About Hebrew Union College

Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is North America's leading institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism.

HUC-JIR educates leaders for service to American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, experts in Jewish education, and Jewish nonprofit management professionals, and offers graduate degree programs to scholars and clergy of all faiths. With centers of learning in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise renowned library, archive, and museum collections, biblical archaeology excavations, and academic publications.

HUC Mission

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) is North America's premier institution of Jewish higher education and the center for professional leadership development of Reform Judaism. A multi-campus academic and spiritual learning community, HUC-JIR builds vibrant progressive Judaism in North America, Israel and around the globe by:

• Studying the great issues of Jewish life, history and thought with an open, egalitarian, inclusive and pluralistic spirit;

• Educating innovative, visionary clergy and professionals who embody the sustaining values, responsibilities, practices and texts of Jewish tradition to inspire future generations; and

• Advancing the critical study of Judaism and Jewish culture in accordance with the highest standards of modern academic scholarship.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications, the Communications Director has overall responsibility for leading the development, planning, implementation, and monitoring of internal and external communications for the College with a focus on media relations and editorial content. Utilizing best practices in communications, they will inform, engage, and welcome a diverse, international, and intergenerational audience to sustain Hebrew Union College’s mission, to compel tomorrow's Jewish professionals to kickstart their careers as leaders at the College, and to invite the public to learn with our community. An exceptional writer and storyteller, with media relations experience, the Communications Director must excel at strategy and execution, have strong management and interpersonal skills, and the ability to effectively prioritize and communicate assignments to ensure the team’s success.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:

• Lead College content strategy, including content planning and execution, leveraging public relations and storytelling skills in alignment with mission and strategic goals.
• Work closely with recruitment, development, alumni relations, and academic leadership teams to lead in the creation and implementation of effective content strategies that attract and engage prospective students and supporters.
• Serve as strategic partner and thought leader for international and internal issues management.
• Promote student, faculty, and alumni achievements to help drive recruitment and retention, community and engagement in addition to awareness and reputation.
• Provide editorial supervision to ensure the excellence, originality, and diversity of stories and participants for production, and the accessibility and relevance of content to diverse audiences.
• Align strategic communications across Hebrew Union College to ensure a consistent, branded college identity.
• Lead media relations strategy and execution
• Identify and develop written communications in support of media relations activities, including fact sheets, talking points, press releases and similar materials.
• Serve as primary contact for media outlets.
• Partner with colleagues across all campuses to communicate public events, recruitment and fundraising campaigns and events, special offerings from the Libraries and Museums, student and faculty activities.
• Assign writers, photographers, videographers as needed to cover/report on campus events through internal communication channels.
• Review and edit all print and digital communications.
• Collaborate with Digital Marketing Manager on email and e-newsletter production, including the management and scheduling of all communications requests, writing and editing copy to ensure Hebrew Union College’s messaging and branding guidelines; assembling appropriate photo and video content; and engaging designers as needed.
• Ability to work in person 3-4 days a week at Hebrew Union College’s campus in New York City.

Supervisory Requirements

• Organize, plan, and prioritize work by developing specific goals and communicating expectations to team members and colleagues.
• Provide active guidance and direction to direct report, including setting performance standards, motivating employees, addressing conflict, and monitoring performance.
• Develop and help build functioning teams working toward the same goals.
• Coach and develop others by identifying developmental needs, providing direction, and assisting employees in advancing their skills.

HUC Employee Benefits

Hebrew Union College recognizes employees as one of the most valuable assets to the success of the college. That is why we make it our highest priority to offer a competitive benefits package. Some of those benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Medical, Dental, Vision

• Life Insurance, Long Term Disability

• Retirement Savings Plan -403b

• Paid National and Jewish Holidays

• Paid Vacation and Sick Days

• Paid Parental Leave

• Tuition Remission Benefits

• Employee Assistance Program

Education

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in related field

Experience

• Required: 5-10 years in public relations and/or communications.
• Non-profit experience required, experience in higher education and /or Jewish nonprofit organizations strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Exceptional writing and editing skills
• Branding knowledge
• Issues management
• Understanding of top and emerging social media platforms
• Awareness of newly emerging media platforms
• Advanced knowledge of American Jewish history and community
• Broad understanding of issues and policies in higher education and within a college system
• Able to maintain a high level of confidentiality
• Superior attention to detail
• Excellent judgment and decision-making skills
• Strong oral comprehension and expression

Technology

• Microsoft Office 365 – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
• WordPress, Drupal, or similar
• Mailchimp or similar
• Canva or similar
• Monday.com or similar
• Social media platforms