IACT Greek and Israel Engagement Coordinator

Rutgers Hillel

Role Overview

Join the passionate professional team at the Eva and Arie Halpern Hillel House on the Wilf Family Campus as the full-time IACT Greek and Israel Engagement Coordinator. IACT (Inspired, Active, Committed, Transformed) is an initiative that builds on the success of Taglit–Birthright Israel by providing support and inspiration to students before, during, and after their trip. This position specifically seeks to build more relationships with students involved in Greek Life and connect them to life-changing Birthright trips. 

The IACT Greek and Israel Engagement Coordinator will lead all initiatives to drive and strengthen Rutgers Hillel’s Birthright Israel programs. The IACT is responsible for the pre- and post-trip student experience, creating a complete and holistic experience that connects students more deeply to Rutgers Hillel and their own Jewish journey. They will plan and implement an exciting and innovative marketing and recruitment strategy for Winter and Summer Birthright Israel trips in consultation with Rutgers Hillel staff members, students, and strategic partners, and then staff those trips. This will include building and cultivating authentic relationships with students, creating engaging events, developing brand-centric marketing materials, supervising a team of recruitment interns, and managing an expansive program budget. The IACT will encourage students to become involved as leaders and participants in student-organized Jewish programming and groups, while directing them to and facilitating their participation in existing Israel-related opportunities on- and off-campus. 

This is a unique opportunity for someone who is skilled in building relationships, social media, organizing, marketing, event planning, and program development. The ideal candidate must be able to demonstrate outstanding interpersonal skills and previous successful implementation of creative ideas. They are also excited to engage students in Israel and in Jewish conversations and have a deep understanding of Jewish identity as a framework for shaping meaning, value, and purpose in the lives of emerging adults. 

The IACT Greek and Israel Engagement Coordinator will report to the Reform Community Educator and will work closely with the broader student-facing team to reach our goals of engaging all Jewish students on campus in ways that are meaningful to them. This position requires in-person work at Rutgers Hillel and, more importantly, outside the walls of our building!

What You’ll Do

• Actively strengthen Jewish life at Rutgers Hillel by recruiting students for Taglit-Birthright Israel trips.
• Expand the number of Birthright Israel trip participants from Rutgers through effective recruitment and marketing strategies, meeting students where they are–coffee shops, student centers, fraternity and sorority houses,and more! 
• Be the primary staff for Birthright Israel trips each season.
• Manage a team of Birthright Israel interns to reach a large and diverse Jewish student population.
• Build relationships with a broad range of students through meaningful conversations, connecting them with Jewish life on campus and relevant opportunities, particularly seeking out unengaged Greek Life students to introduce them to the Hillel community and our Israel opportunities.
• Establish relationships with leadership of Greek houses on campus.
• In collaboration with students and colleagues, develop ongoing engagement opportunities for interested program participants and alumni.
• Work collaboratively with our Jewish Agency Israel Fellow (Shlicha) to bring Israel to life on campus.
• Maintain records of events, attendance, and one-on-one interactions for measurement and ongoing evaluation.
• Serve as an active member of the broader team by staffing Shabbat dinners and other Hillel-wide experiences, including holiday celebrations and other large-scale programs.
• Participate in weekly supervision meetings with your supervisor, as well as weekly Student Life Team meetings, and monthly Staff Meetings.

A Day in the Life

• Having coffee (or tea, and lots of it!) with a student interested in getting involved in an immersive Israel experience, identifying their interests and following up with a connection to a student leader or further information
• Spending time on campus recruiting and relationship-building in public spaces (at least 60% of your time!)
• Creating Birthright recruitment strategy, including reaching out to prospective participants, tabling, and social media 
• Hosting a Shabbat gathering(s) for prospective participants
• Organize community-building experiences for Greek students with the intention of directing students towards Birthright
• Dedicating time to track your interactions in the database and send follow-up or check-in messages to students
• Supporting a student event in the evening where you meet students who have not yet been on Birthright Israel and invite them to have coffee next week

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• 0-3 years of professional work experience and a bachelor’s degree
• Experience in community organizing, Hillel, youth movements, camping, Israel education/advocacy, Greek Life, or experiential Jewish education is a plus.
• You are a dynamic engager with a passion for meeting people!
• You display a magnetic personality that recruits people to programs and events.
• You enjoy connecting with people from different backgrounds, with the goal of building authentic and meaningful relationships.
• You have excellent communication skills in person as well as through a variety of platforms. 
• You practice active listening skills and implement feedback willingly and quickly.
• You are committed to Hillel’s pluralistic vision of Jewish life.
• You are patient, compassionate, and calm under pressure with an understanding of emotional intelligence.
• You have the ability to manage projects with many moving parts; to set timetables and adhere to deadlines.
• You are able to work both independently and on a team.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the nonprofit marketplace, in the range of $45,000-50,000.
• 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.
• High-level professional development, mentoring, and skill building opportunities.
• A network of terrific colleagues from across the Hillel movement.
• Travel regionally and abroad, particularly to Israel.

About Rutgers Hillel

One of America’s nine Colonial Colleges, chartered in 1766, Rutgers University has a unique history as a colonial college, a land-grant institution, and a state university. Rutgers-New Brunswick/Piscataway campus is home to some 36,039 undergraduates and 14,215 graduate students. With over 6,400 Jewish undergraduates and over 1,000 Jewish graduate students, Rutgers has the 2nd largest Jewish undergraduate population in the nation. Rutgers is ideally located within minutes of several major highways, less than an hour from Manhattan by car or train.

Rutgers Hillel is located on the College Avenue Campus, in the heart of the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus. The growth of Rutgers Hillel in recent years, along with a relatively recently completed new building, makes this an exciting and rewarding place to work.

Rutgers 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.