Director of National Leadership Initiatives

Job Description Department : Center for Small Town Jewish Life - Staff Pay Rate Type : Salary Employee Type : Job Summary : The Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College (“the Center”) seeks an innovative Jewish communal professional as its Director of National Leadership Initiatives. This creative and collaborative educator will run and refine our existing leadership development program for professionals in the early stage of serving rural and under-resourced Jewish communities and will create new programs to meet the needs of other professional and lay leaders who serve such communities in Maine and nationwide.

The Center cultivates locally rooted, socially equitable learning communities steeped in the Jewish tradition and intertwined with the broader Jewish world. We envision a diverse and vibrant Jewish landscape that affirms the value of every individual and the power of mutually beneficial collaboration. We bring this vision to life in Maine, and we empower professional and lay leaders to realize it throughout the United States, especially in communities outside of major population centers.

We encourage inquiries from candidates who will contribute to the diversity of our college, including its cultural and ethnic diversity.

Please note : this position is gift-funded, and that the continuation of this position is contingent on gift funding availability.

Essential Functions and Key Responsibilities

To perform successfully in this position, an individual must be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily as well as possess education / experience, employ the knowledge, skills, and abilities as listed in representative fashion. Colby College actively supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. This listing of essential duties is not all-inclusive, but representative; other duties may be assigned. .

Run Makom, a multi-year program that empowers professionals to work effectively with rural and under-resourced communities that are politically, religiously, ideologically, and socioeconomically diverse. Responsibilities include :

Developing, refining, and implementing all educational aspects of the program; and

Cultivating relationships with prospective, current, and former program participants, instructors, and mentors.

Spearhead growth and development of the Center’s nationwide leadership education initiatives. Responsibilities include :

Piloting new programs to meet the needs of professional and lay leaders not served by existing programs;

Developing and implementing strategies to increase awareness of and participation in the Center’s leadership education programs; and

Helping to cultivate and sustain the Center’s relationships with funders and institutional partners.

General Staff Responsibilities, which include :

Participating actively in staff meetings and in Center programs run by other staff members, including as an educator when appropriate;

Serving as a public representative of the Center on occasion; and

Engaging in ongoing professional development.

Position Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications :

Education and Experience :

Bachelor’s degree required, Master’s degree in Jewish Studies, Nonprofit Management, Leadership Development, or a related field preferred.

Minimum of 5-7 years of experience in Jewish communal leadership, Jewish education, or leadership education preferred.

Proven record as an effective educator for adult learners.

Demonstrated commitment to community engagement (for example, through professional and / or volunteer leadership roles).

Passion for fostering vibrant Jewish life in small, heterogeneous communities.

Commitment to fostering interpersonal relationships deeply grounded in mutual respect and to forging collaborations based on a constant commitment to mutual benefit.

Commitment to ongoing professional and pedagogical growth.

Physical / Mental Demands

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this position and / or may be encountered while performing essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

To successfully perform the essential functions of this position, an employee must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues, etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employees with regard to the same.

The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines is required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent task completion required.

There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, members of the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibit strong emotions, which will require the employee to interact professionally, diplomatically, and appropriately in such situations.

While performing the essential duties of this position, an employee would frequently be required to move around the office space as well as within hallways, meeting rooms, and other parts of the campus facilities.

There may be multiple / daily instances of prolonged personal computer use which would include keyboard and / or mouse usage as well as viewing a computer monitor.

An employee must frequently lift and / or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and / or move up to 35 pounds to perform essential position functions.

Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.

The overall work environment requires the mental ability to shift focus quickly due to interruptions; an employee must be able to mentally track multiple projects and tasks as well.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate; however, there may be unexpected instances of somewhat loud sounds.

To Apply :

Interested candidates should apply electronically by clicking the “Apply Now” button on the Colby College website. Please upload a cover letter and resume to your application.