Senior Director of Jewish Life
JCC of Greater Pittsburgh
BACKGROUND
For more than 128 years, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh has enriched our community by creating an environment rooted in Jewish values that strengthens the physical, intellectual, and spiritual well-being of individuals and families.
As one of western Pennsylvania's largest social service, recreational and educational organizations, the JCC serves more than 30,000 individuals, operating a wide-ranging network of services that includes early childhood development, after-school programs, day and resident camps, a continuum of older adult programs, fitness and wellness activities, inclusion services, cultural activities, and 200+ active partnerships with the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
The JCC operates three year-round facilities and a 100-acre day camp/community recreation facility in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, with Emma Kaufmann Camp located in nearby Morgantown, West Virginia. The JCC is a valued partner and beneficiary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, United Way of Allegheny County, and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. The JCC is an equal opportunity employer.
POSITION
The JCC seeks an innovative leader with an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for Jewish life and living within a diverse and pluralistic environment to serve as its second Senior Director of Jewish Life. This position reports to the CEO and serves on the JCC’s professional leadership team, with core focus on ensuring that Jewish values and expression are woven through the fabric of daily JCC life. This position requires an individual who sees him/her/themself as a change agent, meeting the community where it is and supporting its future potential. This position is rooted in Jewish peoplehood, building Jewish community, facilitating cross cultural relationships, and supporting connections with Israel and the Jewish world.
This position leads and implements regular activities of the JCC’s Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement (CFLK) established in August 2017 to strategically counter the demoralizing rhetoric of public discourse to strengthen the fabric of the community by amplifying the long-held values of ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ and ‘Do not stand idle while your neighbor bleeds’ as we redefine ‘neighbor’ from a geographic term to a moral concept. The CFLK fulfills this goal by creating and modeling safe spaces in which neighbors can live in community with one another based on our shared humanity through real and perceived differences.
In addition, this position directs community engagement through PJ Library activities in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and leads regular Jewish holiday celebrations. This role includes regular consultative support of the community’s Diller Teen Leadership program, Partnership2Gether gesher l’kesher activities, and related endeavors.
PRINCIPLE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Leadership & Management
- Ensures implementation and translation of the JCC's Jewish mission and values into operational plans and programs, consulting and advising leadership team members of discreet JCC areas of service.
- Executes and administers ongoing Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement programs and evaluates impact measures for the platform.
- Advises the CEO, board, and professional staff on relevant national and local trends and research in Jewish life that impact agency programs and services.
- Strengthens intra-JCC communication and work collaboratively with the professional leadership team to integrate Jewish life and values across program activities and functions.
- Counsels and supports the infusion of Jewish content and peoplehood into operational plans and programs.
- Manages and supervises applicable members of the JCC’s professional staff who execute specific Jewish life and living programs.
- Oversees and supports Jewish Life and Living Committee of the JCC Board of Directors as well as the CFLK Advisory Board.
- Serves as a role model for others and performs actions that demonstrate agency core values.
- Builds a climate of candor and respect for differences.
- Empowers employees to seek information that helps them to develop and assess a variety of potential solutions.
- Creates supportive settings for employees to feel empowered and valued, to enhance employee engagement, productivity, and job satisfaction.
- Fosters an innovative culture by encouraging employees to experiment with processes and take calculated risks.
Operations
- Directs the seamless integration and coordination of the CFLK and PJ Library into the menu of regular JCC programming.
- Allocates human resources, financial resources, and capital resources to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of services in response to customer needs.
- Creates and implements on-going evaluation and benchmarking of programs.
- Develops and strengthens partnerships with new and existing organizations (local, Israeli, and global) with a focus the Jewish ecosystem in greater Pittsburgh. Within CFLK responsibilities, to broaden partnerships outside the Jewish community.
- Ensures the delivery of quality customer service in keeping with agency operational goals.
Financial/Budget Management
- In conjunction with the CEO and the CFO, coordinates and oversees inter-department budgeting processes.
- Develops and monitors monthly business metrics and analytics.
- Monitors and analyzes Divisional financial performance, trends, and potential areas for improvement.
- Maintains an on-going understanding of the demographics of the Pittsburgh Jewish community in order to help shape and understand opportunity for market growth.
- In conjunction with the CEO and senior program staff, develops and innovates around new or more impactful areas of revenue tracking and generation.
Board Relationship
- Attends meetings of the Board, Budget Committee and selected committees and task forces, providing information, reports, and recommendations.
- In conjunction with the CEO and the CFO, advises the Board and Budget Committee in the fiscal planning for the JCC relative to program services.
(These responsibilities are not to be construed as a complete statement of all duties performed.)
QUALIFICATIONS/CHARACTERISTICS:
- Exceptional leadership, management, communication, and motivational skills.
- Exceptional strategic thinker who possesses the ability to consider both the strategic and tactical aspects of decisions.
- Knowledge of current trends in the American Jewish landscape and pluralistic in approach to meeting individual and community needs.
- Ability and desire to be innovative around all areas of programming, operations, and staff supervision and growth.
- Understands the significance of fund development and possesses capabilities to either fundraise or materially support fundraising efforts.
- Ability to be proactive and creative in overcoming obstacles and resource constraints and new approaches.
- Demonstrated capacity to act decisively and expeditiously to implement plans.
- Ability to self-motivate, take initiative, and work independently.
- Ability to relate to multiple constituencies including the CEO, Board of Directors, staff, members, organizational partners, community leaders and volunteers.
- Proficiency to work collaboratively with other members of the professional leadership team of the organization.
- Strong knowledge of and passion for the Jewish community, Jewish peoplehood, Jewish customs and celebrations and an expressed commitment to Israel’s right to exist as an independent Jewish state.
- An advanced degree in Jewish education (formal or experiential), Jewish studies, Jewish professional leadership or a rabbinical or cantorial degree is required, with at least 5 years of professional experience.
- Work hours including evenings, weekends, and holidays as necessary. While schedule is flexible, the individual is an integral leadership team member of an organization that serves the multi-faceted needs of the Jewish community and community at large 365 days a year.
PHYSICAL QUALIFICATIONS:
- While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to use hands to touch, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear.
- The Employee is frequently required to stand and walk.
- Occasionally the employee is required to sit.
- The Employee is frequently required to lift up to 25 pounds and occasionally required to lift up to 40 pounds.
- Vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
CERTIFICATIONS:
- PA Criminal History Clearance
- PA Child Abuse Clearance
- FBI Clearance
- PA Mandated Reporter Training
- First Aid/CPR Certification
COMPENSATION:
Salary range for this leadership position is $100,000-$150,000 along with an attractive benefits package which includes health insurance, 401K, paid time off, performance-based bonus and complementary JCC membership.
This is a full-time, year-round position based in Pittsburgh, PA.
Start date is flexible, but no later than June 1, 2024.
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