Rabbi Careers

Overview

Denver and JEWISHcolorado

Colorado and its Jewish community have experienced unprecedented growth during the past eight years. Jobs and industry, including technology, finance, real estate and related professions have drawn singles and families to the state. Denver, the capital city, is home to a thriving art and cultural scene with natural beauty offering a unique quality of life to its residents. Today, Denver is home to more than 100,000 Jews, making the metropolitan Denver/Boulder area among the top 20 largest Jewish communities in the United States. A large influx of new, younger Jewish residents poses an exciting challenge and opportunity for our Jewish Community when it comes to integrating new residents both into our community and also into our volunteer/ donor base.

In 2010, the then-named Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado undertook an ambitious initiative to reimagine Federation in Colorado for the 21st century. Powered by data from an in-depth community survey, the leadership set out to revamp the organization. The “reimagined” Federation aimed to create opportunities for communal giving that resonated with current and new donors more powerfully than the traditional Federation model of central fund collecting and guaranteed allocations to agencies. The objective of this plan was to provide donors a variety of options to support the Federation and Jewish community and to further develop the programs and initiatives that were the unique responsibilities of Federation.

In addition, the Federation wanted to continue to partner with agencies and support specific interagency initiatives in order to better and more efficiently meet the growing and changing needs of its community. Another significant action was to bring the Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation together and rebrand it as “JEWISHcolorado (JCO).” In the past two years , CAJE, the Colorado Agency for Jewish Education has become an operating department of Jco and Jco has expanded some of its services to the Aspen Jewish community. One of JCO’s strengths is its active partnership throughout Jewish Colorado with Ramat H’Negev region in the south of Israel.

Today, JEWISHcolorado works to secure and steward financial and human resources, mobilize the community in times of need, engage the next generation, care for the vulnerable and support and advocate for Israel and world Jewry. Its organizational structure supports these efforts by raising funds through its annual campaign, providing opportunities for directed giving, and encouraging the establishment of endowments for both its own programs and also for partner agencies. This “reimagining” has made JCO a nationally recognized model of innovation for other Federations. JCO is poised to complete a capital campaign for the renovation of its headquarters; designed to be a convening and welcoming space for the Jewish community.

JCO has experienced growth in total Financial Resource Development. In 2017 they raised a total of $16.9 million comprised of donations to the annual campaign, its specific programs, other designated funds, and in new endowment commitments.

With a staff of 32 FTEs and an operating budget of just under $18 Million, JCO focuses its work in areas that are not addressed elsewhere in the Jewish community. Jco leadership is proud of its accomplishments and recognizes it is positioned to do even more..

For more information about JEWISHcolorado, please visit http://www.jewishcolorado.org

OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPACT

JCO’s leadership and others throughout the Colorado Jewish community view this leadership transition as a unique opportunity to further review and advance the way JCO accomplishes it mission.

In conversations with professionals, leaders, and donors throughout the community, search leaders heard a desire for much greater collaboration among the agencies serving the Jewish community and better communication about JCO’s programs, grants and results.

There was a sense expressed that JCO, in partnership with organizations across the community, should more actively pursue its work in community building, planning and convening and address the interests of the entire Jewish community.

In the past year five agencies in the Jewish community have new CEOs, creating a unique opportunity to develop new models of community collaboration. The new JCO CEO will have a group of talented colleagues to join in thinking about how to impact the future of the Colorado Jewish Community.

THE POSITION

JCO seeks a Chief Executive Officer with demonstrated experience in five critical areas: developing vision and strategies, community building, stewarding relationships with people of wealth and influence, a significant history of fundraising success, and excellent communication skills. The person must be conversant with a broad range of Jewish community issues, locally, nationally and internationally, and be familiar with the systems that address these concerns. The new CEO must have a personal passion for Jewish community, Israel, continuity and peoplehood, and be able to inspire that passion in others. As a senior community professional, s/he will work to foster dialogue and planning community-wide.

The CEO, accountable to the Board of Directors, will partner with lay leadership to provide and implement strategic direction. The leadership expects the new CEO to review all strategies, programs and operations and to work with leadership to consider any adjustments required to advance JCO’s mission. The Board seeks an experienced organizational leader who welcomes a challenge; where evaluation feeds innovation and then implementation, all of that, to ensure that the operationalizing practices of JCO directly support the ambitious mission of a rapidly growing Jewish community.

S/he will have extensive experience in balancing the responsibilities of organization management with the external responsibilities of community development, relationship-building, and work with key stakeholders. The CEO should have experience working with a COO and/or other senior management team members who, in partnership with the CEO, are also responsible for day-to-day operations, program administration and finance.

An important responsibility of the new CEO is to inspire the team of professionals and lead them through changes in JCO’s vision, priorities and operations. As JCO reconsiders strategies and priorities, the new CEO will evaluate how best to deploy the organization’s staff and resources toward the best results. The CEO will establish a culture that maximizes the skills and passions of the professional staff in their work with volunteers and the community.

