Director of YALA

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the hub of the Conservative/Masorti Movement in North America, connecting more than 550 synagogues and 150 youth group chapters with the resources they need to succeed. We also power engagement initiatives like YALA for young adults and Exploring Judaism.org to share our Torah and love of Judaism with 40,000+ viewers each month (and counting).

Everything we do serves to promote our way of doing Jewish: joyful, dynamic and inclusive.

All in all, USCJ affiliates and programs reach more than 700,000 Jews across the continent annually – and we plan to double that within a decade. To do that, we need your help.

Our Team’s Core Values

At USCJ, our team seeks to live our core values every single day:
Collaboration, Dedication to the Mission, Generosity of Spirit, Innovation and Adaptability, Integrity, Solution Orientation and Striving for Excellence are guiding principles that shape our culture and drive our success.

USCJ’s best estimate is that there are nearly 250,000 USY alumni worldwide, as well as many other young adults affiliated with the Conservative Movement, in the 20s and 30s age bracket who are not currently engaged through our network. The Director of Young Adults, Leaders and Alumni (YALA) is central to creating a pipeline of continued involvement in the Conservative/Masorti Movement.

The Director of YALA cultivates young adults’ continued engagement with the Conservative Movement beyond high school graduation or other connections to the Conservative Movement. In collaboration with young adult partners, the Director creates dynamic, inclusive experiences that bring together young adults, alumni, leaders and others to connect, celebrate shared traditions and explore new ways to engage with the Conservative Movement. Through compelling programs and ongoing outreach, the Director inspires a lasting sense of belonging and empowers young adults to help shape the Movement’s future.

Key Responsibilities:

• Program Development and Management
  • Work closely with young adults to create and implement compelling programs, events and experiences designed to engage young adults, leaders and alumni of our Conservative Synagogues, Jewish camps, Hebrew School and other Movement activities.
  • Build and manage a vibrant Whats App Community and Instagram presence as primary channels for engaging young adults, sharing updates and fostering peer-to-peer connection and conversation.
  • Recruit, train, empower and mentor a YALA Advisory Committee to take on active roles in program planning and development.
  • Plan and deliver a minimum of 2 to 3 shabbatonim annually for young adults across the country.
  • Conduct and/or partner with education subject matter experts to deliver impactful professional development experiences (live and virtual events including trainings, webinars, workshops, community convenings and Jewish experiences of YALA participants).
  • Manage program budgets, timelines and resource allocation (staff, materials and venues), ensuring that everyone is aligned and working toward common goals.
  • Balance leadership responsibilities with day-to-day administrative tasks that support department operations.
  • Manage Microgrant initiatives (including the Synagogue Partnerships and YALANets).
  • Liaise with campuses to support campus programming and/or grants for movement chapters.
• Partnerships and Collaboration
  • Promote Conservative Synagogue Partnerships and seek out other partnership opportunities with organizations that share USCJ’s values to expand our reach and deepen engagement.
  • Promote and manage YALA opportunities, such as the YALANets, to enable our young adults to run affinity groups to help support YALA in expanding and thriving.
  • Work with Synagogue Engagement staff…