GatherDC Community Coordinator

GatherDC’s Community Coordinator will help hundreds of Jewish 20s and 30s who are new or new(ish) to the DMV area connect to Jewish opportunities, build lasting friendships, and discover meaningful Jewish identities.

We are looking for a personable, enthusiastic individual who is early in their career and excited to join an innovative grassroots Jewish nonprofit organization. This position comes with a competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package.

TITLE: Community Coordinator

SALARY: $50k–$55k

LOCATION: Washington, DC (hybrid)

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Preferred: Sunday, December 8 @ 11:59pm EST (Interviews are rolling; early applications encouraged!)

TARGET START DATE: Weds. January 8, 2025

Frequently cited statistics show that historical biases in hiring lead to less applications from women and underrepresented groups unless they have 100% of the qualifications. GatherDC is committed to removing bias in hiring; as such, we encourage you to break that statistic and apply. No one ever meets 100% of the qualifications! We look forward to your application.

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WHO WE ARE:

Growing from the success of hyperlocal GatherDC’s relational engagement methodology, Gather, Inc. is an emergent project that trains change agents in the Jewish community to bring a relationship-centered approach to every aspect of their work. Gather, Inc. is a web of cities, community partners, and networks that is changing how Jewish life happens—one relationship at a time. We support and empower young adults, Jewish professionals, leaders, and organizations to build compelling and sustainable Jewish lives that are relevant, active, and meaningful to them and their communities. Because when relationships are at the center, Jewish life—and the people in it—thrives.

GatherDC is one of two on-the-ground relational projects of Gather, Inc. (with GatherBay as a sibling city in the East Bay) and is the central platform for post-college/pre-family Jewish life across the DMV, building one of the most dynamic and inclusive cities for millennial and Gen Z Jewish life. We strengthen the fabric of Jewish life throughout the DMV, facilitating innovative opportunities for meaningful and relevant Jewish learning and stewarding relationships to help Jews in their 20s and 30s connect to Jewish organizations and to each other. We work with the rich network of Jewish communal synagogues, JCCs, and organizations across DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia to help them best serve young Jewish adults, and we champion relationship-based engagement, understanding that a thriving Jewish ecosystem is only as strong as the relationships we build with individuals and with the wider community.

WHAT YOU’LL DO*:

Manage GatherDC’s New-to-DMV Initiatives 50%

• Maintain a 1:1 engagement portfolio; conduct extensive coffee convos with all new-to-the-DMV Jews as well as 20s; serve as the main engagement touch point for these community members. This includes strategy, implementation, follow-up, reporting, and evaluation.
• Act as key liaison to feeder institutions (e.g. DC and Northern Virginia universities, Hillels) to ensure a smooth pipeline to post-college Jewish life.
• Serve as primary contact for local partner organizations.
• Bring fresh ideas, new insights, and creativity to everything we do.

Immerse yourself in DMV Jewish community 30%

• Organize monthly happy hours in DC and NoVA for 150-300 young people in diverse and exciting local venues across the city.
• Stay tapped into Jewish institutions, organizations, Jewish professionals, and social media to remain up to date on all Jewish happenings in the DMV.
• Serve as a GatherDC representative within the community in various communal spaces.
• Keep the pulse on community needs, shifting community dynamics, and ways that GatherDC can continue to serve the community.

General office tasks 20%

• Work with team members to bring innovative projects to life.
• Maintain regular personal data entry to track, evaluate, and evolve engagement efforts with personal New-to-DMV and 20s portfolios.
• Support the GatherDC team with experience support, data management, and tech questions.
• Update website and blog content, including our online calendar.
• Execute office tasks as needed, including logistical preparation for your events, sending life cycle gifts to community members, etc.

These are considered the essential functions of this role. Please note that this role will require a fair amount of in-person meetings across the DMV, in addition to Zoom/virtual meetings.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• You have 1 to 3 years of professional experience.
• You’re self-motivated, working equally well independently and as part of a team.
• You’re a self-described people person and believe in the power of community.
• You have Salesforce (or equivalent CRM) proficiency. (Preferred)

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• You’re a savvy connector. You are able to build and maintain strong relationships with both peers and colleagues. You are able to bring genuine energy and enthusiasm to your interactions and relationships and are able to propel dynamic conversations to connect with anyone you meet.
• You’re a nimble learner. You may not know everything, but you're able to learn what you need when you need it. You're able to learn and understand things quickly and easily, using both successes and failures as learning experiences. When faced with a challenge that calls for doing a task a different way, you dive in and try different ways until you land on the perfect solution.
• You’re a creative thinker. You’re great at thinking outside of the box and are able to not only conceptualize new ideas that don’t yet exist, but understand the steps that need to happen to bring them to life.
• You “get” the GatherDC approach. GatherDC prioritizes people over programs and understands that cultivating genuine one-on-one relationships is the key to building connection, community, and meaning-making. You’re able to shift your paradigm to our people-first philosophy and let that guide every aspect of your work.
• You’re an independent self-starter. You are able to ideate and take action with minimal direction, and are highly motivated by successfully achieving your objectives. You’re comfortable with sitting in discomfort while you work through problems, and you’re able to move past roadblocks or difficulties to find alternative solutions to reach your goals.

PLEASE APPLY IF:

• You like making new friends.
• You enjoy change and creativity.
• You are an awesome human being.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

We know the job application process is never a walk in the park, but we try to make our hiring process as transparent and painless as possible. While we cannot have a conversation with every applicant, we commit to reaching out to every single person who crosses our screen to let them know where they stand in the process within a timely manner (this usually looks like one business week). We recognize the time and effort it takes to prepare and submit this application, and we appreciate your consideration of this role.

Here’s what our general process will look like:

• Tuesday Nov. 19: Role is live and accepting applications with a preferred application date of December 8. Early applications are encouraged—interviews are scheduled on rolling basis!
• Early December: Candidates with applicable experience will have a 15-minute phone call with Gather, Inc.’s internal screener.
• Early-Mid December: Candidates who advance to the interview stage will have a 60-minute Zoom conversation with GatherDC’s Engagement Director.
• Mid December: Candidates who advance to the second stage will have 2 45-minute Zoom conversations with Gather staff members. Candidates will share 2-3 references at this time.
• Late December: Hiring Manager will check references and Managing Director will have a 30-minute conversation with finalists. Offer will be extended!
• Early January: First Day!

So, you’ve made it to the bottom. Ready to apply!?

Please submit your resume and cover letter by December 8. Contact Julie Silber, Gather’s Senior Director of People & Culture, at julies@gatherbetter.org with any questions or if you need any specific accommodations during the hiring process. Please note: we are unable to receive applications outside of the above submission form.

NOTES:

We appreciate the excitement—but in an effort to increase equity in our hiring process and mitigate the “bump” sometimes given to applicants with relationships with “insiders,” Gather does not accept informal recommendations or referrals from individuals with personal connections to our staff or Board members.

In accordance with Gather’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known and preventable hazards, all employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 per official CDC guidance. Barring reasonable accommodations for documented medical exemptions, proof of vaccination is a condition for employment.

We deeply value the diversity of insight, perspective, and experience brought by people from backgrounds typically underrepresented in Jewish organizations. This includes Black, Latinx, and Asian people, Black Jews, Jews of Color, Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities. We also welcome applications from people of diverse religious, spiritual, and cultural backgrounds.