QJews Program Director Job Description
​
Houston Hillel seeks an engaging and innovative part-time QJews Program Director to implement the vision of QJews as a celebratory space for Houston's queer Jews in their twenties and thirties. This part-time position is envisioned as six hours per week, but will vary according to the workload and in consultation with Houston Hillel’s Assistant Director.
QJews brings together young, Jewish queer folk and their allies for initiatives centered around community, collaboration, and celebration. QJews programming includes Jewish initiatives like Shabbat dinners, Jewish learning and social justice engagement through a queer lens, in addition to social events.
QJews also provides program opportunities exclusively for those who identify as part of the queer community. QJews creates supportive and exclusively queer spaces in which all who participate can feel safe and secure in the company of Jewish peers who experience similar struggles, and can connect through collective history and trauma, along with celebration and joy.
What You’ll Do
-
Implement the vision of QJews as a celebratory space for Houston's queer Jews in their twenties and thirties.
-
Serve as the primary QJews engagement professional, working with volunteer leaders and Houston Hillel’s professional staff.
-
Plan, facilitate and host in-person and virtual events.
-
Identify uninvolved and marginally involved members of the queer Jewish community, and provide them with the opportunity to participate in QJews.
-
Develop one-on-one relationships with QJews participants by meeting them in person and virtually, and by utilizing creative methods to reach and interest them.
-
Identify, engage and nurture participants who can assume varying levels of leadership.
-
Coordinate with community organizations to enhance QJews programming.
-
Record QJews participation, and use the data to increase the effectiveness of future QJews programs.
-
Staff and attend QJews programs, including on Shabbat and holidays.
-
Engage and collaborate with Houston area LGBTQ+ organizations.
What You’ll Bring to the Role
No one ever meets all the criteria, so please don’t worry if you feel you don’t have all the qualifications. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until we find the right person for the role.
-
Knowledge of queer identities and experiences, and the ability to articulate the intersections among diverse Jewish and queer identities.
-
Commitment to bring a racial justice and gender equity lens to QJews programs.
-
Experience with program and event management, including the ability to provide vision, articulate expectations, and produce and evaluate outcomes for multiple projects simultaneously.
-
Strong organizational skills.
-
Experience with Jewish content creation and teaching a plus.
-
A love of welcoming people to a new community, and connecting new friends to each other.
-
A listening ear, and the ability to hear the words people don’t say.
-
Comfort with your Jewish self (or you’re actively figuring that out).
-
Curiosity about what other people and groups around the country are doing in similar spaces, so that you can learn from them and bring their ideas to QJews.
-
Social media skills that generate lots of likes and shares.
-
The ability to work with others and alone.
-
A commitment to pluralism, egalitarianism, and inclusivity.
-
Strong written and verbal skills.
-
A charismatic personality that engages people with honesty and humility, leading participants to respond to your requests simply because you asked.
What You’ll Receive
-
A competitive salary in the nonprofit marketplace. The salary range for this role is $22.00 to $26.00 per hour.
-
Flexible work hours.
About Houston Hillel
Houston Hillel is a multi-campus Hillel Foundation that engages undergraduates primarily at Rice University and the University of Houston, and we support Jewish students at almost a dozen universities in Southeast Texas, some as far as two and one-half hours from Houston.
Jewston is Houston Hillel's community for Jewish twentysomethings - graduate students and young professionals between the ages of 21 and 29. Houston Hillel is one of only a few Hillel Foundations with a separately branded program for twentysomethings. In fact, Houston Hillel's professional time and resources are almost evenly split between our work with undergraduates and twentysomethings.
QJews, launched in early 2022, provides an affirming environment for Houston's queer Jews in their twenties and thirties.
Our primary facility, the Ida and William Zinn Building, acts as both a student center and a community resource. We also operate the UH Hillel Student Lounge in the A.D. Bruce Religion Center on the University of Houston campus.
Houston Hillel believes in the inherent worth and dignity of all people. As Jewish tradition teaches us, we are all created b'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. To that end, Houston Hillel is committed to pluralistic, egalitarian and inclusive Jewish life on campus, in the community and in our workforce. We appreciate all the identities, experiences and backgrounds each person brings. We welcome students, professionals and community members with respect for all abilities, races, ethnicities, socio-economic status, gender identities, sexual orientations, interfaith backgrounds and observances. We are invested in making our gatherings, resources and workplaces accessible for all and will work together with individuals to meet their needs so that they can experience the richness of Jewish life and community.
About Hillel International
Houston Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International. Established in 1923, 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.
To Apply
Please send a cover letter and resume to Carly Fleck, Houston Hillel's Assistant Director, at carly@houstonhillel.org.
​