Overview
Do you love designing compelling Jewish experiences with and for really smart people? Are you great at listening deeply to young people and connecting them to Jewish wisdom to shape their lives? Are you excited to explore how Jewish values, text, and ideas can make a campus-wide impact on Jews and non-Jews at one of the best universities in the world? Are you a creative, scrappy, hardworking, happy, low-drama professional who is excited to be part of an awesome team? Then you might be our new Curator of Jewish Experience.
Hillel at Stanford is the heart of Jewish life on The Farm, which is rich with Jewish institutions and individual teachers wanting to connect with our curious students. Our goal is to leverage everything that is amazing about Judaism and Stanford to help about 550 Jewish undergrads and 1200 Jewish graduate students (and Stanford faculty and staff) make an enduring commitment to Jewish life. We constantly ask ourselves “How might we inspire the full range of students to create compelling Jewish experiences with campus-wide impact?” We are looking for a curator to bring educational vision, creativity, and coherence to the Jewish offerings we provide students.
Our new Curator of Jewish Experience may or may not be a rabbi, but they are definitely a passionate, positive, inspiring bridge builder to how Jewish rituals, texts, customs, and ideas can help students live lives of meaning. They might have deep roots in a denomination or be post-denominational, they love and have a track record of relating to Jews of all kinds, and are excited to work in a Jewishly pluralistic setting. They have their own compelling Jewish practice and are committed to making Hillel a place where everyone feels at home. They have imagination and drive and are excited to partner with students to make Friday night at Hillel the place to be, High Holy Day services soul-renewing, and learning rooted in Judaism a key part of students’ experience at Stanford.
The Curator of Jewish Experience is part of the Hillel program team, reporting to the Assistant Director of Hillel at Stanford. These two will work in partnership with our Executive Director to establish specific goals and evaluate progress in the following areas of Jewish experience:
Learning:
- Curate compelling educational opportunities that leverage the resources of the Stanford community for the benefit of students.
- Engage the campus in Jewish conversation through social media, art installations, and other creative means.
- Serve as a Jewish educational resource for Hillel staff and student leaders, including Hillel’s Jewish Learning Fellowship.
- Serve as lead educator for Hillel immersion journeys, including Taglit – Birthright Israel trips and Alternative Student Break experiences.
Doing:
- Empower students to produce their own creative Jewish experiences and to develop adult religious identities.
- Engage with students with curiosity and emotional intelligence in frequent one on one conversations as part of Hillel’s broader engagement strategy.
- Ensure a pluralistic and welcoming atmosphere by strengthening the multiple worship and learning options offered by Hillel, and help staff and students bridge the distance between their various Jewish backgrounds and experiences.
- Attend and participate regularly in Shabbat and holiday celebrations at Hillel.
- Coordinate, implement, and evaluate all aspects of major Jewish holiday programming and observances on campus, including Shabbat, High Holidays and Passover.
Being:
- Proactively form meaningful relationships with students from a variety of Jewish backgrounds, from Pew “nones” to the traditionally observant.
- Mentor current and emerging Hillel leaders, deepening their facility with Jewish practice and thought, and enhancing their leadership skills.
- Be a listening ear, strong shoulder, and wise guide to students on their path to adulting.
- Participate visibly in the life of the University by attending major campus events, including lectures, athletic events, and student activities, while actively seeking to lift up the Jewish teachable moments therein.
- Represent Hillel in the local and national Jewish community, participating in community functions and other activities as appropriate.
Preferred Qualifications:
• Rabbinic ordination a plus, but not essential for the right candidate.
• Two to forty years of professional work experience.
• An approachable, dynamic, and engaging personality with outstanding interpersonal skills.
• Clear and effective verbal and written communications.
• Skill and comfort in a technology-rich environment.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks with competing deadlines.
• Ability to work flexible hours needed to complete job requirements, including some nights, weekends and holidays.
• Capacity to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Prior experience working with college students, with informal/experiential education, and working in a pluralistic setting.
• Models an integrated Jewish life
Compensation:
Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience.
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.
Stanford 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.
To Apply:
Apply at www.HillelJobs.com and include your resume and cover letter.
New Applicants: Select “Apply for this Position” to submit your application and create an account.
Previous Applicants: Scroll to the “Previous Applicants” section. Please input your e-mail address and password to login, and select “Add to My Jobs” to login and submit your application.
Please include the following all in one word document or pdf:
• Cover letter (no more than 2 single-spaced pages) expressing interest in the position
• Resume or CV
• 3 great ideas for compelling Jewish experiences with campus-wide impact that you would be excited to create at Stanford.
• Writing sample of 500-1000 words or a link to a 3-5 minute video of you. Imagine this as a blog post, d'var Torah or other form of creative Jewish communication applicable to college students. Feel free to submit something you created in another context.
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About Hillel at Stanford
Hillel at Stanford is the heart of Jewish life on The Farm, which is rich with Jewish institutions and individual teachers wanting to connect with our curious students. Our goal is to leverage everything that is amazing about Judaism and Stanford to help about 550 Jewish undergrads and 1200 Jewish graduate students (and Stanford faculty and staff) make an enduring commitment to Jewish life. We constantly ask ourselves “How might we inspire the full range of students to create compelling Jewish experiences with campus-wide impact?” We are looking for a curator to bring educational vision, creativity and coherence to the Jewish offerings we provide students.