Rabbi/Senior Jewish Educator

Texas Hillel Foundation

Role Overview

Join Texas Hillel as the Rabbi / Senior Jewish Educator to help enrich the lives of students and shape the future of Jewish life on a large, vibrant campus in one of America’s most exciting cities. As a relationship-builder and a passionate and engaging educator, you will spend time with students in the Hillel building and around campus, maintaining and increasing involvement of students in all aspects of Jewish life on campus. The Senior Jewish Educator will embrace Hillel’s pluralistic identity and serve as a Judaic role model and resource for students at various places in their Jewish journeys. Working collaboratively with staff and student leaders, you will infuse Hillel’s programs and initiatives with meaningful Jewish content and provide frameworks for the continued growth of our students. As the Rabbi/Senior Jewish Educator at the University of Texas at Austin, you can relate to students from diverse Judaic, social, and academic backgrounds and perspectives.

What You’ll Do

• Have oversight of religious and spiritual life and the educational vision at Texas Hillel.
• Build relationships with approximately 200 students from diverse backgrounds through meaningful conversations and by creating connections to opportunities to participate in Jewish life on campus. A significant portion of these students should be previously uninvolved in Jewish life.  
• Develop and support vibrant Jewish experiences, one-on-one or small group learning, and educational programs such as Jewish learning fellowships, Alternative Break and Perspectives trips. Pilot creative, new educational approaches and initiatives on campus and regularly evaluate programs.
• Direct our Jewish Learning Fellowship Program, including curriculum-planning and design, cohort-building, recruitment, marketing, teaching and grant-reporting.
• Partner with the Jewish Student Life team and student leaders on owning and nurturing Hillel’s Shabbat and holiday experiences, including designing content experiences for High Holidays and identifying new educational opportunities for student growth.
• Identify needs of the Jewish communities on campus that are underserved and develop strategies for meeting these needs with proven community organizing and outreach methods.
• Provide non-judgemental pastoral counseling, support and when appropriate, referrals to trained professionals.
• Reporting to the Executive Director, collaborate with the full Hillel staff team and work in partnership with the Jewish Student Life team (the program/engagement division of the Hillel staff) to uphold Texas Hillel’s mission while shaping and developing the educational vision.
• Staff Birthright Israel, Alternative Break and Perspectives trips and assist with marketing, recruitment, and program planning and support.
• Develop and nurture relationships with University student life, clergy members from non Jewish organizations, the University Interfaith Council and the local Jewish community.
• Work with early career staff on their own Jewish knowledge, self-confidence and educational skills.

On a day to day basis you will

• Facilitate learning opportunities for students such as fellowships, workshops and classes.  
• Have coffee with students to discover their interests and passions and work together to create relevant and meaningful programming. 
• Lead learning sessions for staff to support their Jewish growth.
• Join a fraternity for dinner at their chapter house and lead a conversation about an issue connecting Judaism to a relevant topic in their lives.
• Support student leaders interested in learning to lead Shabbat services and rituals, as well as holiday celebrations.
• Serve as the staff lead for certain Texas Hillel clubs and groups like the Jewish Life Committee and Texans For Israel and others that may arise out of student interest.
• Complete administrative tasks such as: tracking engagement data, writing grant reports and attending trainings and meetings.

What You’ve Accomplished

• Rabbinic ordination or an advanced degree in Jewish studies, Jewish education or a related field.  
• 4+ years of relevant work experience. Experience in community organizing, Hillel, youth movements, camping, or experiential Jewish education is a plus. 
• Proven success in community building and outreach and previous experience in program visioning, marketing, recruitment and implementation.

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• A strong knowledge base of Jewish content, ranging from traditional Jewish texts to contemporary Jewish wisdom, culture and unconventional Jewish sources.
• Expertise 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.  
• A commitment to creating an inclusive, vibrant and pluralistic Jewish community. 
• Experience developing, marketing, recruiting for and implementing a range of programs and opportunities and comfort with making adjustments according to feedback.
• A strong entrepreneurial spirit. Things may not always go according to plan, but you must be willing to take risks and learn from your wins as well as your losses. 
• Confidence initiating and running programs, and comfort asking questions. 
• Creative problem-solving, proactive and high-level communication, organization, collaboration, humor and empathy.
• Ability to collaborate across teams both inside and outside of Hillel.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the non-profit marketplace. The salary range for this position is $80,000-$100,000, commensurate with experience. 
• 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. 
• Travel regionally and abroad, particularly to Israel.

About Texas Hillel

Texas Hillel at The University of Texas at Austin was founded in 1927 and has a long history of community service and programmatic innovation, serving approximately 3,000 Jewish students in the Austin area. The Topfer Center for Jewish Life at the Abe & Annie Seibel building was opened in 2006 and hosts a full array of award-winning student groups and events.  Governed by a statewide board of directors, Texas Hillel enjoys strong partnerships with the UT Austin campus and community organizations. Long recognized by Hillel International and The University of Texas at Austin for innovation, Texas Hillel is adjacent to the UT-Austin campus and enjoys a strong partnership with The University and the wider Jewish community. 

Texas 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.

About Austin

Recently named the #1 city to live in, Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Austin has a young and mobile Jewish community of approximately 20,000.  Much of the community’s Jewish life is centered at the Dell Jewish Community Campus in Northwest Hills, including three synagogues, the JCC, a community day school, Federation and subsidiaries.  Austin is the live musical capital of the world, home to SXSW, Austin City Limits and more.  Located in the geographic center of the state, Austin is 200 miles from Dallas and 170 miles from Houston.  It offers the amenities of a large city with a distinct flavor that makes Austin unique.  Austin is the capital of Texas, and UT-Austin is the flagship campus of the UT System with 50,000 students.