Director of Jewish Student Life at Hillel at Kent State University

Director of Jewish Student Life

Hillel at Kent State University

Role Overview

Join Hillel at Kent State University as our Director of Jewish Student Life as a leader who helps to ensure we foster an environment in which everyday Jewish students feel empowered to meaningfully engage with Judaism. You’ll be excellent in this role if you can’t leave the coffee line without chatting with the person next to you and have an infectious curiosity about the world. The Director of Jewish Student Life is the leading face of Jewish student engagement on campus, coordinating a majority of our student-facing initiatives in partnership with the Assistant Director, Israel Fellow, and Senior Jewish Educator. You’ll meet students, university partners, and stakeholders across Kent and Akron’s campuses, as well as throughout the vibrant Jewish communities of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.

What You’ll Do

• Possess a great desire and capacity to build one-on-one relationships with students, and partner with them to create engaging programming and experiences.
• Work closely with the Assistant Director to develop and execute a general strategy for student engagement.
• Provide leadership in marketing, public relations, and promotional activities as appropriate to best welcome students and create an inviting ambiance, including oversight of social media.
• Support and sometimes play a leading role in developing and executing special events.
• Support recruitment for and sometimes staff special student events and trips, including Birthright Israel.
• Will help inspire students to want to engage with Judaism and Jewish traditions in relevant, transformative, personal, and lasting ways; serving as a welcoming and inclusive mentor and resource as students explore and craft their own authentic Jewish lives, and relationships with Israel.
• Provide information to prospective students and their parents through tours, open houses, new student events, etc.

On a day to day basis you will

• Cultivate one-on-one relationships with Jewish students by meeting them where they live, work, study, and/or socialize. 
• Help craft and implement the annual cycle of Jewish holiday and Shabbat programming with the Senior Jewish Educator.
• Oversee, advise, and partner with student leaders and other student volunteers to design and implement programming of interest to support wellness, campus life, social impact, social connectivity, Jewish learning, and more.
• Facilitate learning cohorts with provided materials and has experience with programming through a Jewish lens.

What You’ve Accomplished

• A minimum 1-3 years of related professional work experience. Note: it is preferred that you have worked successfully with teenagers and/or college-age students; at Hillel, summer camp, etc. 
• A bachelor's degree.
• Working knowledge of Jewish holidays, culture, traditions, rituals, and modern Jewish life sufficient to take a leading role in helping to plan and execute a year’s worth of Jewish celebrations, learning, and experiences. 
• Confidence initiating and running programs, and serving as the lead staff. 
• Basic social media skills, and ability to lead Hillel’s online marketing presence for the purposes of student outreach and engagement.

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• An outgoing, welcoming, warm, and inclusive personality that embodies a true commitment to Jewish pluralism – in concept and in practice.
• Strong communication skills with an aptitude for meeting students where they’re at.
• Excitement to work within a pluralistic Jewish community.
• The ability to work both independently and as part of a team, as well as collaborate with University and community partners.
• Thoughtfulness and creativity; have great attention to detail and strong project management skills, and be able to juggle many projects and responsibilities simultaneously while remaining calm. 
• Exceptional time management and organizational skills, conducive to managing and navigating the many facets of Hillel’s work. 
• Comfort helping to prepare and serve food as part of programs, Shabbat, and relational meals during learning cohorts.
• The ability to help create an environment in which students want to be. 
• A strong self-motivated, flexible, resilient work ethic.
• A sense of comfort with one’s own Jewish self, and the interest in and ability to help support students on their authentic Jewish journeys.

What You’ll Receive

• A salaried, exempt position with an estimated salary of $45-55k, depending on experience. 
• A flexible work schedule; the ability to work remotely during parts of school breaks and during the summers; the ability to take extended time off during the summer season for travel, professional development, etc. 
• A comprehensive benefits package including health insurance; employer-contributed retirement plan upon vestment; Life, AD&D and Long-Term Disability (LTD) insurances; generous vacation/sick time; and parental leave.
• Great professional development, mentoring, and skill building opportunities.
• The opportunity to work with a small, welcoming, supportive team on a beautiful campus.
• Occasional travel for conferences, training, special events.

*Please note: Due to the nature of Jewish student life, during the semesters this position will require several nights/weekends, including for Shabbat and holidays.

About Hillel at Kent State University

Hillel at Kent State is the foundation for Jewish life at Kent State University, the University of Akron, and beyond, serving 1,250 Jewish students. We seek to inspire Jewish undergraduate and graduate students to make enduring commitments to Jewish life in ways that are meaningfully relevant to their lives. Our home, The Cohn Jewish Student Center, opened in 2009 as an 11,000-square foot state-of-the-art facility which sits in the heart of Kent’s campus. It is the first Hillel building on campus at a state school. Hillel at Kent State is located 25 minutes from Akron, Ohio and 40 minutes from Cleveland’s east side, home to a thriving Jewish community of 80,000+. Hillel at Kent State University is a partner agency of Jewish Federation of Cleveland, one of the premier Federations in the country, and additionally received support and partners with JewishAkron, the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, and Canton Jewish Federation. 

The Jewish communities in Akron and Cleveland are large enough to have your choice from a variety of synagogues, Jewish organizations and cultural opportunities, but small enough that you’ll soon know people at the kosher butcher. They offer big city opportunities with midwest appeal. 

Hillel at Kent State 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.