After-School Program Director Job Description 

Job Title: Jewish After School Director

Reports to: Director of Youth Learning and Engagement

Position Type: Full-Time

Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday-Friday with occasional evenings for special events

Our organization:

Congregation Rodeph Shalom (RS) is a vibrant Reform community in Center City Philadelphia. It has grown to become the largest Jewish congregation in the region.  We are a fast-paced, mission-driven workplace, and we welcome employees who strive for excellence.

Our congregational vision: Immersed in Jewish time, guided by enduring values, compelled to moral action; we create profound connections.  Our full Vision Statement, together with our Israel Vision, Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Statement, and our Statement of Workplace Culture Principles, is at the bottom of this Job Description.

Our after-school program mission:  to provide a welcoming and safe entryway to Jewish life, values, and peoplehood through offering reliable, playful, purposeful, and joyfully-Jewish after-school care to children in kindergarten through 6th grade.

The After-School Program Director will create and manage an after-school program that is aligned with the congregational vision and the after-school program mission, thus helping RS to realize its full potential as a sacred community.

Position Summary

The after-school program at Congregation Rodeph Shalom (name TBD) will be a completely unique place for children to play and learn, offering the services of a premium after-school program with a full, experiential Jewish learning experience.  Our goal is to create a welcoming, safe entryway to Jewish life, values, and peoplehood, through offering reliable, playful, purposeful after-school care to children in kindergarten through 6th grade, located at Congregation Rodeph Shalom. This goal will inform the way you execute all of your duties as an Afterschool Director.

The Jewish After School Director is responsible for all aspects of building, launching, and running a dynamic Jewish after-school program. This includes marketing to raise awareness about the program, creating infrastructure for procedures, developing lesson planning based on pre-established curriculum to be provided, staff hiring, developing and managing the teaching team, event planning, parent communications and engagement, enrollment, budgeting, teaching, and student management. 

Specific Responsibilities

The categories of responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Program Development

• Market and distribute information about the after school program to the local community, and to the broader community.
• Attend PTA meetings, school sponsored events, and other local/community events in order to promote the program.
• Establish a marketing approach for the promotion of the new program and distribute information through email, social media, and partnership with other organizations.
• Integrate the after-school program with other programmatic offerings of Congregation Rodeph Shalom, being sure to create bridges from the Buerger Early Learning Center into your program by co-hosting events and coordinating with leadership.
• Work with administrative staff and other professionals to develop and refine organization policies, procedures, and program initiatives.
• Set up the after-school space to be ready for the start of the school year, including setting up classrooms, ordering supplies, materials, securing transportation vehicles, etc.
• Set a transportation schedule for the school year based on student enrollment.
• Customize and hone the provided curriculum, vision, and approach to the after-school program. This includes creating an intentionally community-centered environment.
• Learn from and coordinate with the Jewish After School Accelerator program.

Enrollment Growth

• Follow up with leads generated by marketing efforts, and foster continual communication with interested leads
• Recruit new families through online sources, Open Houses, Back to School night, festivals, open houses, and other promotional events (if possible).
• Take families out to coffee, ice cream, etc. as part of the enrollment process to get to know families better and encourage them to enroll (if possible).
• Lead tours for new families and interested parties.
• Coordinate marketing efforts with Rodeph Shalom marketing and communications staff
• Consult with the after-school advisory task force on ideas to grow enrollment.
• Learn from and coordinate with the Jewish After School Accelerator program.

Team Management

• The Jewish After-School Director should be prepared also to serve as a teacher, at least in the early development of the program.
• Recruit, hire, and train after-school program teachers, assistant teachers, and specialists as needed.
• Plan and run teacher training at the beginning of the school year and throughout the school year, in conjunction with the Jewish After School Accelerator program.
• Plan and run staff meetings for the Afterschool Community team.
• Support teachers as needed with lesson planning, discipline challenges, etc.
• Support your team of teachers during operating hours.
• Cultivate a positive, hardworking, supportive culture among staff.
• Recruit and manage volunteers, as needed.

