Assistant Director of Religious School

Assistant Director of Religious School

at 

Temple Ner Tamid, Bloomfield, NJ 

www.nertamid.org

Who We Are:  

Temple Ner Tamid is a welcoming, diverse, and musical Reform congregation of 500+ households. With a full-time staff of 12, Temple Ner Tamid supports a range of engaging community activities, Jewish holiday celebrations and lifecycle events, supplemental religious education for K-12th grade, and an active preschool.  

The Religious School operates from September through May with K-6th Grade classes on Sunday mornings, Hebrew for 3-6th Grade on Wednesday afternoons and dinner followed by 7-12th grade classes on Wednesday evenings.  We have 300 students in grades K-12, approximately 30 teen Madrichim (classroom assistants) who work on Sunday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, active parent learners, vibrant grade level Shabbat dinners, several teen trips each year, and students and parents who are clamoring for more!  

Who You Are:  

You are a professional with experience in Jewish youth engagement. As a warm, approachable, and inviting presence, you are an effective communicator with teachers, students, parents, staff, and volunteer leaders through thoughtful and respectful interactions. Your formal and informal education has fostered in you a love of Jewish summer camp, teen social interactions, teen travel, and Jewish community building.  You are organized and motivated to work hard in a fast-paced synagogue environment with a strong team of professionals who will serve as colleagues and mentors.  

As a bridge builder and developer, you can communicate your passions and will help to create a vision for what our Religious School and teen community can be.  You are comfortable with change and have a willingness to adapt. You are a self-starter and team player with a strong sense of self who fosters a collaborative environment. You are seeking a warm, supportive, spiritual, and progressive community to immerse yourself into. 

What You Will Do:  

Administrative 

• Serve as a thought partner with the Director of Youth and Family Education. 
• Help to run the day-to-day operations of the Religious School with the Director of Youth and Family Education, and fill in when necessary if the Director is not available during Religious School hours.  
• Alongside the Director of Youth and Family Education, help with recruitment, retention and membership, including: give tours of the synagogue, share the vision of the Religious School with prospective families, serve as an ambassador for the congregation, or any other engagement tasks.  
• Partner with the Director of Youth and Family Education, Director of Shoresh, clergy and other staff as necessary to advance the strategic priorities of the schools and congregation. 
• Attend weekly staff meetings, supervisory meetings, Religious School huddle meetings, and Religious School faculty meetings. 
• Strategize and implement a social media presence for the Religious School.  
• In coordination with the Director of Youth and Family Education, attend to disciplinary issues, respond to parent inquiries, and concerns. 

Teen and Youth Engagement 

• Serve as the advisor for the high school youth group, including creating, mentoring and supervising the youth board, staffing all Youth Group programs and meetings, planning all event logistics, and hiring additional staff as needed. 
• Monitor expenditures and maintain a fiscally responsible program. 
• Supervise and oversee the teen Madrichim program (classroom assistants), including placement, training, meetings, and curriculum on Sundays and Wednesdays. 
• Work with teens and clergy to create a meaningful teen High Holy Day services/experiences. 
• Teach 7th grade Religious School as a means to build relationships with up and coming teens. 
• Plan, direct, and attend 3-4 teen trips each year, including hiring staff, working with trip organizers, directing recruitment and marketing efforts, overseeing financial responsibility, and ensuring health and safety during the trip for all participants. 

• Plan and execute 2-3 Overnight/Shul-Ins for 4-6th graders. 
• Plan and execute 2-3 informal educational/social action/social justice programs for 3rd-4th grades. 
• Plan and execute the Purim Carnival in coordination with the Director of Youth and Family Education. 
• Recruit Religious School families to URJ Camps and liaison with the camps to energize the community around URJ Camping. 
• Engage teens and their families in Jewish life and broader synagogue events. 

• In coordination with the Director of Youth and Family Education, develop the schedules and calendars for the Religious School.  
• Create, edit and send teen-related communications, including emails, website, and social media in coordination with the Director of Youth and Family Education and the Religious School Administrator. 

• Plan and execute Social Action/Social Justice Program, Social Programming, Jewish learning opportunities for Montclair Area Teens as part of the monthly programs which are part of a partnership with Bnei Keshet, Temple Sholom of West Essex, Shomrei Emunah and Temple Ner Tamid, including recruitment at other synagogues, communication, social media, all logistics, budget and anything else that might come up. 

Your Background:  

You have worked in some capacity in the Jewish Teen Engagement space, Hillel, or other Synagogue based education programs. You have a track record of excellent communication skills, strong engagement and relationship building skills, Jewish knowledge, and some foundation in Jewish formal or informal education.  You have a connection to URJ Summer camps or other Jewish summer camp programs and have spent time working at camp within the past 5 years.  

With a bachelor’s degree and other leadership training, you have strong technological skills and are proficient in Microsoft Office Suite as well as basic website/zoom/form/survey/Google suite/Instagram/Tictok/Facebook and other sites. 

You are looking for a salary between $55,000 and $60,000 with good benefits, are available for in-person work on Sunday mornings 8:30am-1:00pm, Mondays and Thursdays, 10:30am – 6:00pm, Wednesdays 1:00pm-9:00pm, 2 Fridays/month for Shabbat, and any supplemental programing on nights and weekends.  You are welcome to continue your summer work at a Jewish summer camp provided you are available for a few hours each week to answer emails and have a one-hour weekly virtual meeting with the Director of Youth and Family Education.   

How to Apply:  

To be considered for this position, send a cover letter and resume to [email protected] with the subject “RS Assistant Director – YOUR NAME”. Compensation and benefits package are determined upon experience and education and are comparable to industry standards.  

Position is full-time on-site at Temple Ner Tamid, located at 936 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003 with coordinated flexibility and occasional weekend events and/or email follow-up as needed.  

Temple Ner Tamid is an equal opportunity employer. TNT does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or based on an individual’s status in any group or class protected by applicable federal, state or local law. TNT encourages applications from minorities, the disabled, protected veterans and all other qualified applicants.