Director of Institutional Advancement
As Director of Institutional Advancement, you will help advance the goals and vision of Harvard Chabad as it grows into its next ambitious chapter. This is a unique opportunity to work in a vibrant and mission-driven environment. In this role you’ll be responsible for overseeing and performing tasks related to institutional advancement, donor relations, and program development, and–help craft the next phase of our advancement strategy.
In this role, your core responsibility will be to activate and organize Harvard’s Jewish alumni community, those who’ve experienced Harvard Chabad, and those who have not, to protect, enrich, and expand Jewish life at Harvard. You will engage with our current alumni base and strengthen their giving and commitment to Harvard’s Jewish community.
Your success will be in bridging the gap between the tremendous concern and dedication of our alumni, and the very real needs of Jewish students and Jewish life in the present and near-term. You will take up a leadership position not only in the Harvard Jewish and the broader Cambridge's Jewish community, but in American Judaism writ large by asking a set of questions that no one else is asking about how to make use of a leading university’s resources to expand and enrich Jewish life, and coming up with new possibilities that will be widely influential, studied, and copied.
As we prepare to launch our $118 million dollar campaign which will include our new and desperately needed expanded campus, the timing could not be more perfect.
Responsibilities include:
The Director of Institutional Advancement will work directly with Harvard Chabad’s Founder and President, Rabbi Hirschy Zarchi, the executive board, donors, alumni, and students. Projects will focus on a range of responsibilities including:
- Strategic planning to further scale the organization's reach and effectiveness
- Structuring, planning, and launching a major Capital Campaign with the support of the Executive Team, Board of Advisors, and other volunteers
- Building relationships with existing and future donors and foundations
- Creating and implementing a comprehensive alumni and donor engagement program
- Supporting alumni engagement and fundraising events in major US cities
- Creating material to engage existing and future donors, including slide decks, newsletters, and reporting materials
- Managing a new Jewish Leadership Fellowship and conference
Who You Are
Any candidate for this position must be highly motivated by the urgency of the moment for the Jewish people at Harvard and more broadly; be able to pursue work that takes years to come to fruition; and be possessed of significant erudition and emotional intelligence. Intimate familiarity with both the worlds of American higher education and Jewish philanthropy are absolutely necessary.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 5 years of related or transferable experience
- Excellent written and verbal communicator
- Strong presentation development skills
- Project management and critical thinking skills
- Ability to juggle long-term, complex projects with urgent and ever-shifting demands, losing sight of neither.
- Passionate about building Jewish community
- Experience developing and cultivating donors/investors a plus
- NO prior experience working in the Jewish community is necessary
Benefits:
Competitive salary and robust benefits package that includes:
- Comprehensive health insurance
- Generous paid time off
- Annual professional development stipend
- 401K
- Career progression and opportunities to advance within our growing organization
- An unrivaled network of connections and relationships throughout Harvard’s Jewish community
To apply, please send a cover letter and resume.
About Harvard Chabad
Harvard Chabad is the non-profit parent organization for four active student centers, a community center, and a thriving preschool. It is responsible for, and oversees, many weekly programs, frequent social events, academic lectures, classes, volunteer opportunities, and much more.
Harvard Chabad is a place where Jews of all backgrounds and degrees of observance enjoy exploring their Jewish heritage in a warm, welcoming and non-judgmental environment. Harvard Chabad has set a new standard by transforming the Jewish experience for undergraduate and graduate students on a university campus. Thousands of students have had their connection to Judaism deepened through our work, and we continue to serve as a premier model in engaging the students of this generation.
www.chabadharvard.org