Role Overview

Make your mark on Jewish student life by joining Greater Portland (PDX) Hillel as the Director of Jewish Student Life. As a community builder, you’ll inspire students to be partners in creating a vibrant and welcoming Jewish community on our six campuses. You will drive our multi-campus Hillel forward by thinking creatively about new and innovative ways to reach more Jewish students throughout our city. As a “Hillel without walls” we meet students where they are at, in coffee shops, on campus, and throughout the exciting city of Portland!

You will not be discouraged by a challenge and will use student participation data to help create meaningful programmatic and engagement opportunities for our diverse campuses and student populations. There is no “one size fits all” approach for reaching our Jewish students and you will have the opportunity to think outside the box for how to best bring in new students and keep current students engaged in Jewish life. As the Director of Jewish Student Life on a small team, you will need to think big while also managing all the small tasks that go into creating vibrant Jewish life on our campuses. You’ll have the tremendous opportunity to help students create a connection to Judaism that will last beyond their four years of college and help put in place and craft a vision for what Jewish life looks like at the colleges we support.

What You’ll Do

Engagement and Programming

• Work closely with the Executive Director to develop strategies to engage uninvolved student populations, creating welcoming pathways into the Jewish community.
• Advise Hillel’s student boards (Lewis and Clark, Portland State University Jewish Student Union) - guiding them in implementing a wide range of programs, including Shabbat and holiday celebrations, social opportunities, social justice projects, and Jewish learning opportunities (includes some evenings, weekends, Shabbat, and Jewish Holidays).
• Design and implement leadership development programs for students
• Develop meaningful relationships with Jewish students by meeting them where they live,
• work, and/or study, utilizing creative methods to reach and interest them help create a pluralistic, inclusive and innovative Jewish educational vision for Hillel including leading Jewish Learning Fellowships
• Evaluating HEART (student engagement tracking system) to assess engagement trends and work with the program team (Israel Fellow and Springboard Fellow) to manage engagement follow-up and innovate ways to improve programs to reach more students and have a deeper impact.

Communications and Marketing

• Provide leadership in marketing, public relations, and promotional activities as appropriate, including oversight of the website and other social media.
• Build and maintain strong social media communications with current students, parents, and alumni.
• Work with the Executive Director to design communications strategies for each campus and develop supporting materials (flyers, social media, emails, ads in student newspapers, etc.).

Stakeholder/Community Relations, and Development

• In conjunction with the Executive Director, share Hillel’s vision of Jewish life with all stakeholders, including students, staff, faculty, Board of Directors, alumni, parents, and Hillel's Schusterman International Center.
• Forge key partnerships with university professionals to enhance program planning and execution.
• Serve as a representative of the Jewish community on campus.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with relevant organizations all over the world.
• Actively participate in budgeting and development activities under the guidance of the Executive Director.

What You’ve Accomplished

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• 2-5 years professional experience. Previous experience with Hillel or organizations focused on Jewish youth and young adult engagement is highly preferred.
• Must have a valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• Proven success in community building and outreach, and previous experience in program visioning and implementation.
• Experience in leading complex conversations about Judaism and Israel in a way that is approachable and meets students at various points in their personal Jewish journeys.
• Comfort working independently and collaboratively.
• A passion for working with emerging adults and investing in their growth as Jewish leaders.
• A commitment to pluralism and comfort with your Jewish identity so you may act as a role model and mentor for emerging Jewish adults.
• Proven success in managing multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining quality across all areas.
• An entrepreneurial spirit - things may not always go according to plan, but you understand that ambiguity is part of developing great new opportunities.
• Strong written and verbal skills, effective at communicating with a variety of stakeholders including students, parents, alumnae/i, and university partners.
• A willingness to work atypical hours (evenings and some weekends) and travel.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the nonprofit marketplace. The salary range for this role is $55,000 - $62,000.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, Life, AD&D, and Long Term Disability (LTD) insurances, Flexible Spending accounts, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• Great professional development, mentoring, and skill-building opportunities.

About PDX Hillel

PDX Hillel is a small but mighty Hillel in the never-boring town of Portland, Oregon. As a Hillel founded less than two decades ago, we pride ourselves on creativity, innovation, and never saying “this is the way we’ve always done it before.” Our six Portland-area campuses (Lewis and Clark College, Portland State University, Reed College, the Portland Community Colleges, University of Portland, and Oregon Health and Sciences University) are comprised of small and large, public and private, and commuter and residential schools. Our students are as diverse as our campuses and every day looks different as we travel across the city to create meaningful ways for all kinds of Jewish students to engage in Jewish life on campus. PDX Hillel provides all staff with an exciting and meaningful working environment and more importantly an amazing group of student leaders who guide our programming and are committed to building communities of purpose on the campuses we serve.

PDX Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International. Hillel International enriches the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich the Jewish people and the world, and envisions a world where every student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.