Manager/Director, Government & Interfaith Affairs- Orange County

The Jewish Federations of North America, Inc.; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 72,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Jewish Federation of Orange County is seeking a Manager/Director, Government & Interfaith Affairs to lead local government engagement, interfaith relations, and civic volunteer mobilization across Orange County.

You will develop relationships with elected officials and faith leaders, coordinate civic initiatives, and support responses to antisemitism, reporting to the Senior Director, Community Relations. The role requires travel and evening/weekend commitments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in government relations, public affairs, community organizing, interfaith engagement, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain relationships across diverse civic, political, and faith community institutions.
• Strong public speaking and facilitation skills; comfortable representing the Federation in public forums.
• Highly organized and self-directed, with the ability to manage multiple relationships and initiatives simultaneously.
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends for community events, city council meetings, and interfaith engagements.
• Ability to travel nationally for professional development, including annual gatherings as part of the JFNA Frontline cohort.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain direct relationships with city council members and school board members across all Orange County municipalities, expanding the Federation’s active government partnerships beyond its current footprint
• Establish active Federation presence in all official interfaith councils across Orange County, positioning JFederationOC as a core partner in county-wide interfaith efforts
• Develop joint initiatives with faith community partners to prevent antisemitism and strengthen community resilience
• Recruit, train, and manage a network of community volunteers through Federation’s civic engagement work, deploying volunteers to city council meetings, school board sessions, and interfaith council events
• Develop and deliver regular trainings for civic volunteers on topics including antisemitism, interfaith relations, civic advocacy, and incident response
• Serve as a liaison between Federation leadership and local officials when antisemitic incidents occur, supporting rapid coordination and community response
• Collaborate with law enforcement and security partners to maintain appropriate incident response capacity
• Participate in system-wide Frontline professional development, training, and cohort opportunities through Jewish Federations of North America, including annual national gatherings
• Other duties as assigned

Skills

Government relations

Public speaking

Facilitation

Relationship building

Event coordination

Travel-ready

Job description

Salary: $72,000- $90,000; commensurate with experience

Reports To: Senior Director, Community Relations

The Manager/Director, Government & Interfaith Affairs is a key member of the Community Relations team. This position serves as the Federation’s primary professional for local government engagement, interfaith relations, and civic volunteer mobilization across Orange County’s municipalities and interfaith councils. The Manager/Director develops and maintains relationships with elected officials and faith community leaders, leads the Federation’s civic engagement work, and ensures Jewish Federation of Orange County has a consistent, credible presence in civic and interfaith spaces throughout the county. This position is supported in part through the Frontline Initiative of Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), a system-wide effort to strengthen the Jewish community’s response to antisemitism. This position reports to the Senior Director, Community Relations.

• Build and maintain direct relationships with city council members and school board members across all Orange County municipalities, expanding the Federation’s active government partnerships beyond its current footprint
• Establish active Federation presence in all official interfaith councils across Orange County, positioning JFedOC as a core partner in county-wide interfaith efforts
• Develop joint initiatives with faith community partners to prevent antisemitism and strengthen community resilience
• Recruit, train, and manage a network of community volunteers through Federation’s civic engagement work, deploying volunteers to city council meetings, school board sessions, and interfaith council events
• Develop and deliver regular trainings for civic volunteers on topics including antisemitism, interfaith relations, civic advocacy, and incident response
• Serve as a liaison between Federation leadership and local officials when antisemitic incidents occur, supporting rapid coordination and community response
• Collaborate with law enforcement and security partners to maintain appropriate incident response capacity
• Participate in system-wide Frontline professional development, training, and cohort opportunities through Jewish Federations of North America, including annual national gatherings
• Other duties as assigned

Other Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in government relations, public affairs, community organizing, interfaith engagement, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain relationships across diverse civic, political, and faith community institutions
• Strong public speaking and facilitation skills; comfortable representing the Federation in public forums
• Highly organized and self-directed, with the ability to manage multiple relationships and initiatives simultaneously
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends for community events, city council meetings, and interfaith engagements
• Ability to travel nationally for professional development, including annual gatherings as part of the JFNA Frontline cohort

What does it mean to be part of the JFedOC team?

We are a small team driven by intellectual curiosity that wants to build a more perfect world. We laugh and take the work seriously because we believe what we do is existential to the Jewish future. Beyond caring co-workers and friendship, we offer a generous and comprehensive employee benefits package.

Jewish Federation of Orange County is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with applicable law, we prohibit discrimination and harassment against employees, applicants for employment, individuals providing services in the workplace pursuant to a contract, unpaid interns, and volunteers based on their actual or perceived: race (including traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles), religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, protected medical condition, genetic information, marital status (including registered domestic partnership status), sex and gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and related medical conditions), gender identity and gender expression (including transgender individuals who are transitioning, have transitioned, or are perceived to be transitioning to the gender with which they identify), age, sexual orientation, citizenship status, uniform service member status, military or veteran status, and any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.