Position Title: Program Director, East Bay Jews of Color Advancement Initiative
Reports to: TBD member of Bend the Arc’s Leadership Team
Location: East Bay in Bend the Arc’s office in Oakland, CA strongly preferred. Remote work arrangements in other parts of Northern California with ability to travel frequently to the East Bay would be considered.
Schedule: Full-time, including evening and weekend work schedules
Bend the Arc is a movement of progressive Jews across America who are building a country that lives up to our values of justice and equality for all. We are the only national Jewish organization focused solely on promoting these values here in the U.S.
Our vision at Bend the Arc is to build and activate Jewish power to help transform our country to be inclusive, equitable, and supportive of the dignity of every person across race, class, gender and faith. But we live in a moment when the President and his allies in Congress are fanning bigotry and hatred, and their disregard for democracy, religious freedom, and human rights present an existential threat to our values and our country. As Jews, our history and moral tradition call us to be bold and courageous in the face of this threat — we know it will take many of us, coming together to take collective action alongside partners in frontline communities, to resist and to win.
The Bend the Arc family of organizations consists of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, our 501(c)(4) organizing and advocacy arm; Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC, a political action committee dedicated to supporting candidates for federal office who champion our values; and Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, our 501(c)(3) education and leadership arm. Headquartered in New York City, we have offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco, with volunteer-led local groups organizing nationwide.
Position Description:
The Program Director, East Bay Jews of Color Advancement Initiative is a new role at Bend the Arc, created to launch an exciting new pilot project. The purpose of this project is to match Jews of color in the East Bay who are seeking professional and Board positions in Jewish communal life with organizations across the Bay Area that are invested in diversifying their staff and leadership in reflection of the changing Jewish community.
We are launching this project as a direct intervention to ensure that Jewish communal organizations keep pace with the racially and ethnically diverse Jewish community, and to correct for the historic absence of Jews of color from prominent leadership positions across Jewish life. To do this, we will build upon our existing programming and community-building work with progressive Jews of color in the Bay Area to offer additional support and opportunities, and lead training and readiness activities with Jewish communal organizations to prepare them to welcome Jews of color into professional roles at all levels of the organization. The East Bay region, covering Solano, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties, is home to approximately 122,000 Jews; this Jewish community is one of the most racially diverse in the nation, with 1 in 4 Jewish households including a person of color.
The program finds its roots in Bend the Arc’s long-standing work to move toward racial equity in the Jewish community and beyond, as well as our strong presence in the Bay Area. The Program Director will be able to leverage these ties in the program implementation process.
The Program Director will serve as the project lead and provide overarching leadership, management, and direction toward the goals of the program across three phases of implementation:
- Conducting a full landscape assessment to identify interested participants (both individuals and organizations);
- Planning, managing, and/or implementing an array of program opportunities for Jews of color in the East Bay and training/readiness work for participating organizations; and
- Leading a matching program to place interested Jews of color in roles in Jewish organizations in the region.
Key Responsibilities:
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Conduct a landscape analysis and needs assessment of the East Bay Jewish community that will include:
- outreach to our network of Jews of Color in the Bay Area, including our Racial Justice Team of grassroots leaders in our Bay Area chapter
- outreach to Jewish communal organizations in the greater Bay Area, including foundations and other philanthropic institutions; synagogues, camps, JCCs, day schools, advocacy and community organizations, and others.
- Plan, project manage, and/or implement an array of programmatic offerings that build community for Jews of Color in the East Bay and complement existing structures and programming
- Hire and supervise an Administrative Assistant
- Develop and hold relationships with key organizations and stakeholders in the project
- Develop an evaluation plan for the program and retain program evaluators as needed; analyze data for continuous improvement and to report back to stakeholders
- Connect Jews of color in the East Bay to national Jew of color networking opportunities
- Work in coordination with Bend the Arc's Bay Area Racial Justice team (which is currently a multiracial team) to ensure together that the range of our work in the region incorporates a clear racial equity lens
- Work with the Communications Department to market the program and the Development Department to develop sustained funding streams for the work for the duration of the initiative
- Hire consultants and or trainers to provide coaching and mentoring support for Jews of color and Organizations
- Lead a matching process between organizations and Jews of color seeking positions in the Jewish community
- Provide relationship support between Jews of color and organizations; troubleshoot as needed
Required Skills and Qualifications:
- Minimum 8 years of Program Management or other relevant experience with 3-5 years leading people/projects
- Understanding of the Jewish communal ecosystem (in the East Bay and nationally), and of the needs and experiences of Jews of Color in multiracial Jewish spaces
- Strong and exhibited commitment to racial equity and to social justice more broadly
- Self-starter and flexible thinker; able to work independently in a dynamic and changing work environment
- Consummate relationship builder; proven ability and high level of emotional intelligence to build trust and connect with and motivate people and organizations
- Experience developing creative and engaging programming, and analyzing data for program evaluation
- Experience supervising other staff and/or managing the work of others in projects including contractors
- Experience with Google Suite and Microsoft Office; and general overall comfort in learning and working with new technology and software
Strongly Preferred
- Previous experience launching a pilot program or in a start-up setting
- Experience in overseeing program evaluation
- Program marketing and outreach experience
- Coming in with existing relationships in the East Bay Jewish community
- Experience in conducting talent assessment and hiring processes in a Human Resources context or as a Hiring Manager or as a Director of a Program responsible for selecting program participants
- Experience in securing startup funding or ongoing support for new program initiatives
Compensation and Hours: This is a full-time position, with work schedules including occasional evenings and weekends. Annual salary range is $75K - $90K depending on experience, and includes paid time off and health benefits, detailed below.
Bend the Arc offers a comprehensive benefits package including:
- Medical, dental and vision benefits fully paid for by Bend the Arc for individual coverage and generous employer contribution of 80% toward monthly premiums for dependent and family coverage;
- Long and short term disability benefits fully paid for by Bend the Arc;
- 401K with employer contribution of 2% after your first year;
- Paid time off including:
- 15 vacation days during your first three years with an increase to 20 vacation days in your fourth year
- 12 sick days per year
- 23 paid holidays each year
- Generous Caregiving / Personal Leave of Absence policy with a Paid Leave Benefit that covers 3 weeks of paid leave for each year of employment, up to 12 paid weeks after four years on staff
- Fully paid Sabbatical of up to 12 weeks for long-term employees;
- Adoption Assistance Program providing reimbursement of up to $1,500 for qualified adoption expenses;
- Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account;
- Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account for eligible health related expenses
- Commuter Benefits;
- Employee Assistance Program;
- Life Insurance fully paid for by Bend the Arc
And more!
In addition to this benefits package, Bend the Arc has a commitment to a thriving and intentional organizational culture, as well as a commitment with staff and board to be in ongoing practice and learning around racial equity and inclusion.
To Apply:
Please submit your resume, cover letter, and a writing sample to [email protected] with “Program Director, East Bay Jews of Color Advancement Initiative“ in the subject line of your message. No phone calls please. We sincerely regret that we will not be able to respond to all applicants. Only those considered for the position will be contacted to interview.
Bend the Arc values a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture because we recognize that diversity within our staff helps us organize and work well with diverse Jewish and progressive constituencies. Candidates should be willing to work within the Jewish community, but may be of any (or no) faith or background. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, and record of arrest or conviction. Bend the Arc is an equal opportunity employer.
This job description is intended to convey information essential to understand the scope of the position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities associated with the position.