Springboard Innovation Fellow
University of Chicago Hillel
Role Overview
Make your mark on Jewish student life by joining University of Chicago Hillel as the Springboard Fellow. You will build connections with students, plan and execute engaging events and programs around campus, and help inspire students to make a commitment to Jewish life. University of Chicago students are very focused on academics making them a thought filled group. Many students participate in co-curricular activities which are very important to their time outside of class though sports play a very small part. Developing relationships and connections with other students through Jewish life on campus is what we at Hillel are here to do.
You will bring your love of Judaism to infuse the connections you will make around campus with students of multiple backgrounds. Through these connections you will support students in creating micro communities based on common interest and connection to Jewish Life as an important member of our team. You'll wake up each day (or at least most) and be genuinely excited and enthusiastic about creating an inviting place that inspires students to explore, experience, and create vibrant Jewish lives. This is so much more than your average 9-to-5.
About The Springboard Fellowship
The Springboard Fellowship is a paid, two-year fellowship that brings recent college grads with raw talent, passion, and skills needed to reimagine and redesign Jewish student life to college campuses across North America.
Trained in Relationship-Based Engagement, Human-Centered Design and other entrepreneurial frameworks, you will be exposed to the most successful initiatives from across the Hillel movement. Fellows will work with students to imagine, create, and refine experiences for Jewish life that dramatically impact student engagement, efficiently and strategically apply and scale successful initiatives from across the movement, and give birth to cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to transform how Hillel and creates inclusive spaces for #AllKindsOfJewish.
We’re looking for people who embrace challenges, take risks, fail, and learn from the past, while maintaining their passion and sense of humor. Extensive Jewish education is not necessary — just an interest in creating a vibrant Jewish community, a commitment to learning, and the desire to make a difference in the lives of students.
What You’ll Do
GOALS:
Short term Goals:
- Schedule 3 special Shabbat with Hillel and 10 to 15 host your own Shabbat Meals per quarter.
- Partner with students to create and coordinate 6-10 small group (J-Squads).
- Actively contribute to shaping UChicago Hillel by engaging 150 students per year in meaningful activities.
- Collaborate with students and colleagues to develop cohort-based program(s) and assessable large scale programs.
- In second quarter connect with 50 students who have 2 or fewer touch points.
Long term Goals:
- Double the number of students who self-identity as Hillel leaders.
- Work with staff team to engage over 200 students in ongoing Jewish experiences on campus.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
Communicate with 10-15 individual students checking in or inviting them to experiences. Meet with staff to coordinate meaningful engagement with events at Hillel and on campus. Support senior staff in the execution of annual signature events including; Mega Shabbat, Latke Hamentash Debate, Nice Jewish Ball, and Hyde Park Deli. Support leaders in creating weekly programs targeted to specific populations, (athletes, Greek, multicultural, etc.).
- Meet with students from different cohorts and demographics on campus to engage them, identify their interests and connect to opportunities.
- Meet with students to help connect them with leadership roles in Hillel.
- Map out a plan to strategically build connections with 150 students currently not engaged in Jewish life.
- Recruit for Immersion experiences, Shabbatons, and Birthright Israel trips.
Who You Are
- You’re A Relationship-Builder: You thrive on meeting new people, understanding their interests, and forging meaningful connections.
- You’re A Collaborative Team Player: You enjoy working collaboratively with a team to solve problems and explore new initiatives.
- You’re A Passionate Learner: You love learning and continuously building up your Jewish knowledge.
- You’re An Innovative Educator: You believe in infusing education into captivating experiences that stimulate the imagination.
- You’re A Facilitator: You thrive in creating spaces for students to converse, share ideas, and explore and develop their own ideas on relevant issues.
- You’re A Recent College Grad: Whatever your degree, you are excited about Jewish life on campus and have experience as a participant and maybe even as an educator in a Jewish educational setting.
- You’re A Creative Thinker: You are constantly reimagining the ordinary, seeking ways to repurpose and improve things.
- You’re A Bold Visionary: Think big and creatively, viewing everything as a possibility and embracing a risk-taking, entrepreneurial spirit.
~You’re A Springboard Fellow ~
What You’ll Bring to the Job
- 0 -3 years professional work experience
- Bachelor's degree
- This is an in-person role location in Chicago, IL; remote work is not available for this position.
- Strong creative and resilient energy. .
- Confidence initiating and running programs.
- Ability to collaborate across teams both inside and outside of Hillel.
- Strong self-knowledge and excitement to grow in new areas.
- Excitement to continue developing your own relationship to Judaism.
What You’ll Receive
- Competitive salary in the nonprofit marketplace. The salary range for this role is $44,000-$45,500 in year one of the Fellowship, and the salary range is $46,000-$47,000 in year two of the Fellowship.
- A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, Life, AD&D and Long-Term Disability (LTD) insurances, Flexible Spending accounts, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
- High-level professional development to help develop core skills in experiential education, including learning from some of the most innovative organizations in Jewish education today.
- $3,200 in professional development funds from the Springboard Fellowship to utilize over the course of two years.
- Intensive Jewish summer and year-long learning experiences that will provide you with the knowledge, passion, and critical tool kit to fuel your work building our Jewish communities.
- Mentoring and career coaching to help you during and after your Fellowship.
- A network of terrific colleagues from across the Hillel movement.
- Travel opportunities, both domestically and internationally, multiple times per year (if permitted, following COVID-19 safety guidelines).
About Hillel International
In 1923, Rabbi Benjamin Frankel started Hillel with humble means, a noble mission and a breathtaking vision: to convey Jewish civilization to a new generation. Today, Hillel International continues to enrich the lives of Jewish students and is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world at more than 550 colleges and universities across North America and around the world. As Hillel evolves as an organization, the mission remains steadfast: to create lasting connections with every Jewish student that foster an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel and train them to become the next Jewish leaders.
Hillel is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an accepting and inclusive environment for all.
