Assistant Director, Jewish Community Relations Council

What you’ll be doing:

Interfaith and Community Relationship-Building

• Build, sustain, and manage a robust portfolio of interfaith and community relationships, including clergy, congregational leaders, lay leaders, nonprofit partners, and community organizations.

• Conduct regular outreach through one-on-one meetings, group engagements, and joint initiatives.

• Convene cross-community coalitions to strengthen trust, coordination, and shared responses to emerging issues and crises relevant to the Jewish community.

• Maintain a stakeholder map and engagement plan with clear outreach goals, contact histories, and follow-up actions.

Israel Education, Engagement, and Public Speaking

• Serve as a knowledgeable, public-facing resource on Israel-related issues, translating complex developments into clear, accurate, and accessible briefings for diverse audiences.This includes publicly speaking on behalf of JUF regarding Israeli policy and society.

• Develop and deliver presentations, talking points, and educational materials for interfaith partners, civic leaders, and community members.

• Support community leaders and partner organizations with preparation and coaching for Israel-related programming and challenging conversations.

• Create written materials and briefings of current Israeli policy to be distributed through a number of channels including JUF magazine, Substack, etc.

Event Strategy and Execution (Israel and Interfaith/Intergroup Programming)

• Plan, coordinate, and execute events that strengthen interfaith and intergroup relationships and promote informed engagement with Israel, including panels, briefings, dialogues, cultural programs, and speaker events.

• Manage events end-to-end, including venue and vendor coordination, run-of-show, registration, security planning, speaker preparation, participant communications, and post-event follow-up.

• Design programming with measurable outcomes, such as increased partner participation, improved sentiment, joint initiatives, shared statements, or rapid-response coordination.

JCRC Mission Advancement and Strategic Leadership

• Support JUF Campaign efforts and required campaign-related activities.

• Partner with JCRC leadership to expand interfaith and intergroup relationships and connect those efforts to the broader Jewish community.

• Create and maintain briefing materials, agendas, and communication documents for JCRC council meetings.

Antisemitism Prevention and Incident Response

• Serve as a point person or key team member for receiving, triaging, and tracking reports of antisemitic incidents and bias concerns.

• Coordinate response strategies with internal teams and external partners, including communal organizations and law enforcement where appropriate.

• Develop and manage support pathways for affected individuals and communities, including referrals, documentation guidance, safety planning, and communications.

• Analyze incident data to identify trends and hotspots and provide summaries and recommendations to senior leadership.

What you need to succeed:

Required

• Minimum of 7 years of experience in community engagement, project management, or a related field.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher.

• Strong understanding of Chicago’s Jewish community and its diverse constituencies.

• Deep knowledge of Israeli culture, society, and politics.

• Exceptional relationship-building, networking, and communication skills (written and verbal).

• Demonstrated experience planning and executing complex events.

• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

• Mission-driven, values-oriented, and committed to the goals of JCRC.

• Self-starter with a strong work ethic and the ability to work independently.

• Collaborative team player with strong strategic thinking skills.

Preferred

• Experience in advocacy, coalition-building, or government relations.

• Degree or advanced study in Middle Eastern Studies, Judaic Studies, or a related field.

• Proficiency in Hebrew.

• Familiarity with nonprofit operations and community-based programming.