Executive Director

Role Overview

Hillel Milwaukee seeks a visionary, dynamic, and strategic leader with proven organizational skills to serve as its next Executive Director. As Executive Director, you will be the driving force behind creating an inviting place that inspires students and young adults to explore, experience, and create vibrant Jewish lives. Hillel Milwaukee is a multi-campus Hillel situated on the East Side of Milwaukee, serving up to 11 different area universities (including UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University, and Milwaukee School of Engineering) and young adults. Each campus community has its own identity, creating an exciting dynamic – life will never be boring!

Are you passionate about and committed to helping ensure a vibrant Jewish life on campus and beyond? Do you want to create an expansive program of Jewish learning, celebration, community service, Israel, and networking to serve Milwaukee’s Jewish student bodies, campus communities, and young adults? Are you ready to engage and empower Hillel students and young adults and provide them with leadership development opportunities to help drive and develop exciting Jewish activities and programming? We are looking for someone who is committed to diversity, pluralism, inclusion, and hospitality in welcoming people into our Hillel family; someone who is excited about cultivating relationships with students, young adults, families, alumni, community leaders, stakeholders, and University administration officials; someone who is prepared to manage the administrative and operational duties, and lead the fundraising for our growing Hillel Milwaukee; someone who is looking to have the time of their life providing excellent professional leadership to a team of energetic and passionate staff. If this sounds like you, then Hillel Milwaukee is for you.

When you join Hillel Milwaukee as its next Executive Director, impact your community and the Jewish future by enriching the lives of Jewish students and young adults in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

What You’ll Do

Strategy & Vision: 

• Embrace Milwaukee’s unique, diverse culture and find opportunities for partnership and connection where these opportunities intersect with Hillel’s priorities and the larger Hillel movement.
• Inspire and organize pluralistic, diverse Jewish life on campus. Create strategies to expand the base of the Jewish student community to include a multiplicity of Jewish backgrounds and interests. 
• Manage all the financials responsibly, operating within the approved budget, ensuring maximum resource utilization, and keeping the organization in a favorable financial position.
• Manage the organization’s core functions in administration, communication, and development.
• Develop productive working relationships with University administrators.

Fundraising:

• Develop Hillel Milwaukee’s financial resources to match the institution's caliber, the Jewish community's size, and the organization's needs.
• Develop and implement a robust, multi-faceted annual development plan, including stewardship of gifts and donor relations.
• Personally engage in fundraising with major donors and grant organizations and develop additional revenue sources.

Staff Supervision & Development:

• Inspire, develop, supervise, and mentor a professional staff team that delivers on a vision of pluralism, inclusivity, and student leadership development to deepen students’ relationships with Jewish life, Jewish learning, and Israel. 
• Work closely with the team to ensure success at every level of the organization.
• Establish a culture of professional development and growth.

Stakeholder Relations:

• Exhibit organizational and communal leadership by cultivating relationships with all stakeholders, including student and university leaders, Jewish community leaders in Milwaukee and beyond, partners at the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and Hillel International, and alumni and parents across the country.
• Serve as Hillel Milwaukee’s primary spokesperson to the organization’s constituents, the media, and the general public, engaging the community in the importance of Hillel’s mission and purpose.
• Cultivate relationships with current and prospective board members that build on the culture of excellence in governance and volunteer management.
• Ensure the student engagement strategy is dynamic, inclusive, and successful in meeting its goals.
• Have your pulse on the changing needs of Jewish college students, Jewish identity development, and campus climate.

What You've Accomplished

• Demonstrated leadership in nonprofit or higher education settings, with a track record of innovation and sustainable growth. Experience in Hillel or organizations focused on Jewish communal work or with other youth engagement non-profits is an asset.
• Managed teams of professionals, enabling them to reach their full potential.
• Implemented sound financial management practices, including budgeting, cost controls, and regular reporting to an oversight committee or board.
• Contributed to the development and training of board leadership.
• Participated in fundraising campaigns, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors. 
• Build relationships with key stakeholders and influential leaders, especially within education or nonprofit spaces.
• Produced effective communications, including written proposals, newsletters, direct mail pieces, social media content, video projects, and presentations.
• Engaged in formal or informal Jewish education offerings.

What You’ll Bring

• Minimum of 6 years of professional experience, with at least three years in a leadership role in a Jewish or secular nonprofit, higher education, or related organization.
• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred.
• Proven success in strategic planning, team management, financial resource development, stakeholder relations, and inspiring pluralistic Jewish life.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills, attention to detail, and a commitment to excellence.
• Entrepreneurial spirit, willingness to take risks, and learn from experiences.
• Ability to create a space for diverse perspectives and ensure all student voices are heard.
• Creative problem-solving and inspiring presence.
• Proactive communication and collaboration across offices and agencies.
• Expertise in leading conversations about Judaism and Israel in an approachable way.
• Appreciation and passion for working with college-age students and stakeholders in a university setting.
• A joyful spirit and enthusiasm for building community.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the non-profit marketplace. The salary for this position is $90,000 - $115,000, depending on experience.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, Life, AD&D, and Long-Term Disability (LTD) insurance, Flexible Spending accounts, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• Great professional development, mentoring, and skill-building opportunities
• 100% paid travel opportunities to Israel and other locations as part of Hillel programming and Hillel International offerings.

About Hillel Milwaukee

Hillel Milwaukee is a community Hillel that strives to create a dynamic, warm, and celebratory Jewish environment for Milwaukee's university students and young adults (ages 18-32) where they can explore and express their Jewish identities and gain a sense of belonging within the Jewish community. We offer holiday and cultural programs, Shabbat dinners, leadership opportunities, social action projects, Israel programs, outdoor activities, and social gatherings. We welcome Jewish young adults from all backgrounds, including religious, secular, and interfaith. We are also open to all local students who sincerely desire to learn more about Judaism.  We strive to enhance the lives of Jewish students and young adults so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world. We envision a world where every student and young adult is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel. Hillel Milwaukee is a partner organization of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.