Makom Community
2401 Washington Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Jewish Placemaking Resident
(Full-Time)
www.makomcommunity.org
Makom Community is looking for a leader who is passionate about the profession of Jewish Education, believes in relational engagement, and is looking to invest in their own growth as a Jewish Educator on the way to change the face of Jewish Education.
This is a two-year, paid residency in our Learning Lab in Philadelphia for Jewish Educators looking to move into leadership roles in the field of Jewish Education. This teaching and learning is grounded in Makom’s unique pedagogy of Jewish Placemaking and your growth within our Learning Lab. Following two years of immersive residency at Makom Community, you will continue to receive a stipend to facilitate professional learning for Makom Community for 25 hours a year for the next 5 years, in addition to your leadership role in another community. Makom Community is prepared to support you through that job placement and transition.
Experience & Skills Required
- Minimum 3-5 years formal or informal Jewish Education experience, ideally including leadership as a unit-head, head teacher, or teacher-leader
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Experience with and appreciation for studying Jewish text
- Ability to decode Hebrew phonetically
- Being able to study text in Hebrew or Aramaic is appreciated but not required
Primary Responsibilities
- Become a Certified Jewish Placemaker 45%
- Participate in a paid two-year residency at Makom Community
- Year 1: Embed in our dynamic educator team teaching Jewish text daily in our Learning Lab through our pedagogy, Jewish Placemaking, and begin learning how to facilitate professional development sessions on Jewish Placemaking
- Year 2: Join in onboarding new educators to our team, teach in our Learning Lab, and teach and coach in our national Jewish Placemaking cohort
- Immerse yourself in studying, implementing, and iterating Jewish Placemaking daily in our Learning Lab
- Engage in deep and regular professional development for yourself as a leader in the field of Jewish Education
- Learn program evaluation and relational administration to set you apart as you take next steps in your career
- Following this two-year fellowship, teach and coach on Jewish Placemaking 25 hours a year for 5 years from anywhere in North America for a stipend
- Participate in action research process in our Learning Lab
- Prepare and Teach Daily in Makom Community’s Learning Lab 55%
- Engage in regular text study and goal setting with Makom’s incredible team of educators
- Write clear, detailed lesson plans for your class
- Coordinate with the educator team before each teaching day
- Teach daily in Jewish Enrichment, which runs Monday through Friday from 3-6pm
- Participate in a rotation of staff who run programming for School’s Out Camp (8:30am-6pm) and Extended Enrichment (12pm-6pm) days
- Pick students up by walking or public transit daily from an area elementary school; walk up to two miles round trip in temperatures between 15F and 105F
- Build strong relationships with students and families
- Grow Makom Community’s culture of intentionality, empathy, and listening deeply to children and their adults
- Help facilitate Family Programming throughout the year:
- Staff 5-6 Friday evening dinners or weekday evening learning showcases until 8:00pm
- Staff 1-2 Saturday morning or evening commitments
- Staff a prayer service and celebration the morning of the first day of Rosh Hashanah
- Required within 30 days of hire: Maintain all appropriate background checks: PA State Police, PA Child Abuse History, and FBI fingerprinting
Supporters & Collaborators
- You will have regular supervision with the Director of Learning Lab where you will set goals for your own learning and growth and check in with them regularly
- You will collaborate with:
- Executive Director and Founder
- Director of Strategy
- Makom Community Educator Team
- Makom Making Project Manager
Makom Community: A Learning Lab and Leader in the field of Jewish Education
Makom Community is a Jewish Learning Lab that creates family-centered Jewish experiences. At Makom we take the practice of self-reflection and iteration in the classroom seriously, and this is the foundation on which we collect research data in our Learning Lab. This research is then used to strengthen our unique pedagogy of Jewish Placemaking. We then train and support Jewish educators across North America in bringing Jewish Placemaking to their home communities.
At Makom, we offer Monday-Friday, high-quality Jewish education as after school enrichment for children in K-12th grade. Jewish holidays, text, Hebrew, and Jewish prayer are integrated into our daily time together. We welcome the excitement of children. We strive to create an environment where it is safe for parents to learn alongside their children. We cultivate fluency and comfort in Jewish tradition through our joyful youth and family experiences. Makom is committed to building a Jewish community that is open to anyone who wants to engage with Jewish traditions alongside their family, and then use the foundation of community to create a more just world.
Salary & Start Date
$72,000 per year, starting July 13, 2026
Benefits
- Health Insurance (50% covered by Makom Community) and Dental Insurance (100% covered)
- 403(b) retirement account
- Up to 2 mornings (Thursday and Friday) per week are available to work from home per our work from home policy
- 3 weeks paid time off and 1 week sick leave
- 10 days paid time off and 5 days sick leave available during the school year by approval, with at least 2 weeks advance notice, available beginning 60 days from start date.
- 5 days paid when our office is closed at the end of June
- Office closed for Jewish holidays, except the first day of Rosh Hashanah
- Funding available for professional development
- Supportive team environment
- Room to grow in this role and on our team
Makom Community is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome employees and prospective employees without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or veteran status.
How to Apply:
Submit a resume and answers to the following questions on this google form by February 9, 2026 for priority consideration, or by February 23 at the latest.
You will need to be signed in to a Google Account to fill out the form, but you can use any email address (gmail or not) as your contact email address. If you have questions or trouble with this form, please email apply <at> makomcommunity.org for support.
- What about Jewish Placemaking connects with your current thinking or practice as an educator?
- How might Jewish Placemaking be a stretch or a challenge for your practice as an educator?
- Describe a teaching moment you were especially proud of. How did you know it was successful?
- Describe a strong experience of professional development you've had (as a facilitator or participant). How did you know it was successful?
- What about a two-year experience speaks to where you are in your professional journey?
- Describe a team you’ve enjoyed being a part of. Please highlight what made it a great team to be a part of. (Feel free to use examples from your personal or professional life.)
- Upload a lesson plan you have created for teaching Jewish text and any accompanying learning materials you used. Please indicate what setting it was used in and with what age group. We will review this as part of your application materials, but not use or share this lesson plan.
Timeline
February 9, 2026 Priority Application Deadline
February 23, 2026 Applications Due
February 18-20 & March 4-6, 2026 Zoom Interviews
March 23-27, 2026 Finalists Invited for In-Person Interviews
*Makom Community will book your travel and lodging for this interview.
May 1, 2026 Residency Announcement to the field of Jewish Education
May 27 & 28, 2026 Attend our Jewish Placemaking Conference at our Learning Lab (if possible)
July 13, 2026 Residency Begins