for a seasoned professional with experience in leadership development, Jewish community relations, policy, and/or advocacy, who will:
1. Advance JCRC’s role as the Jewish convening organization and trusted public affairs institution for Bay Area Jewish life.
- Manage the ongoing work and goals of the JCRC Leadership Council, our non-fiduciary leadership and deliberative body, consisting of Member organizations (Bay Area synagogues and Jewish agencies), and at-large Members (JCRC lay leaders representing diverse constituencies across the Jewish community).
- Develop one-on-one and council-wide strategies to cultivate at-large Council Members’ leadership roles in JCRC: serving in ambassadorial roles in the community, financially supporting the organization, and participating in committee structures. The Council is JCRC’s most important leadership pipeline for future Board Members.
- Prospect and bring in new at-large Members, prioritizing diverse Jewish voices and perspectives into leadership and volunteer positions in JCRC, with an emphasis on Jews of Color, LGBTQ Jews, Millennial and Gen Z Jews, institutionally unaffiliated Jews, and other underrepresented voices in Bay Area Jewish life.
- Strengthen JCRC’s relationships and ongoing partnerships with Jewish member organizations and their professionals in the Leadership Council, as well as non-member partner organizations, to advance JCRC’s work. Develop and lead Jewish community programming, collaborations, and events with Jewish and civic agencies that further JCRC’s advocacy and policy goals.
- Cultivate and expand JCRC’s member organizations across the Bay Area, and in particular underrepresented areas of organized Jewish life.
- Work closely with relevant staff to ensure working committees of the Council are aligned with the broader organizational strategy and build organizational capacity to strengthen our field work in the Jewish and civic arenas.
- Plan and lead engaging council meetings, with a culture to inspire involvement with the ongoing work and developments in the organization, including working with policy staff to provide education on policy issues and leading consensus-building process.
- Represent JCRC in Jewish professional settings and roundtables, at Jewish community events, and elsewhere as needed.
2. Work collaboratively with JCRC community relations staff to:
- Identify, recruit, and train Jewish organizations, leaders and supporters to develop critical skills, like public advocacy, participation in civic life, relationship building with elected and civic leaders, and volunteer opportunities with our organizational partners.
- Mobilize the Jewish community to take action on issues of ongoing or acute concern to JCRC, the Jewish community, and our partners.
- Serve as the “go-to convener” for Jewish leaders and organizations on issues of concern. Validate and lift up participants with diverse viewpoints and lived experiences, and work to build consensus where possible.
3. Work collaboratively with JCRC development staff to:
- Promote a strong culture of philanthropic support with Council Members and lay leaders of JCRC.
- Ensure that development staff is well-informed about the ongoing Jewish community relations work and issues priorities, and providing support to the JCRC grant writer and lay and staff gift solicitors on an ongoing basis.
- In partnership with the Director of Development, cultivate and solicit JCRC Council Members and lay leaders for their support of JCRC.
- In partnership with the Director of Development, prospect new potential supporters through ongoing work in the Jewish community.
Qualifications and requirements
- Extensive work experience in community relations, advocacy, policy, government affairs, and/or grassroots organizing.
- Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with the many dimensions of Jewish life, including Jewish traditions, religious denominations and practices, cultural diversity, Israel, antisemitism, education, and institutions.
- Strong communicator with excellent writing and public speaking skills.
- Strong commitment to and alignment with JCRC’s organizational mission of bringing together diverse Jewish communities with our neighbors to build a just society and a secure Jewish future.
- Experience working and communicating with funders, including identifying new individuals, ability to talk in depth to donors about JCRC’s work, and assist in creating solicitation strategies and goals.
- The desire to work in a demanding, fast-paced environment with a talented team of goal-oriented, strategic, and caring professional and volunteer leaders.
Benefits
In addition to meaningful and rewarding work, JCRC provides a generous compensation and benefits package that includes medical, dental, life and long-term disability insurance, a 403(b) program with a discretionary organizational contribution, generous paid time off, an employee flexible spending health care and dependent (cafeteria) plan, pre-tax transit pass program, an employee-contributed vision insurance plan, early closure for Shabbat and Jewish holidays, days off for Jewish holy days that fall during the work week, and – most significantly – a collaborative and friendly work environment.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $105,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
COVID-19 considerations:
All staff must be vaccinated and boosted. They are required to wear a mask in common spaces.
Work Location: One location