Director of Learning

T'ruah is seeking a Director of Learning to oversee our Jewish educational content and professional resource development, design and implement our thought leadership plan, contribute to the development of rabbinic and cantorial trainings, and develop the leadership of rabbi and cantor members by working with them on resource creation.

The ideal candidate has vast knowledge of and facility with Torah, is excited about creating usable resources for rabbis and cantors, is ambitious about thought leadership, and thrives both when working alone and as part of a team.

Who We Are

T’ruah brings the Torah’s ideals of human dignity, equality, and justice to life by empowering our network of over 2,300 rabbis and cantors to be moral voices and to lead Jewish communities in advancing democracy and human rights for all people in the United States, Israel, and the occupied Palestinian territories.

To learn more about our work, visit www.truah.org or find us @truahrabbis on Twitter and Facebook.

What You’ll Do

The Director of Learning, who reports to the Chief Programs Officer, and is a senior member of T’ruah’s Program Team, is responsible for overseeing, strategically implementing, and creating much of T’ruah’s Jewish educational content, professional resources, and experiences in order to advance our mission. This includes:

• Supporting the learning and growth of T’ruah’s rabbi and cantor members, rabbinical and cantorial students, and the broader public through the creation of text studies, prayers and readings, rituals, think pieces or essays, holiday supplements, and trainings on relevant themes/topics.
• Collaborating with members of the program team to develop needed resources and written materials to educate rabbis and cantors on our issues; owning the process of editing and revising until completion.
• Developing the leadership of rabbi and cantor members (chaverim) by recruiting them, as individuals or as part of a team/committee, to create Jewish resources that educate about and advance our issues.
• Developing resources that dig into Jewish wisdom in order to respond to the moral questions of the moment, and to push back against attempts to use Jewish ideas to support anti-democratic policies.
• Recruiting and supporting writers for (M)oral Torah, T’ruah’s weekly d’var Torah email, including editing submissions.
• Creating new and/or implementing existing opportunities to support the development of rabbinical and cantorial students’ moral leadership through fellowships and Shabbatons.
• Working with the Development Department to create holiday-specific offerings as part of our semi-annual fundraising appeals.
• Leading regular internal Jewish learning opportunities for T’ruah staff.
• Leading trainings on antisemitism for outside organizations, primarily secular and interfaith.

If you were here right now, you would be:

• Creating a High Holiday text resource for rabbis and cantors, which will be used in a webinar led by other T'ruah staff.
• Working with the Associate Director of Israel Campaigns and Education on an adaptation of the Viddui prayer and getting input on it from rabbis and/or cantors.
• Editing a (M)oral Torah submission while also recruiting writers for the fall/winter.
• Collaborating with other T’ruah staff on the revision of our antisemitism training.
• Foreseeing possible content needs in the post-High Holidays fall and winter, based on the current political moment and the organization’s advocacy and organizing plans.
• Drafting a learning/educational resources budget and plan for the FY25 fiscal year.
• Developing a group of rabbis, cantors, and scholars who can help to craft T’ruah resources.
• Meeting with a chaver (rabbi or cantor member) for a 1:1.
• Identifying key areas in which Jewish wisdom can help counter anti-democratic ideas and determining ways to promote Jewish ideas that contribute to building a multi-faith, multi-racial society.
• Supporting the management of our database, Salesforce, keeping track of solo and collaborative projects in Asana, and setting up mass emails in Salsa Engage.

Who You Are & Keys to Success

To be successful in this position, you are most or all of the following:

