Job Description

Job Title: Director of Family Life and Learning

Reports to: Senior Rabbi

Job Summary

Lead and oversee youth education and activities for students in K-12th grade. Experience in all areas of running a religious school program, and passion for inspiring our youth. Supervises the school administrative assistant and youth advisors.

Responsibilities and Duties

Religious Education

• Responsible for overall vision/direction of the school programs and curricula in consultation with rabbis and board of education

• Review and modify/change school curricula and structure as needed

• Work to build morale/change culture of school including more parent involvement, better sense of community

• Work to best meet the needs of all students

Youth Activities

• Work with rabbis and staff to create and manage youth programming that is well-integrated with educational opportunities offered in the religious school

• Hire, manage and evaluate youth advisors to implement youth programming

• Help plan with rabbis, and arrange service leaders for Shabbat and holiday youth services.

• Promote attendance at Jewish summer camps, and support students attending camps over the summer

Bar/Bat/B Mitzvah Coordinator

• Work with rabbis to ensure smooth and meaningful B. Mitzvah process for parents and kids

• Design, implement and facilitate educational programs around this life cycle, in consultation with rabbis

• Design and supervise “Davening Detectives,” a guided tour of our synagogue services for students

• Oversee all B. Mitzvah tutors – hire; provide payroll to accounting department

• Discuss B. Mitzvah fees and ensure the financial components are sent to the accounting dept.

• Check-in with families about B. Mitzvah “mitzvah project”

Personnel

• Hire and supervise Religious School Administrative Assistant

• Recruit, hire and supervise all Religious School and Hebrew High teachers and Specialists, post-High School assistants/classroom aides, and teen madrichim (around 30 in total)

• Coach and mentor teachers in educational practices and Conservative Judaism observances

• Provide professional development opportunities for teachers (Community Educator Day, quarterly staff meetings, other trainings as needed)

• Observe and evaluate teachers

Operations

• Oversee day-to-day operations of school

• Prepare school calendar in consultation with Senior Staff/synagogue calendar, school registration in consultation with Accounting Manager (financial aid handled by Executive Director)

• Coordinate with Program Director and Facilities Director usage of all synagogue spaces on a regular and one-time basis throughout the school year

• Prepare and adhere to school budget

• Responsible for all communications and promotional materials for the schools on social media, in print, texts, and through email

• Send monthly newsletter to school families and intermittent direct emails for specific programs; work with Marketing and Communications Director as needed

• Communicate with synagogue personnel who handle member issues

• Collaborate with Program Director on youth programming throughout the year

Auxiliaries/Synagogue

• Work in consultation with the board of education chairs, prepare reports and attend all meetings

• Work with fundraising committee of board of education to meet fundraising target for school

• Attend board of trustees meetings as needed and deliver reports when requested

• Collaborate with Men’s Club and/or Sisterhood of synagogue programs as requested (Pizza in the Hut, Hagigat HaSiddur, etc.)

• Collaborate with staff members as needed for other programming (High Holiday Family Service, J-Serve, etc.) and operations (kitchen, publicity, facility repairs, etc.)

Other duties as assigned

The Ideal candidate should be:

• Able to think outside the box with innovative ideas for school

• Interested in conversations about collaboration with other synagogues and Jewish institutions

• Proficient in Torah reading and Haftarah reading skills

• Ready to lead/participate in outreach to families in the greater Columbus area

• Able to work on high holidays and some Shabbats based on programming

Qualifications and Skills

Master’s Degree in education-related area. Minimum of five years of experience running a religious school. Ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with children, parents and leadership, both verbally and in writing. Knowledge of Judaism, Hebrew and a commitment to Jewish life and education. Strong interpersonal and decision-making skills. Supervisory experience. Effective administrative skills, including attention to details, organization and written communication.

Salary range $80,000-90,000

Updated: 4/21/22