First Year and Immersive Education Associate

Vanderbilt Hillel

Role Overview

Make your mark on Jewish student life by joining Vanderbilt Hillel as the Engagement Associate, specializing in First Year programming and Immersive/Travel Education. You will build one on one relationships with students, putting on awesome events around campus, and help inspire students to make a commitment to Jewish life. Our Hillel serves over 1,000 Jewish students at Vanderbilt University, and neighboring Belmont and Middle Tennessee State Universities. Our team is proud to create daily programming and engagement opportunities to meet every student where they are along their Jewish journey.

Our next Engagement Associate is a creative risk-taker who prioritizes student-led innovation. You are well organized and have a passion for connecting with students to tap into their leadership potential and help them grow. Your focus will be on our First Year community and transfer students, with opportunities to plug into other micro-communities under our Hillel umbrella that spark your passion. You will also act as a thought partner to our Assistant Director in building our new portfolio of Immersive Educational experiences, dreaming of how to bring groups of students to new and exciting locations for deep and enriching learning. This role will have you waking up each day excited to connect with Jewish students from all different backgrounds and help foster their relationship with their Jewish identity, capitalizing on their goals and interests in creating vibrant and unique experiences that keep them coming back for more.

What You’ll Do

• Foster one-on-one relationships with students by meeting them across campus and the surrounding areas, developing meaningful connections that allows you to help them find their niche within the Hillel community
• Oversee our First Year Engagement student board, directly supervising the board’s president and attending their weekly meetings, programs on- and off-campus, and various University-wide First Year, Transfer, and Prospective student programming.
• Strategize alongside our Assistant Director in crafting Immersive Educational travel experiences both domestically and abroad for Vanderbilt students over the school breaks
• Put on our annual first-year pre-orientation program, FYSH Fest, by selecting our student leadership in the Spring and then guiding them throughout the semester and summer to create a one-of-a-kind experience for the incoming class in advance of their first semester on campus.
• Advise one or more micro-communities, such as Challah for Hunger and Gift of Life chapters, by keeping them connected to the greater Hillel community and helping facilitate programming
• Participate as a member of the Hillel staff team in major programs, Shabbat, holidays, weekly staff meetings, and student executive board meetings

A Typical Day May Look Like

• Coffee with a student you met at Shabbat, where you’ll identify their interests and chat about how they could intersect with Hillel programming
• Visiting Vanderbilt’s first year campus to host a Bagel Drop and increase awareness of Hillel on campus
• Meeting with your engagement team to identify upcoming leaders in the community and ensure their potential is being fostered by the right staff member
• Overseeing a First Year Engagement board meeting as they plan the curriculum for the FYSH (First Year Students of Hillel) cohort’s next activity
• Meeting with the Hillel student president to finalize the Hillel leadership Shabbaton, helping them design the programming and identify an exciting destination for the experience
• Attending a program led by a fellow staff member, seeking to connect with students in the room who you may not yet know

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• 0 -4 years’ professional work experience
• Bachelor’s degree
• Self-driven and creative. You are not easily scared or discouraged if your first attempt at a program doesn’t go according to plan and are excited to head back to the drawing board and learn from previous attempts.
• Confidence initiating and running programs, and comfort asking questions.
• Excitement to collaborate as a team with other Hillel staff members. You are ready to support them as they are in turn to support you.
• Belief that our students should drive our Hillel and focus on creating opportunities that capitalize on interests and goals you discover about them through long-term relationship-building.
• Willingness to admit what you don’t know, and excitement to learn in those areas.
• Creative “on the fly” problem solving skills, and a knack for rolling with the punches.
• Excitement to continue developing your own relationship to Judaism.

What You’ll Receive

• High-level professional development, including professional development funds, to help develop core skills in experiential education, including learning from some of the most innovative organizations in Jewish education today.
• A network of terrific colleagues from across the Hillel movement.
• Travel opportunities, both domestically and internationally, multiple times per year (if permitted following COVID-19 safety guidelines).
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, Tax Deferred Retirement Plan, Life, AD&D and Long Term Disability insurances, Flexible Spending Plan, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• A salary of $45,000-$55,000, commensurate with experience
• One meal and unlimited beverages daily from our in-house Kosher vegetarian café, GRINS

About Vanderbilt Hillel

Vanderbilt Hillel is dedicated to building Jewish communities in a variety of formats through empowering students to follow their interests. Entrepreneurial Vandy Jewish students hold a variety of leadership positions in a student-centered leadership structure and create clubs and programs that appeal to and attract their peers. Together, with a talented and committed Hillel staff, Vandy Jewish students are encouraged to explore all aspects of Judaism and Jewish life, from Shabbat dinners to alternative break programs and everything in between. The Ben Schulman Center for Jewish Life is a hub for the more than 1000 Jewish students at Vanderbilt and at surrounding Universities and colleges in the Central Tennessee area.

Established in 2002, Vanderbilt Hillel is located in the heart of Nashville, TN. One of the fastest growing cities in the nation, Nashville is home to major sports teams of all stripes, a booming coffee and dining scene, a farmers market lineup to brag about, and of course as many concerts, writers’ rounds, and pop up shows as you can dream of – after all, we are Music City! Our Jewish community is strong and growing with several synagogues, a day school, and many communities for Jewish residents of all ages and stages to connect with peers and grow as individuals and leaders.