• Torah knowledge and application. You have a strong command of Jewish content, specifically knowledge of and facility with classical Jewish text. You can accurately and creatively translate text from Hebrew to English, and you are able to creatively use ancient through modern text to illuminate or shed new light on contemporary issues.
• An understanding about what Jewish clergy need. You have experience working with rabbis and cantors and are attuned to their work and what content needs they may have.
• A reliable and collaborative project manager. You have a successful track record of taking a concept from idea to fruition. You have experience and enjoy leading a group of staff and/or volunteers to accomplish a common goal or produce a single resource.
• Ambitious about thought leadership. You are attuned to the broader Jewish thought leadership ecosystem and can think strategically about T’ruah’s unique contribution in that space. Considering T’ruah’s mission and goals, you can develop proposals for what intervention T’ruah might offer and where we can be impactful. And you can think ahead about what our audiences will need to hear in the near future.
• A relationship builder: You have a demonstrated track record of building authentic relationships. You demonstrate appropriate use of self in professional contexts and elicit similar vulnerability in others. You put relationship before task without dropping the larger vision and goals. You demonstrate integrity, acting in line with your, and the organization’s, values.
• A team player: You have experience working as part of a team, collaborating with others toward a collective goal. You are self-aware, attuned to others, and have keen emotional and social intelligence. You view your work as supporting the whole and integral to the team’s effectiveness.
• Committed to the safety and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians. You feel comfortable representing T’ruah’s positions, which include support for a swift end to the current war, including the return of hostages and a cessation of violence in Gaza, as well as massive humanitarian relief there; a political solution that ends the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and that resolves the status of Jerusalem and its residents; and the future of Israel as a Jewish democratic state side-by-side with a State of Palestine.
• Sophisticated antisemitism and racism analyses. You have an analysis of antisemitism that is aligned with T’ruah’s (see our Very Brief Guide to Antisemitism) as well as a racial equity analysis that complements and connects to your understanding of how antisemitism works in present-day North America.

The ideal candidate is a rabbi or experienced Jewish educator.

Systemic inequities in hiring have caused many women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ people to apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. If you don’t have all of the qualifications listed above but are extremely organized, passionate about our mission, and believe you have applicable and transferable skills from other industries or experiences, we encourage you to apply for this job. We’d love to hear from you. In your cover letter, be sure to explicitly highlight how your experience, skills, and personal qualities have set you up to succeed in the role.

What Else You Should Know

Eligibility

U.S. persons are eligible to apply.

Status

This position is full time, i.e., 40 hours per week.

Salary

This position is in T’ruah’s $80,000 - $105,000 salary band. We set salary within this band through a collaborative process using a standard rubric based on years of experience.

Location

The job location depends on where you reside: If you live anywhere other than the New York Metropolitan Area, the position is remote. Those living in the New York Metro Area will have our New York City office at their disposal, and some amount of in-office work may be required in the future.

Travel

All staff are expected to attend a semi-yearly team-building retreat, and to attend our annual fundraising gala. Beyond these, there is no expected travel for this position.

Benefits include:

• T’ruah pays for 100% of the employee’s premium and 50% of one dependent’s premium on our recommended medical insurance plan
• 120 vacation hours a year in your first year of employment, increasing to 160 hours a year at the start of your second year of employment
• 34 holidays a year, which includes Jewish holidays, Summer Fridays, and a floating holiday
• Unlimited sick leave
• Paid leave of up to 12 weeks for the birth or adoption of a child
• Salary deferral contributions to T’ruah’s retirement savings plan
• Employer-covered basic life and AD&D insurance valued at $10,000 (U.S. persons only)
• Optional benefit plans available at employee expense (U.S. persons only): dental, vision, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, supplemental life insurance, and supplemental AD&D insurance

Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)

T’ruah is committed to DEI at every level of our organization, including our Board of Directors. For the past several years we have been actively working on becoming an antiracist organization. We published a set of organizational values reflecting this commitment.

Equal opportunity employer

T’ruah isn’t just an equal opportunity employer. We are actively seeking to build a diverse and inclusive team with a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. T’ruah does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, personal appearance, family responsibility, political affiliation or any other status protected by applicable law. Women, transgender people, veterans and people of color are encouraged to apply.

Compliance with eligibility verification laws

In compliance with U.S. federal law, all U.S. persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

Our Timeline

Applications will be accepted, and interviews will be conducted, on a rolling basis. Our ideal start date for this position is as soon as possible.

How to Apply

Submit the form on this page. Your cover letter will be used as a writing sample. No phone calls, please.