Applications submitted through the Hillel International website will NOT be considered. To apply, please send cover letter and resume as one PDF to BRHillelED@pbrsearch.com with title format “Last Name First Name – Letter Resume” and complete the Voluntary Self Identification form. This will assist PBR Executive Search in improving hiring practices and ensuring equal opportunities. Participation is voluntary and will not affect your candidacy in any way.

To view this role on the PBR Executive Search website, please click here. 

Executive Director

Brown RISD Hillel

Background

Brown RISD Hillel (BRH) is more essential to thriving Jewish life on College Hill than ever before: Jewish faith and community are not only essential to Jewish students at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), but also a force for good at the universities. Jewish texts teach gratitude, patience, personal connection, purpose with humility, and the dignity of the individual. Brown RISD Hillel is a center of gravity on the two campuses and is helping define the fabric of the new Jewish America: it is one of the most exciting and innovative campus Hillels in the United States. It is a place of rich community, deep meaning, intellectual rigor, and spiritual resilience. It brings students together for Shabbat dinner, ensures a daily minyan, provides religious education, sustains Jewish traditions in the arts, and connects students with alumni mentors.

BRH works with an exceptionally engaged and curious student community, drawn from the most creative Ivy League university and the foremost art and design college in the country. Our students approach Judaism and the world with intellectual inquiry, imagination, and depth.

Close to 1,000 Jewish students (and hundreds of non-Jewish students) walk through the doors of the Hillel building each semester. Jewish students know they can go to the BRH building to be with other Jews, and students of every faith and background can convene at BRH in fellowship. BRH has intimate relationships with the Brown University administration, the RISD administration, and with Chabad of College Hill that allow it to better support a diversity of Jewish student life on the Brown and RISD campuses.

BRH is already a welcoming, bustling hive of activity staffed by a talented group of religious, programmatic, and engagement professionals. The next Executive Director will build on this foundation of success, bringing strategic focus, coordination, financial acumen, and momentum to a strong organization.

The new ED will be charged with leading and collaborating with staff to expand the reach and impact of BRH’s work: offering more pastoral care to young men and women seeking to make sense of their world, engaging more deeply with alumni mentors, broadening the arts program to include theater and music, developing innovative ways to deliver religious education, and exploring the potential of AI tools for the study of Jewish texts.

This is an opportunity for a seasoned executive leader to align the many aspects of BRH’s work into a clear and coherent whole. By setting priorities, supporting talented staff, and connecting the organization’s efforts across campuses, the Executive Director will help ensure that Hillel is central to the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual life of students. More than anything, the new ED will provide the strategic, financial, structural, and human resources support to ensure excellent program delivery and student experience across all dimensions. 

Position

The incoming Executive Director will provide executive leadership and strategic management to a team of talented religious, program, and engagement experts, aligning their work to build on the already vibrant Jewish life that exists on the Brown and RISD campuses.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the board to create a culture of excellence in governing BRH
• Work with the team to develop and execute plans to enhance Jewish life on College Hill through religious services, religious education, visual arts, performing arts, alumni engagement, career mentoring, faculty engagement, travel and social programming
• Engage with and inspire a broad range of engaged Brown and RISD students
• Help recruit diverse, intellectually-oriented, Jewishly-engaged students to campus
• Lead a $2M Annual Campaign and $15M Capital Campaign
• Ensure successful completion of $7M building renovation
• Inspire, oversee and performance manage a 12 person staff
• Develop and manage a $2.2M annual budget 

Objectives

• Provide strong executive leadership for a talented team of religious, program, and engagement staff, ensuring that BRH’s work is coordinated, strategic, and aligned with its mission.
• Ensure the financial health and long-term sustainability of the organization through effective fundraising and sound fiscal management.
• Set a standard for and inspire excellence across all aspects of BRH, including programming, fundraising, financial management, facility operations, and student experience.
• Engage and partner closely with the Board, drawing on trustees’ energy, judgment, and networks to advance BRH’s priorities.
• Build on BRH’s strong foundation to help define what it means to be Jewish today and to cultivate the Jewish leaders of the coming decades. Strengthen and expand the inclusive, vibrant, and pluralistic Jewish community, ensuring space for a range of perspectives and modes of observance.
• Maintain and build on strong relationships with Brown, RISD, and Chabad of College Hill and ensure meaningful engagement with both campus communities. 

Capabilities and Mindset Required for Success

• Highly developed executive leadership skills, including the ability to lead and inspire a team, effectively engage with a dedicated board of directors, raise funds in support of programs and capital projects, set and manage a $2.2M budget, oversee building operations, and build productive partnerships across the Brown and RISD campuses.
• Commitment to effective corporate governance, providing the team and the board with the information they need to stay informed and be maximally impactful in their roles. Enthusiasm for programmatic experimentation, providing the team with the resources they need to make those experiments a success.
• Commitment to creating an inclusive, vibrant, and pluralistic Jewish community and creating the space for a range of perspectives and Jewish values.
• Effective communicator to all parts of the Brown and RISD communities (students, alumni, faculty, administration, parents).
• Compelling fundraiser, with the ability to maintain relationships with major donors, explain the vision for BRH, and steward resources carefully.
• Ability to inspire and manage performance for staff, with a willingness to have tough discussions when required.
• Ability to master operational details of a small, but complex organization (staff, building program, budgets).
• Commitment to Israel as a secure, democratic state.
• Commitment to engage with students with a range of political views and types of religious observance. 

Compensation

• Anticipated salary is $200K - $250K, commensurate with qualifications and experience
• Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, retirement plan, life insurance, long-term disability, generous vacation and sick leave, and parental leave
• Robust professional development, mentoring, and national network engagement through Hillel International
• Opportunities for domestic and international travel

Frequently cited statistics show that women and people from underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, Brown RISD Hillel encourages you to apply.

Brown RISD Hillel is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, citizenship status, disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law in its employment policies. Brown RISD Hillel will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities.