Director of Education and Youth Engagement

Congregation Shomrei Torah | Santa Rosa, California

We’re excited to be accepting applications for a Director of Education and Youth Engagement at Congregation Shomrei Torah! Congregation Shomrei Torah is the home of progressive Reform Judaism in Sonoma County. Blending the traditional with the innovative, we are a diverse, inclusive, and socially conscious community that provides a doorway to Jewish life through worship, study, social action, fellowship, and play.

Congregation Shomrei Torah prides itself as being a warm community that welcomes a diverse membership of young and old, gay, and straight, interfaith families, newly converted, and those with deep Jewish roots. As the largest congregation in Sonoma County (400+ families), we offer a full range of programs such as a TK-7th grade religious school; cultural, religious, and social action events; lifelong learning courses; a Jewish meditation center; teen activities and much more! These programs complement our regularly scheduled services and Torah study, all under the leadership of our dynamic Rabbi, George Gittleman, who has served our community for over 25 years.

Job Description/Summary:

The Director of Education and Youth Engagement is responsible for leading the Shomrei Torah religious education program, supervising the education staff and madrichim, and working with lay leaders to coordinate healthy, engaging programs for children and youth which create a safe and welcoming environment for their spiritual development, while instilling a sense of Jewish identity. The core goal is to have a vibrant, joyful religious education program that fosters the spiritual and moral development of our children.

Our ideal Director of Education and Youth Engagement is one who is inspired to lead and shape a progressive Jewish religious school and learning environment. We value play based and joyful learning. We’re seeking a master educator, a warm presence, and an expert at producing excellent educational content and programming. This person fosters learning, growth, kindness, and community by developing a learning environment that inspires students, parents, and faculty to reflect, thrive, and grow. This person brings their whole self, connects quickly and deeply with kids and adults, consistently seeks opportunities for expanding the reach of current offerings while maintaining and enhancing what’s already in place.

Logistics:

The Director of Education and Youth Engagement creates, directs, and administers a supplemental religious school program for children of all ages, strengthening or expanding our existing program that includes KIDdish (ages 2-5), STaRS (grades K-6), Gesher/B Mitzvah program (7th grade), Madrachim (grades 8-12), and L’Taken Seminar in Washington, D.C for high school students. This individual collaborates with our Rabbi, B Bmitzvah Coordinator, Teen Engagement Coordinator, Religious School Committee, lay leadership, and staff to create meaningful educational experiences for our children and engage their parents.

● Full Time; exempt. Some weekends and evenings required

○ Sundays - 8:00am -12:00pm and Wednesdays - 3:30-6:30pm while Shomrei Torah Religious School (STaRS) is in session

○ Regular office hours

○ Monthly All-Staff Meetings

○ Weekly or Bi-monthly Teacher meetings

○ Monthly Religious School committee meetings (evenings)

○ Shabbat services for youth focused services

● Reports to Senior Rabbi, George Gittleman and Executive Director

Roles and Responsibilities:

1. Run a creative, student-centered religious school program for a lively progressive and growing Jewish spiritual community.

○ Oversees, develops, and evaluates creative, innovative and relevant curricular programs.

○ Supervises, cultivates, and evaluates religious school teachers and staff. Provides opportunities for professional development and growth for the school staff.

○ Leads all recruitment efforts, oversees promotional and marketing materials for the program; builds relationships with prospective families and sustains relationships with currently enrolled families.

○ Continues to build community programming for families, including, but not limited to, grade-specific Shabbats, holiday festivals, and parent education.

○ Oversees the implementation, and further development of programming for teens.

○ Explores innovations to our existing programs that could expand community partnerships and/or increase our reach.

○ Manages and implements logistics including registration, class placement, schedule/calendar management, and school operations.

○ Primary oversight of program budget, overseeing spending and revenue.

○ Performs all administrative tasks related to youth programming, including but not limited to billing and communications.

2. Love the kids: STaRS exists to serve our kids, and to provide them with positive experiences of Jewish identity and community, as we nurture them toward self-discovery and compassion for others.

○ Creates a warm, nurturing, inclusive and vibrant atmosphere for students, parents, faculty, and staff.

○ Provides an outstanding Jewish Education for the school including a wide variety of bridging and social action initiatives.

○ Provides meaningful opportunities, both inside and outside of STaRS for young learners to explore and encounter Judaism in immersive, resonant, and pedagogically diverse learning environments.

○ Creates, supervises, and supports Shabbat and holiday programming for kids and families.

○ Models the spirit of lifelong learning that is based in curiosity, playfulness and joy.

