Youth & Young Adult Engagement Director

Valley Beth Shalom is a vibrant and inclusive Jewish community in Los Angeles with more than 1,200 families and 75 years of creating meaningful Jewish connections for our members. We are dedicated to fostering spiritual growth, learning, and a deep sense of belonging. We are committed to engaging children, teens, young adults, and families through meaningful programming that nurtures Jewish identity and strengthens connection to our community.

Position Summary

The Youth and Young Adult Engagement Director is a strategic, creative, and relational leader responsible for envisioning, planning, executing, and growing engagement opportunities for VBS children, teens, and young adults. This director-level role leads youth engagement from kindergarten through high school, manages VBS Fusion, VBS’s 20s and 30s community, and works in collaboration with clergy, lay leaders, and staff to create meaningful communal experiences that deepen belonging and grow younger demographics at the temple. The Director is both a planner and a hands-on executor who can build relationships, design compelling programs, manage logistics, and translate vision into sustainable participation.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Youth Engagement Leadership: Develop and implement a comprehensive engagement strategy for children, teens, and families that strengthens participation, retention, Jewish identity, and connection to VBS.
• Program Planning and Execution: Lead the planning, coordination, execution, and evaluation of youth programs, including youth groups, Shabbat experiences, holiday celebrations, retreats, service projects, leadership initiatives, family programs, and teen engagement opportunities.
• VBS Fusion Leadership: Manage and grow VBS Fusion, VBS’s 20s and 30s group, by creating welcoming, relevant, and meaningful experiences for young adults, including Shabbat gatherings, holiday programs, social events, learning opportunities, service projects, and entry points into broader synagogue life.
• Young Adult Community Growth: Build a strategy to grow young adult participation at VBS, including outreach to current members, prospective members, adult children of VBS families, young professionals, couples, new parents, and unaffiliated young adults in the broader Los Angeles Jewish community.
• Communal Experience Design: Collaborate with clergy, lay leaders, staff, and volunteers to create meaningful communal experiences that are spiritually rich, socially welcoming, accessible, and aligned with the needs of younger generations.
• Relationship Building: Build authentic relationships with youth, teens, young adults, parents, families, lay leaders, and community partners. Serve as a visible and trusted presence at programs, Shabbat experiences, holidays, and community events.
• Leadership and Supervision: Recruit, train, supervise, and support educators, teen leaders, Fusion volunteers, lay leaders, and event volunteers. Create leadership pathways for teens and young adults.
• Recruitment, Retention, and Engagement Pathways: Develop systems and strategies to move participants from one-time attendance to deeper involvement, including clear next steps, personal 
• Cross-Department Collaboration: Partner with clergy, schools, membership, communications, development, operations, security, and lay leadership to coordinate programs and ensure alignment with VBS’s broader mission and strategic goals.
• Communications and Marketing: Work with the communications team to promote youth and young adult programs through email, social media, website listings, flyers, storytelling, photos, videos, and targeted outreach.
• Budget and Administration: Develop and manage program budgets, track revenue and expenses, oversee registration and attendance data, evaluate program outcomes, and identify opportunities for sponsorships, grants, partnerships, and growth.
• Innovation and Evaluation: Experiment with new engagement models, gather feedback from participants and stakeholders, evaluate effectiveness, and refine programs to meet the evolving needs of youth, families, and young adults.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience required; advanced degree or specialized training in Jewish education, nonprofit leadership, experiential education, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 4–6 years of experience in Jewish communal work, youth engagement, and young adult engagement. 
• Demonstrated ability to design, execute, and evaluate high-quality programs from concept through follow-up.
• Strong understanding of Jewish traditions, values, holidays, communal life, and the needs of children, teens, families, and young adults.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, organizational, project management, and leadership skills.
• Experience supervising staff, advisors, volunteers, or lay leaders.
• Ability to work collaboratively with clergy, senior staff, lay leaders, parents, students, and young adults.
• Experience with program budgets, registration systems, data tracking, marketing coordination, and community outreach preferred.
• Comfort working a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, Shabbat, and holidays.

Schedule and Expectations

• Full-time position with regular office hours and a flexible schedule based on program needs.
• Availability for evening and weekend programs, Shabbat and holiday experiences, retreats, special events, and seasonal membership renewal responsibilities is required.
• This role requires on-site presence for key programs and community moments, along with preparation, follow-up, and administrative work during the week.