Job Title: Clergy Assistant
Employee Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt
Reports to: Rabbi Saxe, one of three rabbis on our team
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9-5:30, Friday 9-3
Overview
Temple Rodef Shalom is a Reform Jewish congregation located in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. Since our founding in 1962, we have grown into the largest Jewish congregation in Virginia, serving nearly 1,800 households. Each week, we are bustling with activity, serving nearly 200 families in our Early Childhood Center, nearly 800 students in our Religious School and hundreds of people who walk through our doors to pray, sing, learn, connect, and mark life cycle moments.
The Clergy Assistant provides all levels of administrative support to the clergy team and serves as a warm and welcoming face to the congregation.
Essential Responsibilities
Administration
- Triage incoming calls, emails, and requests to and from clergy and direct accordingly
- Produce clergy communications and donation acknowledgements
- Manage the internal clergy calendar and clergy programs on the temple’s main calendar
- Coordinate setups for various events and services, including weekly services, special Shabbat services, Torah study sessions, and clergy-related gatherings
- Maintain inventory of ritual items and order supplies or catering as needed
- Assist with special projects such as congregational trips
- Provide administrative support to board members, including managing announcements and ensuring board member presence at services
- Manage the emergency phone schedule and provide backup main phone line support
Worship
- Organize all materials for weekly worship services: produce programs and Powerpoint slides, create cue sheets, coordinate guests, and send reminders for special services
- Support High Holy Day preparations during the summer months, including compiling the Yizkor book and creating programs.
- Work select Jewish holidays including, but not limited to, Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur.
Life Cycle and Pastoral Care
- Coordinate logistics and provide support for life cycle events: births, weddings, conversions, and end-of-life care including funerals for congregants and their family members
- Manage clergy's pastoral care database (Bluebook), ensuring accuracy and confidentiality
- Other duties may be assigned.
Core Competencies, Required Skills and Abilities
The following qualities are essential for success:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Self-motivated, proactive, takes initiative as an integral part of the clergy team
- High emotional intelligence, ability to interact effectively with diverse personalities and anticipate the needs of others
- Comfortable in a fast-paced environment, able to respond to last-minute changes and requests
- Able to work independently at a desk and represent the temple in public-facing roles
- Able to work occasional evenings and weekends, and during the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
- An understanding of synagogue life, Jewish holidays and customs is a plus.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Sharepoint), comfortable using a range of technology (Zoom, internal databases like Shulcloud and Filemaker)
Education and Experience
- High School diploma or equivalent, college degree preferred
- 2-3 years administrative, customer-service, membership, or related work experience
Temple Rodef Shalom is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an accepting and inclusive environment for all employees. The Temple does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided based on qualifications, merit, and business need.