Manager, Israel Engagement & UJA ShinShinim Program

About UJA Federation of Greater Toronto

At UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, our vision is to lead the most vibrant Jewish community in North America - a community characterized by its diversity, unity, compassion, generosity and commitment to Jewish values. Together with our philanthropic, volunteer and professional leadership, we’re changing lives.

As one of North America’s leading Jewish non-profits, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto works to preserve and strengthen the quality of Jewish life in Greater Toronto, Canada, Israel and around the world. UJA advances this mission through fundraising, programs, and research focused on our strategic pillars: fighting poverty and improving well-being, growing Jewish education and identity, countering antisemitism and hate, and strengthening connections with Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.

About the Opportunity

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s ShinShinim program allows twenty-post high school young Israeli leaders (ShinShinim) to spend a year of volunteerism in Toronto as experiential educators in Israeli culture and Jewish Peoplehood.

The program manager will be responsible for acting as their co-mentor and primary contact person, designing together with the UJA ShinShinim team their professional and personal growth plan, optimizing their integration into and impact on the community. In addition, the manager will carry some departmental responsibilities, first and foremost managing UJA’s Café Hafooch portfolio. Café Hafooch is an online intergenerational program bridging between Canadian Jewish adults and Israeli high school students.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

UJA ShinShinim program

• Personal Mentoring – An essential part of the job is to provide personal mentoring designed to maximize the potential growth of each UJA ShinShin on a personal and professional level throughout the year.
• Professional Mentoring – Programmatically support the UJA ShinShinim in creating and facilitating their educational mission at the Institutions in the field of Israel culture and society and Jewish peoplehood.
• Attend regular UJA ShinShinim team meetings addressing any issues and challenges arising from personal mentoring and committee dynamics.
• Support the Chair of the UJA ShinShinim program in recruiting, screening, and training host families who host the UJA ShinShinim during the year and nurturing UJA’s relationship with the families.
• Manage all UJA ShinShinim related interactions internally at UJA (e.g., marketing, Jewish Identity, etc.).
• Plan and monitor the annual UJA ShinShinim interviews and election process.  
• Manage the relationships with the summer camps regarding the UJA ShinShinim program.
• Support the UJA ShinShinim in initiating special Israel Engagement community events (i.e., Yom Hazikaron).
• Create and present periodic progress reports.

Café Hafooch

• Recruiting and training the volunteers on the Canadian side.
• Work closely with UJA's people on the ground in Israel to match the volunteers with Israeli students.
• Facilitate and lead the sessions (roughly 18 sessions a year - all sessions take place on Sundays).

Qualifications:

• We are looking for an educator at heart, a charismatic role model with a pedagogical and psychological understanding of education.  
• High organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. 
• High level verbal and written English.
• Availability is highly required. (The UJA ShinShinim are young Israelis living for a year in a foreign country, they will need the support of help or a shoulder to lean on). The manager of the program must be available to meet with them at any time required.
• Flexibility in terms of working hours is a must. The UJA ShinShinim work on a very hectic schedule, meeting with them can often happen only in the evenings or during the weekends. Spending time away with them overnight in retreats, Shabbatons, etc., is also a common requirement.
• A driver's license and an available car are a must.
• Candidates must be able to communicate well in Hebrew. 
• Advanced computer skills.
• High teamwork ability.

Education and Experience:

• Undergraduate degree in the field of experiential education or similar.
• Extensive experience in experiential education and teen engagement.
• Deep and immersive experience and knowledge of Israel and Israeli society as well as with the Jewish community in Toronto.
• Marketing experience is considered an asset

*This is a full-time permanent position. Union Level G. At UJA we support a flexible work schedule and all of our employees engage in hybrid work. Engagement and connection are key to supporting the best employee experience and we want to ensure that this puts balance and well-being at the forefront of our approach to ways of working. In addition to a rich time off policy, UJA’s offices are closed on all Jewish holy days (yom tov) and we support early office closures to observe the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat). 

We look forward to connecting with you to understanding what you can bring to the UJA team and how we can support your career goals. Qualified applicants are invited to submit a cover letter and resume quoting REF# MIESP-IE-687 to: recruitment@ujafed.org. Only those applicants invited for interview will be contacted.

Commitment to Inclusion and Accessibility:

UJA Federation supports a diverse candidate and employment experience. We are proud of our dynamic professional team, which reflects the diversity of the Jewish community and general community alike in Greater Toronto. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all communities. We encourage you to follow us to get regular updates on open roles. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace and believe this is essential to ensure that every member of our team can thrive.

We adhere to barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please notify us and we will work with you to meet your needs.

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