Family Relationship Management

• Provide excellent service to parents and communication with parents.
• Send weekly newsletters and program updates to parents.
• Communicate with parents during work hours by phone, email and in-person meetings about their children's experience.
• Be the point of contact for all questions and information about the Jewish after-school program.

Operations Management

• Handle any on-site facilities issues as they arise by notifying appropriate parties or taking action as needed, including playground and building maintenance if applicable.
• Organize and maintain the administrative side of the after-school program (student/teacher files, enrollment documents, organization of lesson plans, etc.)
• Purchase program supplies and snacks as needed.
• Manage budget and spending for the after-school program.
• Provide regular reporting on budget and enrollment, to the congregation and to the Jewish After School Accelerator program.
• Create and implement health and safety protocols.
• Plan and organize transportation from schools to Rodeph Shalom.
• If needed, drive transportation vehicles from schools to Rodeph Shalom.

School’s Out “Camp Days”

Plan and implement the programming and staff for all “Camp Days when schools are closed throughout the year. This includes:

• Tracking student enrollment.
• Arranging for guest presenters and field trips (if applicable).
• Creating and maintaining a daily schedule.
• Hiring, managing, and prepping the team for their roles .
• Communications with parents and staff around camp logistics.

Special Events

• Create and execute co-sponsored events with other programs hosted by your parent organization to help drive new enrollment
• Attend and help plan special events as needed. Some examples include Shabbat Potluck dinners and end of year ceremonies.

Specific Qualifications

In addition to the skills listed above:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel).
• Excellent communication skills, including writing and speaking
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Ability to work cooperatively and independently
• Strong organizational skills
• Collegiality and ability to cooperate with colleagues

Salary and Benefits

• Compensation is $65,000 annually.
• 403(B) contribution at 6% of compensation after one year (employee match not required)
• Medical insurance and Health Savings Account, paid by employer
• Paid time off, based on tenure with the organization

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send your resume and cover letter via email to Jennifer James, Director of Youth Learning and Engagement at [email protected].  Congregation Rodeph Shalom is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not take into consideration the race, gender, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, (or any other protected class) of any applicant for this position. For more information, visit our website at www.rodephshalom.org.

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Congregation Rodeph Shalom Vision:

Immersed in Jewish time, guided by enduring values, compelled to moral action, we create profound connections.

Immersed in Jewish time
 Sustained by the sacred rhythms of the Jewish year, pivotal moments of the Jewish life cycle, and generations of Jewish history, we are part of something greater than ourselves. Living in Jewish time teaches us how to express meaning in the everyday, to gather as a community, and to walk with each other through the joys and sorrows of our lives.

Guided by enduring values
 The timeless wisdom of our tradition inspires our intentional quest for truth, righteousness, and purpose amid the uncertainties we face in our world. We dedicate ourselves to Judaism’s ethical messages to treat each other with loving-kindness. The faithful, the skeptic—and those who perceive God in different ways—wrestle to renew the teachings of Torah for our present and the future of the Jewish people.

Compelled to moral action
 In a broken world, we commit to be a voice of conscience and to engage in the work of social justice. From our doorstep to our neighborhood and beyond, we welcome the stranger and embrace our responsibility to connect with and learn from others.

We create profound connections
 We seek meaning in shared experiences and cherish our diverse perspectives. We who are new to synagogue life or have extensive Jewish backgrounds; we who are Jewish or who share our lives with Jews; we who live within different family constellations, who are of all abilities, gender identities, sexual orientations, races, and generations: we enter the synagogue to celebrate, to learn, to laugh, to heal, to pray, to challenge ourselves, and to connect with others about the deepest questions of our lives.

Our Board of Directors’ Israel Vision, Inspired by Our Commitment to Reform Zionism

We pray for the hostages–for an agreement that will bring them home and bring an end to the war.

