Director of Graduate Student Life at Boston University Hillel

Role Overview

Make your mark on Jewish student life by joining Boston University Hillel as its Director of Graduate Student Life. This is a big, exciting job for BU Hillel, working at the largest private university for Jewish students in the world. This position will be in charge of the graduate student life pillar of BU Hillel, serving 2,000 Jewish graduate students. We welcome candidates who are thirsty for being in relationship with Jewish people – from students to alumni, parents, donors, and other partners. If you’re team-oriented, never give up, and truly believe that you must “be the change you wish to see in the world,” then this is the position for you! This position reports to the Executive Director and works closely with the CEO and COO. BU Hillel is a Zionist organization that is focused on putting students in relationship with the state, land, and peoples of Israel. With the current ongoing crisis in Israel, we are focused more than ever on fighting hate and antisemitism.

What You’ll Do

Graduate Student Life Work: The role brings a professional with talent, passion, and skills to Boston University to imagine and implement Jewish graduate student life. As the Director, you will serve as the both architect of a developing a comprehensive strategic, robust graduate engagement plan and the solo practitioner implementing this plan with 2,000 Jewish graduate students. You’ll have the opportunity to impact thousands of students - Boston University is home to 16,000 graduate students, 373 graduate programs, and 17 graduate schools thirsty for resources, engagement, and care from BU Hillel. 

This position has significant responsibility overseeing basic religious activities such as Shabbat services/dinner, holiday programs, Israel events and more. You will lead the teaching of Jewish learning seminars as well with Jewish text at the center of each class. You will partner with BU Hillel’s senior rabbinic leadership on strategy and content for each of these programs, and receive guidance.

You’ll receive training from BU Hillel and Hillel International professionals, and learn from Jewish leaders on how to seamlessly weave Judaism into your work as a Hillel engagement professional. Each day you will be charged with empowering students to engage in meaningful and joyous Jewish lives, weaving in Jewish values, texts, and history.

Student Engagement and Outreach

• Manage Grad Hillel’s marketing and outreach to all 17 graduate schools – working with individual college partners and student groups
• Handle all outreach and relationships with graduate students conducting daily 1x1 initial and follow-up meetings
• Strengthen and support student leadership cohorts, such as Coffee Crew Engagement Interns
• Mentor various students in their desire to bring passion projects to campus
• Grow Hillel’s capacity to meet engagement goals through detailed management and analysis of CRM Database
• Drive key insights on graduate student engagement and population for further growth of the program

Jewish Life and Learning

• Develop, lead, and recruit 2-3 Jewish learning fellowship classes per semester.
• Serve as lead educator in Jewish learning fellowship classes
• Weave Jewish education into social and cultural programs across campus.

Religious Life

• Organize monthly Shabbat dinners at Hillel and within student apartments/homes
• Organize holiday services, meals, and celebrations for graduate students ranging from High Holidays to Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, Pesach and beyond.
• Serve as Jewish leader of rituals like kiddush, motzi, leading Shabbat services, supporting holiday rituals, etc.

What You’ll Get Out of It

• High-level professional development to help develop core skills and gain expertise from changemakers, engagers, and Jewish life experts.
• Mentoring and career coaching to help you during and after your position
• A network of terrific colleagues from across the Hillel movement.
• Travel opportunities, both domestically and internationally, multiple times per year.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, Tax Deferred Retirement Plan, Life, AD&D and Long Term Disability insurances, Flexible Spending Plan, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• A salary of $60,000-$70,000 depending on level of experience

On a day-to-day basis you will complete tasks such as:

• Meeting with a group of students or individual students over coffee or a meal to understand which issues are most important to them and developing a plan of action together.
• Designing and executing a strategic engagement plan for graduate students, including planning educational, social, cultural, holiday, or Shabbat programs across a wide variety of graduate schools, students, and disciplines
• Participating in a conversation with graduate student leaders of all types of faith, ethnic, and racial backgrounds to build key relationships and partnerships
• Develop key insights through 1x1 conversation in how to create an engagement program with high levels of reach and depth
• Working Shabbat, holidays, and otherwise supporting the rest of your Hillel team - some times on nights and weekends.
• Participating in a professional development webinar.
• Teaching and facilitating Jewish learning through a graduate student lens.

Who You Are

We are most interested in someone who is organized, driven, and mission focused.  The most important experience we are looking for is the ability to be a Jewish leader, organize people and projects, and the ability to inspire commitment and action. In terms of prerequisite requirements, we are open to candidates with the following:

• Significant Jewish communal life experience in any of the following: Hillel, Jewish nonprofit, Jewish camping, Jewish education, Rabbinic leadership

and/or

• Significant experience with relationship-based work in areas such as: student engagement, community partnerships, nonprofit management, corporate social responsibility, arts management

and/or

• Significant experience with for profits that is relatable to this work, who also has very strong Jewish lay leadership background

Additionally, we are looking for:

• 3-5 years of experience
• Bachelor degree required, gradate degree preferred (could be rabbinic, Jewish education, business, social work, or other relevant to this work)

About Boston University Hillel

Boston University Hillel is at the hub of a world-class university, in a thriving city of Boston, right near Fenway Park. Home to 4,000 Jewish undergraduates and 2,000 Jewish graduate students, BU Hillel’s mission is to inspire, educate, and empower BU students to lead meaningful and joyous Jewish lives. We engage 4,000 students per year, 600 qualify as in-depth relationships. 200 students travel with BU Hillel each year. We have 160+ student leaders and 120+ lay leaders.