Springboard Innovation Fellow at Greater Portland Hillel

Springboard Innovation Fellow 

Greater Portland (PDX) Hillel 

Role Overview 

Make your mark on Jewish student life by joining PDX Hillel as the Springboard Fellow. You will build one on one relationships with students, plan and execute engaging events and programs around campus, and help inspire students to make a commitment to Jewish life. PDX Hillel is a multi-campus Hillel serving six Portland-area campuses (Lewis and Clark College, Portland State University, Reed College, the Portland Community Colleges, University of Portland, and Oregon Health and Sciences University) comprised of both private and public, residential and commuter, and large and small campuses. As a “Hillel without walls” we meet students where they are at, in coffee shops, on campus, and throughout the exciting city of Portland! 

You will be the primary staff member responsible for revamping our engagement strategies, tailoring unique opportunities and experiences for students on each of our diverse campuses to engage in meaningful Jewish life. You will use individual and group meetings with students to identify key areas for improvement and growth and create programming based in student needs. You will empower students to create micro-communities that reflect and celebrate components of their identity (LGBTQ+, Jews of Color, etc.) and their intersections with Jewish life. You will be bold and innovative, thinking outside of the box to find ways to make Judaism fun, relevant, and exciting for the next generation of Portland’s college students. 

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. 

Goals

• Actively contribute to shaping PDX Hillel by engaging 100 students across our campuses through individual outreach and engagement at programs. ● Collaborate with students and fellow PDX Hillel staff members to develop micro-communities that create avenues for students on the periphery of Jewish life to find a home at Hillel. 
• Foster community amongst first year students through targeted outreach and 2 - 3 programs each semester on our residential campuses. 
• Grow our engagement at our newer undergraduate schools (Reed and University of Portland) by setting up weekly coffee hours at a coffee shop on each of these campuses. 
• Work with PDX Hillel staff to create a comprehensive engagement plan for doubling our engagement at our commuter schools (Portland State University and the Portland Community Colleges). 

What You'll Do 

• Develop one-on-one relationships with Jewish students by meeting them where they live, work and/or study, utilizing creative methods to reach and connect them to Jewish life. 
• Specifically focus on identifying engagement opportunities for commuter students who are searching for community on campus at Portland State University and the Portland Community Colleges.
• Empower engaged students to create and implement meaningful Jewish experiences with and for their peers (management of micro-communities). 
• Meet with students to help connect them with leadership roles in Hillel, identifying involved Freshmen and creating first year leadership opportunities to complement the student boards. 
• Assist in recruitment for learning opportunities like the Jewish Learning Fellowship and Kol Yisrael as well as immersive experiences like Birthright, Alternative Spring Breaks, etc. 

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 Portland, OR; remote work is not available for this position. The person in this role must have a valid driver license and access to a vehicle.
• Strong entrepreneurial spirit. Things may not always go according to plan and you must be willing to take risks and learn your wins as well as your losses. ● Confidence initiating and running programs, and comfort asking questions. ● Ability to collaborate across teams both inside and outside of Hillel. ● Independence: as we serve multiple campuses, the person in this role needs to be a self-starter and able to work independently while not in the same physical location all the time as the rest of the staff. 
• Creative problem-solving. 
• 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 $46,500- $48,000 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).