Associate Director for Israel Education (Center for Jewish and Israel Education)

The Center for Jewish and Israel Education at Hillel International is a team dedicated to supporting Jewish college students on a pathway toward Jewish adulthood. We envision students as ready to make life choices informed by Jewish values, confident in crafting Jewish experiences for themselves & their peers, and eager to find their next steps in Jewish life. We support, train, and provide resources for campus professionals to guide their students along that journey while also providing direct-to-student Jewish learning and leadership programming. 

We envision a world in which Hillel is the central meeting point for inspired learning about and lasting engagement with Israel. In line with the best practices of education and the deepest wisdom of Jewish thought, we hold ourselves to an approach that centers authentic inquiry, multivocality, and personal reflection. When we do this well, we embody an approach to Israel education that resonates with emerging adult learners and welcomes every student to meaningfully explore their relationship to Israel. 

The Center for Jewish and Israel Education (CJIE) has been pioneering this work across a suite of programming and more broadly influencing the ways Israel education manifests in the Hillel movement. 

A core guiding principle of our work has been the Inquiry Centered Model for Israel Education. We will continue to innovate around the field of Israel Education, responding to the changing needs of campuses, professionals, and students.

The Israel Education work of the Center for Jewish and Israel Education has included: Our Masterclass: Israel (MCI) is designed to support Hillel educators toward great pedagogical and content knowledge is in its fifth cohort and has had a deep impact on the ways Israel education is deployed on campus. Following the development of MCI, we launched Kol Yisrael, a series of curricula meant to broaden the repertoire of Israel learning opportunities led by campus professionals for students. The Israel Insight Fellowship, a unique travel experience for select student leaders, has created new ways for those leaders to engage with the essential questions that Israel poses for contemporary students. Masterclass Israel Xperience (MCIX) innovated a new model of Israel educational travel in partnership with JAFI: Makom focused on exploring the tribes of Israel.  In response to the events of October 7 and the war that followed, the CJIE has pioneered immersive educational travel, the Tzofim and Sipurim trips, for Hillel professionals, supporting their personal and professional exploration of Israel, as well as the development of several curricula to support the efforts of campus educators to help students learn and process the new reality. 

The Associate Director of Israel Education will support this body of work to continue the growth and impact of these various programs while also piloting and building new learning opportunities.

What You’ll Do

The CJIE Associate Director of Israel Education will co-develop and oversee a series of interventions designed to increase nuanced and engaging educational programming for Hillel professionals. These opportunities will happen through multiple modalities including travel to Israel, cohort learning, in-person intensive gatherings, and online training seminars. 

The Associate Director for Israel Education will

• Help build and support a robust Israel educational platform for Hillel professionals
• Co-develop curriculum, cohorts, seminars, and travel opportunities that support the growth of Hillel professionals including Israel content knowledge, facilitation, teaching skills, and other competencies to be determined
• Collaborate with colleagues focused on Israel education, travel, and advocacy within the Schusterman International Center, in the field and more broadly in this space
• Serve as an educational resource and consultant to campus professionals building Israel educational efforts
• Alongside CJIE team and consultant facilitator, participate in the development and implementation of a strategic learning process including a broad range of Hillel professionals and academic advisors.

Some examples of programming that the Associate Director might develop include

• Fellowships are designed to build facilitation skills for field professionals that culminate in a trip to Israel for approximately 20 mid- to high-level field professionals. The fellowship will focus on both facilitation skills and content delivery. 
• Design and development of “train the trainer” type programming for campus professionals to lead fellowships on their campuses
• Develop a Birthright extension program focused on Hillel professionals and students that focuses on Israel’s challenges, opportunities, and inspirations
• Regional gatherings focused on specific skill areas related to Israel education. 
• Online learning opportunities and resources that provide access points for field professionals including Hillel U-based sessions, educational materials, curricula, etc. to be housed on Hillel Hub. 