We are dedicated to engaging in conversation to share and to listen to each other about what matters to us, to expand our understanding, discover areas of disagreement, and uncover possibilities for common ground. We recognize and value the presence of congregants who hold a multiplicity of views.

Devoted to Jewish Peoplehood and a democratic Jewish homeland, we affirm Israel’s right to exist as an expression of a millennia-long dream. We are committed to pluralism and civil rights for everyone living within Israel, including progressive Jews, ethnic and religious minorities, and all marginalized identities. We look to the future and hope for the shared liberation of two countries side by side for Israelis and Palestinians. Only when that day comes can Israelis and Palestinians be truly safe, free, and whole.

Congregation Rodeph Shalom EID

The Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Task Force, mindful that its initials, EID, form the Hebrew word “witness,” inspires the Rodeph Shalom community to act with loving accountability toward each other, by treating every person –clergy, staff, congregants, guests and neighbors—with honor, respect and dignity.

To fulfill our congregational vision—immersed in Jewish time, guided by enduring values, compelled to moral action, we create profound connections--we re-examine our physical environment, communications, actions we take or refrain from and the policies and practices we uphold. Pursuing a Jewish future that is multiracial and multicultural, and ensuring Jewish renewal and regeneration, we are Jews of color, interfaith families, individuals seeking Judaism, persons on the margins of Jewish life, and every race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, body size, income level, physical, mental or developmental ability and family structure.

Congregation Rodeph Shalom Workplace Culture Principles (A Work in Progress):

Our professional team is dedicated, appreciated, and makes the pursuit of our vision possible. To reflect our values and strive for a positive workplace, we aspire the following traits/middot:

• Partnership/Chaverut – Every member of the staff is a valued part of a team. Our work is meaningful and challenging, and none of us is alone in it. We aim to nourish a culture of collaboration, a sense of belonging, and an openness to ask for help. We work together in the synagogue, and we honor the need for flexibility when personal needs and challenges arise. We support, care about, and learn from each other.
• Respect/Kavod – We treat each other and all professional roles with respect, especially in tone of communications, bringing perspective, behaving ethically, avoiding speaking about other people or pointing out mistakes in front of others, and practicing patience.
• Gratitude/Hakarat Hatov – We recognize the good in each other’s work and each other’s presence, practice positive reinforcement, and lift up gratitude.
• Fairness/Tzedek – We aim to treat each other fairly, both in regular interactions and in equity in compensation. We recognize that none of us is immune from being limited by our own biases so we work to better understand bias so it does not guide our words and actions.
• Balance/Izun – We honor boundaries by encouraging staff to work only during their hours and by refraining from calling or texting staff outside of their work hours or during vacation.
• Deliberation/Zehirut – There is intention in our choices and a focus on the way our actions make people feel. We aim to plan ahead when possible to contribute to a calmer and less stressful work environment. Intentional time management helps us avoid attempting to multi-task and helps us remain present.
• Responsibility/Achrayut – With professionalism, we are accountable for tasks, for supporting for each staff member, and to provide clarity about goals and what is needed to accomplish them.
• Forgiveness/Chemlah – We are all human and make mistakes. We do not need to cover those mistakes for fear of blame; rather we can turn to one another for learning, repair, and growth.
• Trust/Bitachon – We aim to help staff feel supported and resist micromanagement because we trust our staff’s capacity to work hard, use sound judgment, produce results, be resourceful, protect confidentiality, and ask for help when needed. We aim for our trust to inspire standards for product with flexibility for process.
• Commitment/Chasidut – We care about RS – its vision, congregants, staff, future, and its contributions to the Jewish People and the Philadelphia community.
• Candor/Yosher -- We aim to communicate directly and honestly to increase clarity and foster growth.
• Hope/Tikvah – We live in a difficult world and we do difficult work. We bring an attitude of positivity, openness, joy and perseverance to the work, we affirm our history but are open to change in order to move forward, and we do not give up.