Executive Assistant to Clergy and Office Manager

Kehillat Beth Israel (KBI) - Ottawa's largest Conservative synagogue - seeks a highly organized and service-oriented professional to provide executive-level support to our clergy while overseeing the daily administrative operations of the synagogue office. This full-time role is central to ensuring KBI's clergy are well supported in their pastoral, educational, and community leadership work, and that members, visitors, volunteers, and staff experience a professional, organized, and welcoming office.

Reports To:

Executive Director

Works Closely With:
Clergy Team and Office Team

Employment Status:
Full-time

The Executive Assistant to Clergy / Office Manager ("the Manager") provides executive-level administrative support to KBI's clergy while establishing clear ownership of day-to-day office administration. Reporting to the Executive Director and working closely with the clergy team, the Manager coordinates clergy schedules and administrative needs, oversees core office operations, and helps ensure a professional, organized, and welcoming environment for members, visitors, volunteers, and staff.

• The Executive Assistant to Clergy will:
  • Manage clergy calendars, scheduling, and appointment coordination.
  • Coordinate administrative aspects of lifecycle events, including meetings, documentation, logistics, and follow-up.
  • Prepare correspondence, presentations, reports, and other written materials on behalf of the clergy.
  • Manage confidential records, files, and communications with discretion and professionalism.
  • Coordinate travel arrangements, meeting logistics, and special projects as assigned.
  • Serve as the primary administrative point of contact for clergy-related inquiries, ensuring timely communication and appropriate follow-up.
  • Support donor stewardship, congregational outreach, and other relationship-management activities as requested by the clergy.
  • Anticipate administrative needs, helping clergy remain organized, prepared, and focused on pastoral, educational, and community leadership responsibilities.
  • Support B'nei Mitzvah Program:
    • Materials Distribution:
      Prepare Torah scroll aliya excerpts from an existing larger PDF as needed; manage database of aliya photos; distribute as requested by Torah readers.
    • Service Logistics:
      In collaboration with the Cantor and volunteer honours coordinators, ensure all certificates, gifts, readings, and personalized honours sheets are prepared for the family and service leaders on the day of the simcha.
    • Manage the B'nei Mitzvah Core Requirements:
      Maintain, in collaboration with the Cantor, an existing spreadsheet to track and monitor family commitments to our policies, student milestones, purchase and distribute incentivizing awards (gift cards), and handle routine administrative check-ins with families. Between 7 and 10 days following each B'-mitzvah, send parents a post-event survey, and compile results for the team to analyze and compare.
  • Livestream Management:
    Program the livestream schedules according to our prayer services and special event calendars, ensuring broadcast feeds are correctly configured and equipment is working predictably. Handle the downloading of archives and uploading to KBI's servers and sending links on to relevant families after their simchas.
  • Choir Management:
    In collaboration with the Cantor, manage the choir calendar, learning resources webpage, communications with and among choristers (including a Whats App group), sheet music reproduction and binder organizing, light web/tech-support for choristers; evaluate and consider the value of a choir admin app (ie., Choir Mate); assist with concert logistics, bookings, travel & accommodations; and other related duties.
  • Shared Pastoral & Lifecycle Support:
    While the Rabbi and Cantor share lifecycle events, the assistant plays a crucial role in the intake and tracking process:
    • Lifecycle Intake:
      Serve as the first point of contact for families calling to schedule b'nei mitzvah (there is an online intake form), baby namings, weddings, funerals, or unveilings, gathering the initial intake information before passing it to the clergy.
    • Clergy pro-active outreach: provide prompts to clergy to reach out to marginalized congregants such as those observing sh'loshim, yud-bet chodesh (12 months of kaddish), yarhtzeits; follow up with families listed in our Mi Shebeirach (healing prayers) list to see if names can come off (and a meaningful…