Who we’re looking for

You will excel in this role if you

• Are an educational and strategic thinker
• Enjoy managing complex programs and systems
• Love to work with a variety of Jewish professionals from all different types of backgrounds and positions 
• Have an expansive understanding of what we mean when we say, Jewish and Israel education
• Hold their own sense of commitment and connection to Israel, as a central and inspiring commitment of the Jewish people, while also holding a broad understanding of the various ways our constituents relate to it.
• Have an understanding of the campus and Jewish college students today, with a particular understanding of the challenges related to Israel on campus
• Deeply understand the history and culture of Israel, Zionism, and the Jewish people
• Comfortable presenting a multi-vocal approach to Israel and its conflicts while embracing ambiguity and complexity
• Have an understanding of the challenges of teaching about Israel with nuance, passion, and openness
• Solve problems with curiosity, resilience, and the ability to find new well-thought-out approaches to challenges; and
• Are highly collaborative and a great team player who can also work independently.

The skills you will need to bring to this position

Required

• Deep familiarity with the social, political, and cultural landscape(s) of Israel (including Palestinian experiences/narratives)
• Passion and commitment to the field of education, especially college-age and early career professionals, born out of a love of learning
• 6+ years of professional experience and hold a degree in a related field
• Experience with curricular and educational design
• Experience teaching and facilitating
• Tech savvy and eager to use new platforms and technologies
• Team player excited to innovate and scale while managing multiple projects and relationships at once
• Committed to question-centric, nuanced Israel education, in line with the Inquiry-Centered Model
• Passion for travel to Israel with the potential for multiple Israel trips a year is required. While difficult to accurately predict because of the dynamic nature of the work, travel should be expected nearly monthly, approximately 8-12 times a year.

Desired

• Experience working in the field of Israel education, or Jewish education more broadly
• Ability to navigate large organizational relations, Israel’s tourism and NGO environment 
• Lived experience in Israel 
• Professional or academic training in Israel education, Israeli politics, Israeli history, or Israeli culture
• Experience working with emerging adults, specifically college students and early career professionals
• Familiarity or experience within the Hillel movement
• Professional training in education and/or facilitation
• Hebrew proficiency

What You’ll Get 

This position has a salary range of $75,000 -$95,000. This salary falls in Hillel’s Compensation Level 5, depending on experience. 

Hillel offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, life insurance, Long Term Disability (LTD), Flexible Spending Plan, unlimited vacation, generous sick time, parental leave, and flexible work-from-home policy. In addition, employees are enthusiastically encouraged to take advantage of professional development opportunities through Hillel or our partner organizations.

Time Zones and Workplace

While Hillel International’s headquarters are in Washington DC, we are a remote team, open to hiring anyone based in the United States with eligibility to work in the United States. We have a flexible work schedule, which aims to support our employees in maintaining maximally successful professional and personal lives. That said, we expect our employees to keep regular hours that are mutually agreed upon by the employee and their supervisor. While this position is remote, there are semi-regular in-person gatherings, trainings, and conferences that we expect our team to fully participate in. Regular travel is an expected part of this job, including travel to Israel. 

A note for current Hillel professionals

Current campus professionals may apply,  and if a current Hillel professional is the finalist, we will work with them and their campus/supervisor to navigate a smooth transition on a mutually agreeable timeline. We are prepared to share time and resources during the transition so that a field colleague can wrap up their work on campus as they transition to a position at the SIC. We are open to considering other options that best support your campus while working towards filling this important role for the Hillel Movement as a whole.

Reporting Line

The Associate Director of Israel Education reports to the Director of Israel Education, Rabbi Melissa B. Simon will work collaboratively with other members of the CJIE and Meyerhoff teams.

Hiring Process and Timeline

Applications will close on April 19, 2024
The formal interview process will begin on May 1, 2024
We hope to have someone in place by June 1, 2024 

About Hillel International