IACT Engagement Associate

University of Michigan Hillel

Role Overview

As the IACT Engagement Associate at Michigan Hillel you will help lead one of the largest campus based Israel travel programs in the country. This year Michigan Hillel will send at least 50 students on Birthright Israel and 75 students on Onward Israel-the two main travel programs you will oversee in this exciting, one of a kind opportunity to impact Jewish life on a unique scale.

You will lead a team effort to recruit students for Israel travel experiences, including Birthright Israel and Onward Israel, by building one-on-one relationships with them, staffing trips to Israel, and strengthening relationships upon students’ return to campus. With thousands of Jewish students and a collaborative team to support your work, the possibilities for enriching Jewish life at Michigan Hillel are endless. We are looking for a team player with a passion for relationship building, commitment to Jewish life, and superb organizational and communication skills.

Your passion for Israel and immersive experiences, and skills for relationship building with students will help connect them to transformative experiences. Using your creative and critical thinking skills, you’ll help lead one of North America’s largest campus-based Israel travel programs and play an essential role in ensuring that students’ Israel experiences continue when they return to campus.

What You’ll Do

• Strengthen Jewish life at the University of Michigan by recruiting 125+ students for Birthright Israel, Onward Israel, and other immersive Israel travel experiences each year
• Staff Birthright Israel trips each season; recruit, coordinate and train remaining Birthright Israel trip staff members from the Michigan Hillel community
• Opportunity to staff Onward Israel 8-week summer program; continue building relationships with students throughout the summer, ensuring a positive and meaningful Israel experience
• Develop relationships with students from key campus demographics to support Israel engagement at U of M
• Manage a team of Birthright Israel recruitment interns to reach a large and diverse Jewish student population
• Develop ongoing engagement opportunities for interested program participants and alumni in collaboration with students and colleagues
• Build relationships with a broad range of students through meaningful conversations, connecting them with Jewish life on campus and relevant opportunities 
• Utilize data and partner with students and Hillel professionals to ensure a strategic approach to building Jewish life and community on campus 
• Participate in weekly supervision meetings with the Chief Program Officer, as well as weekly staff meetings, and regular team check-ins and strategy sessions

On a day to day basis you will

• Facilitate a meeting of the Birthright Israel interns, reviewing strategy, and reaching out to prospective participants
• Arrange a coffee chat with a student interested in getting involved in an Israel travel experience, identifying their interests and following up with a connection to a student leader or further information
• Spend time on campus with a few Birthright Interns, recruiting in public spaces
• Meet with colleagues to discuss Onward Israel and Birthright Israel recruitment and follow-up strategy
• Dedicate time to note your interactions in the database and send follow-up or check-in emails to students
• Attend a student event in the evening where you meet two students who have not yet been on Birthright Israel and invite them to have coffee next week
• Giving a Birthright pitch at a Greek chapter meeting

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• 1-3 years of professional work experience and a bachelor’s degree
• Confidence initiating and running programs, and comfortable asking questions
• Creative problem-solving skills
• Ability to collaborate across teams of students and colleagues 
• An excitement and willingness to not slow down until you have reached your recruitment goal
• A passion for Israel that is contagious, and an enthusiasm to continue developing your own relationship to Judaism and Israel
• Previous experience traveling in Israel
• Understanding that students will connect with Israel in a variety of different ways

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive nonprofit salary, with a hiring range of $46,000–$50,000, commensurate with experience.
• Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, retirement plan, medical and paid time off, parental leave, and a cell phone plan.
• 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.
• Plenty of Hillel swag!

Are you excited about this role, but worried that your experience doesn’t align with every requirement? We value transferable skills and a growth mindset. Our team is dedicated to building an inclusive, equitable, and authentic workplace. Diverse experiences, identities, and perspectives make us more effective in our commitment to pluralism. We encourage you to apply!

About University of Michigan Hillel

With over 6,000 Jewish students on campus, the University of Michigan Hillel offers diverse, pluralistic and innovative ways to engage in Jewish life. Michigan Hillel is a national leader in nurturing empowered leadership among students who have a profound impact not only on campus life but on the broader Jewish community as well. Most importantly, our student leaders feel a strong sense of ownership, empowerment, and accomplishment. 

Ann Arbor is a small city (110,000 people) blessed with many big city comforts. The city prides itself on its wonderful restaurants, natural and recreational spaces, and a football stadium that holds more fans on a game day than the entire population of Ann Arbor. The Jewish community has one of everything (Jewish Federation, Jewish Day School, Jewish Community Center, and Secular Humanistic, Renewal, Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Chabad and local home-based services). Ann Arbor is the kind of town where people greet each other in the street and where you can have an impact on building community, while the university’s size and diversity makes you feel like you are always meeting new people and learning something new.

University of Michigan 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.