3. Be part of the CST Team: The Director of Education and Youth Engagement will join a strong and collaborative team of spiritual leaders, executive and administrative staff and amazing volunteers in leading our community. The School Director will be part of certain weekly and monthly meetings that tend to the core of CST’s communal life.

○ Collaborates with the senior Rabbi on all Jewish aspects of youth education and engagement, ensuring that curricula and programming aligns to the greater CST vision.

○ Collaborates with the Executive Director on all logistical and budgetary aspects of youth education and engagement, ensuring that policies and procedures are current and reflective of the greater needs of CST.

○ Supervises and collaborates with the Teen Engagement Coordinator.

○ Collaborates with the B Mitzvah Coordinator, ensuring continuity and connection between K-6 programming and the B Mitzvah program.

○ Serves as a liaison for parents/families/students and the greater CST community, encouraging intergenerational interaction and programming.

○ Develop supportive lay leadership for youth programs and participates in monthly religious school committee meetings.

○ Fosters collaborative opportunities for creative synergy and engagement within the CST team and within the larger community.

○ Researches and writes grants relevant to youth/family education and engagement.

○ Maintains and authors content related to CST youth education and engagement on social media, CST publications, and the CST website.

Job Qualifications

​​Understanding and respect for Jewish tradition, religious practices and the Jewish calendar is necessary, as is having professional composure, sound judgment, and the ability to maintain strict confidentiality. Reliability, responsiveness, excellent follow-through, efficiency, and timeliness are also especially important, as are routinely showing great attention to detail, and having good humor and a sense of fun.

● Informal and/or formal Jewish education experience (camp or youth group background preferred), including understanding of Jewish traditions and practices, particularly those of Reform Judaism.

• Undergraduate or graduate degree in Education, Teaching, Judaism, or a related field.

• Experience working with elementary school age children.

• Minimum three years experience in Jewish education.

• Teaching and administrative experience in supplementary education required

• Supervisory experience in an educational setting or working with youth

• Strong communication skills, verbal and written

● Highly organized, attentive to details and follow up

● Enjoys leading small and large groups of kids in ritual, learning and exploration of spirituality and justice.

● Strong relationship and leadership skills, including staff collaboration, parent and student relationships and teacher relationships.

● Strong supervisory, organizational, communication and administrative skills, including budget skills.

● Fluency with social media.

● Alignment with CST’s commitment to healthy and respectful communal conversations

and process, and to engaging difficult issues with compassionate listening and other

community-building tools.

● Experience using the Microsoft Office Suite and Gmail/Google Apps.

● Ability to manage in a fast-paced environment, establish work plans and work across the

organization to align on priorities

● Able to work independently with strong initiative

Characteristics/Qualities:

• A proven track record of educational and community building results; a team player

• Consistently demonstrates leadership, collaboration, and a high level of organization

• Warmth and approachability

• Creativity and a willingness to experiment and take risks

• Outstanding ability to communicate clearly and creatively

• A role model for Jewish values, an embodiment of how Judaism can be meaningful; a passion for inspiring others to share the joy of Judaism

• Vision for the development of Social Action in the context of a school

• Understanding of the requirements for, and necessity of, community cohesion

• Committed to supporting the School’s unique Jewish ethos

• Always prepared to put the students’ needs first

• An effective, flexible and enthusiastic leader

• Ability to listen and effectively communicate and negotiate with a variety of audiences

• Diplomatic with the ability to develop and maintain effective relationships

• Ability to act quickly and sensitively under pressure

• Ability to manage own and others’ workloads appropriately

• Open and constructive, accepting of feedback and always willing to learn

• Energetic and enthusiastic with an excellent sense of humor

• A ‘can do’ positive approach

• Excellent attendance and punctuality record

• Awareness of and commitment to Equal Opportunities issues; a commitment to working in a multi-cultural environment and with students from diverse backgrounds

Physical Requirements

The traditional methods of performing job functions for this position are reflected below. Reasonable accommodations may be made when such accommodations do not create an undue hardship.

● Ability to communicate in a clear, understandable speaking voice, capable of communicating vital information to internal / external contacts. Accurate and clear vision and hearing.

● Ability to remain seated for extended periods of time. Job duties of this position are primarily performed from a seated position with significant computer work.

● Ability to lift up to 15 pounds.

● Ability to stand, walk, sit, reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance, kneel, talk and hear.

Job Type: Full Time, Exempt

Work Location: Santa Rosa, California

Compensation Range Based on Experience: $72,000-$82,000