Songleader and Music Assistant

Job Title: Songleader and Music Assistant

Employee Status: Full-time, Non-Exempt

Reports to: Cantor

Overview

Temple Rodef Shalom is a Reform Jewish congregation located in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC. Since our founding in 1962, we have grown into the largest Jewish congregation in Virginia, serving over 1,700 households. We are bustling with activity, serving over 200 families in our Early Childhood Center, 800 students in our Religious School and hundreds of people each week who walk through our doors or connect virtually to pray, sing, learn, connect, and mark life cycle moments.

The Songleader and Music Assistant supports the music program in worship services, Religious School, and in our six-week summer day Camp. This person will also work alongside the cantors to support the choirs, keep our music files organized, and manage our music calendar.

Work Schedule: The Songleader and Music Assistant is a 40-hour a week job and is a member of the full-time Temple staff. When Religious School is in session, the work schedule is Sunday – Thursday, unless there is a Shabbat worship service for which this person is songleading. When Religious School is not in session, the regular workweek is Monday-Friday. This position requires some evening and weekend hours – about one night per week. Flextime is offered.

Essential Responsibilities:

Youth Education:

• Serve as the primary music teacher for the Religious School, including leading t’fillah alongside the clergy or Religious School Director
• Serve as the lead teacher for the other music teachers and music madrichim on RS staff
• Develop and oversee the TRS RS music curriculum
• Collaborate with the Early Childhood Center’s music teacher

Choir/Band:

• Support the cantors in directing our youth choirs by playing guitar, organizing music, attending rehearsals and conducting as needed
• Provide administrative support to our choirs and bands by gathering music, putting in setups for rehearsals, communicating with members about upcoming rehearsals and events, and answering parent questions
• Create and lead a teen band, selecting relevant music and scheduling rehearsals to prepare for 2-3 performances per year

Services/special program:

• Participate in a monthly Friday night Family Shabbat service (with a band) and a monthly Saturday morning Tot Shabbat service
• Lead music for up to five special worship experiences throughout the year, including Teen shabbat, Hot Shabbat, Confirmation, and others as needed
• Write and assist in the production of our annual youth Purim spiel
• Participate and help coordinate artist-in-residence programs as needed, generally 1-2 per year

Camp Rodef Shalom (June- July):

• Serve as head song leader in our 6-week day camp, teaching Jewish music to campers ages 4-14, leading Shabbat worship, and overseeing 2-5 song leaders and/or music specialists
• Serve as part of the camp’s Jewish Experiences Team, Collaborating with Educator, Shabbat Coordinator and other camp staff to integrate music into the overall camp experience

Music Assistant in the clergy suite:

• Maintain our virtual and hard-copy music library, keeping it current and organized
• Manage the music calendar and roster of musicians
• Manage the music pages on the TRS website
• JLicense inputting (music copyright submission)

Core Competencies and Qualifications

The successful Songleader and Music Assistant will:

• Be self-motivated, proactive, comfortable working independently and taking initiative
• Be organized, detail orientated, and able to meet deadlines in a timely manner
• Demonstrate proven success on a fast-paced, high-impact team
• Possess excellent written and oral communication skills
• Be comfortable speaking and performing in public
• Possess enthusiasm for Jewish music and song-leading, filled with ruach and fun
• Be proficient in guitar and/or piano and be able to read music
• Have knowledge of Reform based Jewish music repertoire
• Possess classroom management skills and an awareness of child development
• Look forward to learning new skills and growing musically and Judaically
• Be familiar with Office suite and Forscore.

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment (computers, phones, photocopiers/scanners) and software (Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Sharepoint, Zoom and Filemaker Database.

Physical Requirements

The music educator must be able to be comfortable engaging a group of children while playing a musical instrument at the same time, sitting or standing. They must be able to teach hand and body movements that accompany some of the songs. They must be able to quickly assist a child should an emergency arise- that might include lifting a child, running to get a defibrillator, or calling 911. They must also feel comfortable sitting at a desk working on a computer for 2-3 hours at a time.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60,000.00 - $65,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Weekend availability

COVID-19 considerations:
All employees are required to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination and must wear masks when in public spaces within the office.

Education:

• Bachelor's (Preferred)

Work Location: One location