Rabbi Careers

Overview

Role Overview:
Slifka Center’s ED will oversee the strategic vision and planning, financial management and fundraising, staff, operations, and programming for an organization that is the central address for Jewish life at one of the nation’s premier universities. The ED will work in partnership with students, staff, the Board of Directors, the university faculty and administration, donors, alumni, and other community members to grow and sustain a vibrant, meaningful, pluralistic, and financially sustainable Jewish community. The ED will work full-time and will report to the Board of Directors.

The Slifka Center may or may not choose to hire a Jewish Chaplain during this hiring cycle as well. Depending on the candidate, the ED could also serve as the Jewish Chaplain.

 

What You’ll Do:

·         Vision: Implement and promote the Slifka Center’s mission and vision for a passionate, energetic, and meaningful Jewish life at Yale University that matches the exceptional caliber of its community and environment. Set priorities and goals.

·         Strategy: Create and implement the strategies and structures needed to execute Slifka Center’s vision. It is anticipated that the ED will partner with the Board in a strategic planning process shortly after the ED begins.

·         Role Model and Mentor: Serve as a role model who attracts and inspires students and other constituents with his/her values, energy, passion, intellect, and Jewish identity.

·         Financial Development: Fundraising, including working with development staff to create and implement a development plan and fundraising campaigns, strengthen Slifka Center’s endowment, and build personal relationships with major donors. Slifka Center must raise over $1 million in annual current-use funding at present spending levels.

·         Financial Management: Manage and steward Slifka Center’s financial resources to ensure operational stability and growth; oversee Slifka Center’s budget.

·         Staff Management: Ensure, oversee and evaluate staff’s job performance, including their working relationships with each other and their commitment to, and success in, serving students. Set personnel policies, establish an appropriate work environment, and provide staff with opportunities for continuing professional training and education.

·         Facilities Management: Ensure the upkeep of the Slifka Center building and promote a vibrant and diverse schedule of building occupancy by student and campus groups through clear and effective operations planning.

·         Kosher Kitchen: Ensure the financial and operational success of the Kosher Kitchen and promote its role as a destination for social, cultural and spiritual nourishment.

·         Student Engagement: Facilitate, oversee and promote meaningful, exciting and pluralistic Jewish programming on campus; encourage and empower students to grow as Jews and as Jewish leaders; provide, or ensure the availability of, pastoral care and counseling for students. Work in close partnership with student leaders. Grow the Yale Jewish community.

·         Leadership and Partnership: Demonstrate effective leadership in partnering with Slifka Center’s core constituencies, including students, staff, university faculty and administration, donors, alumni, Jewish community members, and the Board of Directors. Preserve Slifka Center’s role as a vital part of Yale’s cultural and intellectual fabric.

·         Marketing: Work effectively with Yale University, alumni, the New Haven Jewish community, National Hillel and other national and international Jewish organizations to bring recognition and respect to Slifka Center.

 

What You’ve Accomplished:

·         The ideal candidate will have extensive experience and proven achievement in an executive leadership capacity, including financial resource management and development; experience and comfort working with college and graduate students; and a deep commitment to Judaism.

·         A proven record of success with:

o    Developing a strategic plan for an organization and executing that plan.

o    Operational management, specifically managing a year-round facility with many moving parts and delivering exceptional service and quality.

o    Managing a team of professionals to accomplish their best work.

o    Financial resource development, including executing annual fundraising campaigns, cultivation, stewardship, and major gift solicitation through in-person, print, and online channels.

o    Financial management, including budgeting and financial forecasting.

o    Stakeholder relations.

o    Inspiring interest in pluralistic, diverse Jewish life.

o    Building student engagement and leadership development programs and opportunities.

·         “Plus factors” include:

o    Experience in leadership roles in the Jewish world or in the worlds of secular nonprofit, higher education, or mission-driven organizations.

o    An advanced degree in a relevant field.

o    Knowledge of the Yale community.

o    Past Hillel experience.

o    Rabbinic ordination is optional.

 

What You’ll Bring to the Job:

·         Commitment to Jewish culture and values that can be demonstrated either through professional or volunteer experience.

·         Commitment to creating an inclusive, vibrant and pluralistic Jewish community. Will respect all Jewish denominations and be respected by them.

·         Intellectual curiosity and passion for collaboration with colleagues across the University.

·         Strong entrepreneurial spirit. Things may not always go according to plan, but you are willing to take risks and learn from your wins as well as your losses.

·         Capacity to create space for a diversity of perspectives and allow all voices of students to be heard.

·         Creative problem-solving strategies, proactive communication, and collaboration.

·         An inspiring presence which will help others to deepen their interest in Jewish life.

·         Strong relationship building skills and comfort working with diverse populations different than your own.

·         Ability to collaborate across teams both inside and outside of Hillel.

·         Expertise in leading complex conversations about Judaism and Israel in a way that is approachable and meets students at various points in their personal Jewish journey.

 

What You’ll Receive:

·         Competitive salary, commensurate with experience.

·         A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, Group Supplemental Retirement Annuity (GSRA), pension plan, life insurance, Long Term Disability (LTD), Flexible Spending Plan, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.

·         Great professional development, mentoring, and skill building opportunities.

·         Travel regionally and abroad, particularly to Israel.

 

About Slifka Center:
Slifka Center is a self-supporting non-profit that provides cultural, intellectual, religious and social programs for Yale students, faculty and staff, and the greater New Haven community. Located at 80 Wall Street, in the heart of Yale University’s campus, it provides a warm, welcoming and diverse Jewish environment in which students and other members of the university community can connect socially, culturally, intellectually, and spiritually to their Judaism. Located in an award-winning building in the center of Yale’s campus, Slifka Center is the home to Yale Hillel, Young Israel House at Yale, JGAP (Yale’s Jewish Graduate and Professional group), a vibrant plurality of minyanim (currently three, holding regular daily or weekly services), and an array of other Jewish student organizations, including Magevet (Yale’s Jewish a cappella group), Shibboleth (Yale’s undergraduate journal of Jewish thought), Yale Friends of Israel, several Jewish service and social justice programs, and other student organizations. Slifka Center draws its lifeblood from its vibrant, self-motivated student body.

 

Slifka Center has an endowment of approximately $20 million and an annual budget of approximately $2.5 million, as well as a large professional staff (currently 15 professional employees) and a sophisticated, engaged board of directors composed of alumni, faculty and professionals. The Kosher Kitchen is a focal point for Jewish student life and a meeting place for students, faculty and community members alike. The facility also features a chapel, a library, a Beit Midrash, and an art gallery which exhibits a variety of Jewish-themed works. Slifka Center’s rabbis and educational staff run programs and teach regular classes, often in partnership with university professors. In recent years Slifka Center has featured speakers including U.S. senators and Israeli governmental ministers, and has sponsored educational trips to Israel, service trips to Central America, and lobbying trips to Washington, D.C. For more information see www.slifkacenter.org.