Director of Innovation & Engagement at Cornell Hillel Ithaca, New York, United States

Hillel International; New York (NY); On-site; USD 65,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Grinspoon Hillel at Cornell seeks a passionate Director of Innovation & Engagement to foster a vibrant Jewish community on campus. This role involves building relationships, creating engaging programming, and overseeing operations for Hillel's new North Campus facility. Ideal candidates will have strong interpersonal skills and a background in Jewish life, along with a commitment to community-building efforts.

Benefits

Health insurance

Generous vacation/sick time

$3,000 budget for professional development

Travel regionally and abroad

Qualifications

• At least two to five years of professional work experience.
• Proven success as a relationship builder.
• Ability to develop programs from design to evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Develop meaningful relationships with at least 250 Jewish undergraduate students.
• Create and lead a student committee to ensure the home is for students by students.
• Coordinate logistics for Hillel on North, including space setup.

Skills

Relationship Building

Leadership

Creativity

Communication

Event Planning

Education

Experience in a Jewish organization

Professional experience (2-5 years)

Job description

Director of Innovation & Engagement at Cornell Hillel

Ithaca, New York, United States

Director of Innovation & Engagement

Grinspoon Hillel at Cornell

Position Overview

Grinspoon Hillel at Cornell seeks a vibrant and multi-talented leader to create a meaningful Jewish community on campus as the inaugural Director of Innovation & Engagement. You’ll be a critical driver of the Grinspoon Hillel engagement team, specifically by focusing on engaging unengaged students through the Hillel House on North, overseeing student Peer Engagement Interns, and implementing Grinspoon Hillel’s engagement strategy.

As part of its engagement strategy, Grinspoon Hillel has acquired a North Campus facility, located adjacent to Greek Life and underclassman living areas. The home includes two floors of programming space, a Kosher kitchen, numerous rooms with flexible usage, a deck, and a backyard. This position, unique in the Hillel movement, is an opportunity to dream big and envision both the design and execution to create a home for Jewish life in a gorgeous house located on one of Ithaca’s famous gorges as a new space to engage the 2,500 Jewish students at Cornell. This “home” will serve as a hub of connection, programming, and relationships and will be core to our engagement efforts to weave campus and communities together.

This role is all about creating a warm, welcoming, and lively Jewish space for students to connect, celebrate, learn, and relax. As the Director of Innovation and Engagement, you’ll bring the house to life with meaningful and fun programming—everything from holiday celebrations and classes to challah bakes, study sessions, and late-night hangouts by the fire pit. You’ll build strong relationships with students, support day-to-day operations of the space, and plan a calendar full of exciting events. If you're passionate about building community and love seeing your ideas come to life, this role is for you.

About Grinspoon Hillel at Cornell

Grinspoon Hillel is located in Ithaca, NY, which combines small-town life with a world-class academic/college-town community. Ithaca has been named one of the top 100 places to live, a top 10 recreation city, the best green place to live, and one of the "foodiest" towns in America. Cornell University is one of the world’s foremost institutions of higher education, with seven undergraduate schools and five graduate schools located in Ithaca, NY, in the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York State. Hillel is housed in Anabel Taylor Hall, home of the Cornell United Religious Works. Jewish students make up approximately one-quarter of the student body on the Ithaca campus, approximately 2,500 students. Grinspoon Hillel currently engages a talented professional team of 13 full-time and one part-time professional.

Key Responsibilities

• Relationship Building and Outreach
• Develop meaningful relationships with at least 250 Jewish undergraduate students.
• Build relationships with Greek organizations, first-year student groups, and other relevant campus communities to encourage participation in Hillel on North events.
• Serve as a point of contact for students seeking to engage with Jewish life on North Campus.
• Serve as a thought partner with the Managing Director to think through implementing the strategic plan and engagement measurement.
• Hillel on North
• Innovation and Engagement:
• Working with the Managing Director and Engagement team, collaborate and help execute a plan for North that includes a comprehensive calendar of events for Hillel on North to ensure it is welcoming, functional, and conducive to Jewish community life.
• Create and lead a student committee to ensure the home is for students by students
• Target micro-communities like Greek life, First-Years, and others to engage in Hillel on North.
• Logistics and Operations Coordination:
• Work with the Director of Operations to coordinate logistical aspects of Hillel on North, including space setup and equipment needs.
• Support maintenance and upkeep of the space, ensuring it remains inviting and well-maintained.
• Support and supervise a team of Hillel House on North student interns who utilize relationship-based engagement to create a warm and welcoming community within the house.
• Mentor the student Vice President of Engagement to create vibrant peer-to-peer programming.
• Supervise and mentor a team of Peer Engagement Interns who build community through one-on-one relationships.
• Supervision
• Supervise and mentor the Hillel Springboard Fellow- an early career professional.

What a typical day may look like:

• Start the day by meeting with the Managing Director and Director of Operations to discuss strategy, layout, and design updates for Hillel on North.
• Invite a Greek House to North Campus House for a Challah Bake and lead the bake.
• Meet with a first-year student who attended the Welcome Back BBQ. Get to know them and connect them with a student leader to continue their journey with Hillel
• Lead a meeting with student interns focused on engaging students on the periphery of Jewish life. Discuss the successes and challenges the interns faced in the previous week and brainstorm ideas for engaging Greek life.

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• At least two to five years of professional work experience (experience as a volunteer or professional in a Jewish organization is a plus)
• Experience or excitement supervising early-in-career professionals
• Ability to develop an end-to-end program from initial design to successful measurement and evaluation
• Proven success as a relationship builder
• Experience or affinity working with and motivating Jewish students
• A moderate to strong Jewish knowledge base, and a willingness to work with students from a variety of backgrounds
• Creativity, flexibility, initiative, and excellent interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills
• The ability to work independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment where prioritizing, multitasking, organization, and attention to detail are essential

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the non-profit marketplace. The salary range for this role is $65,000 - $70,000.
• Hillel International offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, Group Supplemental Retirement Annuity (GSRA), pension plan, life insurance, Long Term Disability (LTD), Flexible Spending Plan, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• $3,000 budget for professional development, mentoring, skill-building opportunities, and continued learning opportunities.
• Independent and hands-on work in an exciting start-up environment.
• Travel regionally and abroad, particularly to Israel
• Plenty of Hillel and university swag

About Hillel International

In 1923, Rabbi Benjamin Frankel started Hillel with humble means, a noble mission and a breathtaking vision: to convey Jewish civilization to a new generation. Today, Hillel International continues to enrich the lives of Jewish students and is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world at nearly 1,000 colleges and universities across North America and around the world. As Hillel evolves as an organization, the mission remains steadfast: to create lasting connections with every Jewish student that foster an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel and train them to become the next Jewish leaders.

Hillel is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an accepting and inclusive environment for all.

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