Jobs Board

BʼMitzvah Program Director – Kehilla Community Synagogue

Who We Are

At Kehilla, we’re co-creating a community that reaches for joy, shared liberation, and justice, rooted in Jewish spiritual teachings and practice, and sustained by interdependence and mutual care, in the Lisjan Ohlone territory of Huchiun.

We are several years into a community-wide process to decenter whiteness and to make Kehilla a Jewish community where people of color, and especially children and youth of color, increasingly feel a sense of safety and belonging. Our orientation toward shared liberation is also manifest in our growth around disability justice, class awareness, and our embrace of queer, trans, and nonbinary people of all ages.

Kehilla is affiliated with Aleph / Jewish Renewal practicing joy, embodied spirituality, and cultivating awe, humility, and attentiveness to the mysterious source of Life. We have a supportive staff culture and are attentive to staff wellness.

Job Title:  B’Mitzvah Program Director Start

Date:  July 1, 2023 – Possible training in May

Reports to:  Senior Rabbi (Program) with support from Executive Director (Admin)

Type:  Half-Time, with pro-rated benefits

About the B’Mitzvah Program

Kehilla’s B’Mitzvah Program is a flagship program of our community that has served hundreds of young people over 40 years. Both young people and their families experience the program as transformative. This program was created as an engaging alternative to more traditional bar/bat mitzvah study and draws young people into a meaningful exploration of their lives at a transitional time. Over the course of their 7th and 8th grade years, students build and deepen relationships with their hevruta/study partner, their teacher, their havurah (several families within the cohort), their service leadership team, and their Jewish ancestors, religious practices and Torah. The program’s structure offers our young people a loving container for their growth, questions and celebration of their Jewish coming of age.

Job Summary

The B’Mitzvah Program Director oversees and administers a well-developed B’Mitzvah program that serves about 15-25 students and their families per cohort, supervising teachers in the program, supporting and sometimes teaching cohort-based workshops, and serves as Kehilla’s primary connection with parents and families and with the Kehilla spiritual leadership team for the B’Mitzvah program.

Duties and Essential Job Functions

1. Content of B’Mitzvah Program

• serves as the primary point of contact between B’Mitzvah students and families and Kehilla
• supports students and families throughout the experience
• works with Senior Rabbi, Hazzan, and B’Mitzvah Program Assistant Director to evaluate, review and update program content as needed
• supports lay Spiritual Leaders and Musical Prayer Leaders to implement ritual practices for services
• provides professional development and support for teachers
• depending on experience, may lead some number of B’Mitzvah services

2. Administration of B’Mitzvah Program, in conjunction with B’Mitzvah Program Assistant Director

• conducts hiring and supervision of teaching and support staff (there is a current cadre of experienced teachers and staff)
• supervises and collaborates with B’Mitzvah Program Assistant Director to administer and oversee applications and registration for program; maintain calendar of program, curate hevruta, student-teacher, and havurah assignments; oversees communication with families and teachers
• teaches or co-teaches Kehilla School 6th grade class
• collaborates with Kehilla School Director to facilitate students’ transition to the B’Mitzvah program
• interfaces with Kehilla staff for building and program needs
• manages program budget, with support of Executive Director
• coordinates between B’Mitzvah service leaders and families when needed
• meets regularly with Senior Rabbi
• attends Kehilla staff meetings, as agreed upon with Senior Rabbi

What We’re Looking for in Candidates

Required Qualifications

• Experience in Jewish education and/or steeped in Jewish learning and practice, including language, text and spirituality
• Experience with youth ages 11 – 14 and understanding of their social, emotional and intellectual development, as well as the many registers of their diversity
• Robust practice in anti-racism, including understanding and experience with dismantling systemic and institutional racism, and skills for creating experiences that are all-inclusive, while decentering whiteness and centering the needs of students of color in educational contexts; willingness to continue on-going professional growth in this domain
• Strong relationship, organizational, communication and administrative skills
• Experience with parent, student and collegial relationship-building
• Commitment to uphold Kehilla’s communal values and activist orientation (please spend some time on our website, and especially check out our work on Israel/Palestine, immigration, economic justice and our Belonging & Allyship Racial Justice Initiative)

Other, Desirable Qualifications

• Master degree or equivalent experience
• Demonstrated engagement in equity and inclusion in Jewish and/or educational settings
• Enjoy working with youth and their families in ritual, learning and exploration of spirituality and justice.
• Budgeting experience

Compensation:

Salary: 50% of an FTE range of $62,000 – $65,000 DOE

Benefits include health and dental insurance, vacation, holidays and retirement/403(b) and are prorated to the percentage of FTE

Hiring Non-Discrimination Policy

Kehilla Synagogue does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, ability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status. People of Color, Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, & Trans, Gender Non-Conforming and queer people are encouraged to apply.

To Apply

Please use the subject line “B’Mitzvah Program Director ” and send a PDF version of a cover letter and resume to bmitzvah@kehillasynagogue.org. First round interviews are set to begin in March 2023.