Similarly, the CEO will partner with the Chair of the board and work with the Board of Directors and leadership to ensure appropriate governance and oversight. Building a pipeline of volunteer leaders and maximizing the involvement of volunteers throughout the organization will be an important responsibility of the new CEO.

Financial resource development will be a priority for the CEO. S/he will assume responsibility for building, maintaining, and stewarding relationships with current and prospective major donors, particularly the next generation of donors from multi-generational families who have been the historical foundation of Federation’s support. S/he will be actively involved in developing strategies that result in renewed growth of Federation’s annual campaign, and will lead the efforts to build Federation’s endowment as well as special and emergency campaigns.

The new CEO must be a strong communicator, internally and externally. S/he must be able to present complex issues clearly and effectively so as to build consensus around plans of action. With clear and inspiring vision and strategies in place, the CEO will work with marketing and communications professionals to enhance connection with various audiences and to increase visibility and understanding of JCO’s work throughout the community.

The new CEO must be a community leader who will continue to engage and strengthen relationships with agencies, organizations, synagogues and other professionals and politicians with the goal of enhancing collaboration and innovation to meet the needs and challenges of growing Jewish life locally and abroad

RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership & Executive Management

● Provide visionary and strategic leadership to the Board, staff, and the community. Execute and implement strategies and programs which carry out the shared vision formulated with the Board. Assess the current landscape and develop a strategic plan to continue to position JCO as a central convener and leader in the community at-large.

● Provide supervision, mentoring and professional development and growth to JCO professionals. Set, foster, and model a positive and collaborative environment within the organization. Recruit, lead, and evaluate a high-performance professional and lay team that can effectively carry out the primary programs and mission of Federation.

● Ensure that JCO’s human resources, data platforms and technology systems are aligned to meet its goals and expectations effectively.

● Work closely with the volunteer leadership and staff responsible for finance and administration, ensuring that fiscal oversight and management is in place. Regularly evaluate the management and status of all financial resources and procedures.

● Oversee the Board and staff process for developing the annual budget.

Fundraising

● Lead the professional team responsible for planning and executing financial resource development within the community, with emphasis on the development of effective strategies and solicitation training to increase both the funds received for the annual campaign and the number of donors.

● Be personally active in building relationships with major donors, and soliciting these major contributors to the annual campaign, designated campaign and endowment fund.

● Work with FRD team to develop and implement strong systems for data tracking, data analysis and prospect research of donors.

● Motivate both lay leaders and professionals in their fundraising efforts.

● Identify new and potential donors to JCO. Work with staff and lay leadership to build engagement strategies to develop long-term relationships with potential donors and community members. Particular emphasis should be placed on developing relationships with currently under-represented streams in the leadership (e.g., younger families, interfaith families, LGBTQ community).

● Establish and implement data driven systems and structure to guide JCO and the community enabling them to respond to, thrive, and understand the shifts and real-time demographics within the world of charitable giving and within a changing Federation world.

Community Relations

● Deepen and strengthen the culture of cooperation both within JCO and with its partners.

● Build JCO’s role as a resource, convener, and a facilitator of strategic partnerships, programs and initiatives.

● Serve as a primary spokesperson of JCO along with the lay president, throughout the Jewish and greater Colorado community, with private and public funders and with national and international organizations, partners and beneficiaries.

● Ensure that JCO’s story, message and positions are effectively developed and disseminated to the Jewish and general community.

● Serve as a visible representative (together with other staff and leadership) in the religious, cultural and social activities of the community.

Board Development

● Develop short and long-term strategies for engaging and cultivating future lay leadership.

● Serve as professional advisor and resource to the Board in all areas of finance, policy, programs and governance.

● Work with the Board to articulate its strategic leadership and vision.

● Work with the Board to cultivate, recruit, and retain effective placement of, and maintain relationships with, top lay leadership and leadership prospects.

Financial Management

● Provide sound fiscal leadership and fiduciary oversight.

● Work closely with the volunteer leadership and staff responsible for finance and administration, ensuring that fiscal oversight and management is in place.

● Manage the process for developing JCO’s annual budget, with participation and buy-in by lay leadership.

Operations

● Recruit, train, motivate, and supervise a professional team to effectively carry out the primary and secondary functions of the Federation.

● Participate in the recruitment and inspiration of new volunteer leadership for the Federation and community agencies and organizations.

● Increase the visibility of JCO and improve the public’s understanding of its unique programs and services.

● Create and nurture a culture of cooperation within JCO, its constituent and partner agencies, and throughout the Jewish community in Colorado. Advance JCO’s successes as a convener and a facilitator of strategic partnerships, programs and initiatives.

● Partner with volunteer and professional leaders to advance collaborative opportunities with the Agencies and JEWSHcolorado.

● Act as the primary advocate and leader for efforts by JEWISHcolorado to change its role within the community and how it addresses needs, interacts with partners and services and the Jewish community.