Social Worker at Hunter Hillel

Social Worker

Hunter Hillel

Role Overview

Hunter Hillel is looking for its next Social Worker, whose expertise will directly shape the future of our diverse and dynamic student community. This role offers a unique chance to contribute to the emotional, educational, and professional well-being of students who often face challenges extending beyond the college norm. As a vital member of our team, you will bring your warmth, adaptability, and genuine interest in student success to the forefront, fostering connections that extend far beyond the college years. Your impact will extend not only through immediate support but also by helping to shape the future of a growing and vibrant part of the Jewish community.

Who You Are

A full-time social worker [MSW or LMSW preferred; individual supervision available] who must have the experience and expertise required to adequately support our student body. This person must be warm, flexible, and interested in student success at every level.

You have a have a thick network in New York City – be ready to deal with the diverse issues our students bring such as: food insecurity, job readiness and support, domestic neglect or violence, sexual abuse/assault, and financial literacy among others.

You are excited to participate in national and local cohorts of social workers supporting Hillel populations, and bring the managerial skills to supervise our two social work interns. You are able to lead group talk sessions, participate as an active staff team member, and  facilitate our cohort-based Jewish learning programs. You bring a combination of a high emotional intelligence, strong communication skills, and a desire to build long term relationships with students for the entirety of their college career and beyond.

We know this job is big, but we’re serious about support. Our organizational culture is rooted in mutual respect, understanding, humor, and work life dynamics. We prioritize mental and physical health of our staff, cohort engagement with like minded and similarly positioned professionals, fair compensation, and professional development. We seek to bring individuals who value bringing their whole selves to work, while also drawing clear boundaries. This is all part of modeling for our students the diversity of professional life, and teaching coping skills and best practices for their own success.

Who Our Students Are

• This population comes from a variety of socioeconomic strata; they are more likely to come from lower and middle class homes.
• That diversity extends across all axes. All aspects of identity (ethnicity, Jewish belief and practice, gender, political, etc.) are represented.
• Their age ranges vary far beyond 18-22.
• Their educational goals are more concrete: Many are seeking an education to exit or avoid poverty; many are first generation born or first generation college educated.
• Their time is often not their own as they hold more work, family, and financial responsibilities than typical residential students.
• Many Jewish students come to their commuter and/or multi-campus Hillels with little knowledge or interest in Jewish life. Often they lack institutional Jewish knowledge/acculturation that might be found in camp or youth groups.
• They are a growing and vibrant part of the Jewish community and our role as Hillel is to elevate their college and Jewish experience to empower their place in every Jewish space they desire to enter or create.

Hierarchy of Needs for a Commuter/Multicampus Hillel Student

1. Physiological: e.g. food security - A Hillel professional might be the only one to ask “have you eaten today?”
2. Safety, or a place to be one’s full self: Hillel may be the only place for them to just be.
3. Love & Belonging: Unconditional support for where the student is on a journey - Hillel is an opportunity to explore identity in general, and more specifically Jewish identity.
4. Esteem: With that unconditional support comes a feeling of dignity and independence.
5. Self Actualization: Connection to Judaism and Jewish community over time.

What You’ll Do

• Supervise our two social work interns and develop relationships with their professors, mentors, and administrators (full supervision if SIFI certified, otherwise co-supervise).
• Oversee the monthly grocery distribution in partnership with MetCouncil.
• Oversee the upkeep of our resources. This includes updating resources on a regular basis, and updating the website, and letting students know about available resources in creative ways.
• Build deep relationships with students, fellow staff, and Hunter College administrators and faculty.
• Develop a rubric for understanding and coding student needs, and train the staff on best practices to serve our student population.
• When appropriate, either provide or bring in outside instructors for specific training, as needed or requested by staff.
• Along with all other staff, fill a few hours each week overseeing the lounge. This gives the staff person to meet and develop relationships with students in a casual setting.
• A few times each semester, be available for evening programming.
• Become a known entity on campus.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive medical benefits and 403B.
• Competitive salary ($75,000).
• Access to both national and local cohort for professional trainings and support.
• Up to $2,500 a year in professional development support, training, and continuing education opportunities.
• Opportunity to attend an annual professional conference.
• Commitment to a culture of self care, work life dynamic, and balance.

About Hunter Hillel

Hunter Hillel is a Jewish leadership and education organization serving a diverse and at risk population in the heart of New York City. In addition to general engagement and Jewish learning, we support our students through character building, training, and services rooted in Jewish values so that they are best positioned to succeed emotionally, educationally and professionally during and post-college. Because of the varied and unique contexts in which our students are coming to college, the physical and mental health of our students is a top priority. Our mission is to give students experience in and exposure to a community of friends and mentors in a Jewish culture that explores life, locates meaning, and develops a sense of purpose. We do this by centering their experience as a community center would, prioritizing their immediate needs with an eye towards Jewish communal engagement as part of the bigger picture; caring for each student we engage with deeply and individually.

At Hunter Hillel, our vision is a world in which Jewish college students find supportive community, self-confidence, happiness, and a meaningful Jewish connection as a rite of passage. Hunter Hillel is for every Jew (really, every student), of every color, from every country, from every community, of every sexual orientation, speaking every language, and studying every subject. At Hunter Hillel students forge significant friendships, meet dedicated mentors, have the opportunity to celebrate the Jewish calendar and engage in Jewish learning. Time spent at Hunter Hillel gives students experiences and exposure to a community of friends and mentors. The culture of this environment provides our students the room they need to explore life, find meaning, and develop a sense of purpose.

Currently, Hunter Hillel engages 1,100+ students per year and our goal is to eventually reach every Jewish student on campus (estimated population is 1,500-2,000). Your role is to oversee and develop the appropriate case management of our students in order to support them becoming their own best advocates in the challenges they most often face. We are committed to infusing every aspect of our work with best practices to ensure we are supporting the whole student and their needs.

More than half of our students are first generation born or college attendees, as such, their responsibilities go far beyond that of an average college student on a residential campus in the 21st century. Access to and fluency in resources to support the myriad needs of navigating adulthood and bureaucracy will increase student (and by extension, family) access to means for success in avoiding or exiting poverty. 

Hunter Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International. Hillel International enriches the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich the Jewish people and the world, and envisions a world where every student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.