Springboard Fellow at University of Maryland Hillel

Springboard Fellow

University of Maryland Hillel

Role Overview

Make your mark on Jewish student life by joining the University of Maryland Hillel as the Springboard Fellow. You will build one on one relationships with students, plan and execute engaging events and programs around campus, and help inspire students to make a commitment to Jewish life. Maryland Hillel serves one of the largest and most dynamic Jewish campus communities in the country. Actively seeking to engage Jewish students on their own terms, Maryland Hillel provides students with Jewish opportunities that are meaningful, empowering, and engaging. Through a creative mix of leadership training, education, volunteerism, and social, spiritual, and cultural opportunities, students are inspired to realize their potential and become the best versions of themselves.   

In this role, you will be a changemaker within the community, bringing energy and excitement to everything you do. On an average day, you can be seen in the local coffee shop talking with a student about their time at summer camp, tabling across campus with bagels and cream cheese, and at a Greek house leading a Tikkun Olam activity, with snacks of course! You will have a unique ability to connect with people from different backgrounds, listening with genuine curiosity to people’s stories and beliefs. Seeing the bigger picture is something that comes easily to you, understanding the why behind your work, and taking the initiative to connect Jewish students to one another and other Jewish experiences. You'll wake up each day (or at least most) and be genuinely excited and enthusiastic about creating an inviting place that inspires students to explore, experience, and create vibrant Jewish lives. This is so much more than your average 9-to-5.

About The Springboard Fellowship

The Springboard Fellowship is a paid, two-year fellowship that brings recent college grads with raw talent, passion, and skills needed to reimagine and redesign Jewish student life to college campuses across North America. 

Trained in Relationship-Based Engagement, Human-Centered Design and other entrepreneurial frameworks, you will be exposed to the most successful initiatives from across the Hillel movement. Fellows will work with students to imagine, create, and refine experiences for Jewish life that dramatically impact student engagement, efficiently and strategically apply and scale successful initiatives from across the movement, and give birth to cutting-edge ideas that have the potential to transform how Hillel and creates inclusive spaces for #AllKindsOfJewish.

We’re looking for people who embrace challenges, take risks, fail, and learn from the past, while maintaining their passion and sense of humor. Extensive Jewish education is not necessary — just an interest in creating a vibrant Jewish community, a commitment to learning, and the desire to make a difference in the lives of students. 

What You’ll Do

GOALS: 

• Actively contribute to shaping the University of Maryland Hillel by engaging 180-200 unique students a year. 

• Collaborate with leaders to develop monthly First-Year student programming, Freshmen Leadership Fellowship, and semesterly Freshmen Shabbats.
• Strengthen connections between Maryland Hillel and Jewish students in Greek life by planning initiatives, events, and coffee chats with both new and current members.

• Assist in creating a pipeline of 50 potential leaders for programs such as FreshFest mentors, Alternative Spring Break, Kol Yisrael, and Jewish Student Union committee members.  

WHAT YOU’LL DO:  

• Build one-on-one relationships with Jewish students by meeting them where they live, work, and/or study, utilizing creative methods to reach and interest them.  
• Develop and implement an engagement strategy for First-Year students, allowing them to become leaders in the community.
• Spearhead programming and engagement efforts for prospective Jewish students interested in coming to the University of Maryland.
• Advise student organizations by connecting them to the greater Hillel mission and vision.    
• Assist with recruitment and staffing for Birthright Israel and other immersive experience trips.
• Participate as a member of the Hillel staff team in major programs, such as FreshFest, Family Shabbaton, Welcome Week, on-Campus Outreach, Shabbat, and holidays.  

Who You Are

• You’re A Relationship-Builder: You thrive on meeting new people, understanding their interests, and forging meaningful connections.
• You’re A Collaborative Team Player: You enjoy working collaboratively with a team to solve problems and explore new initiatives.
• You’re A Passionate Learner: You love learning and continuously building up your Jewish knowledge.
• You’re An Innovative Educator: You believe in infusing education into captivating experiences that stimulate the imagination.
• You’re A Facilitator: You thrive in creating spaces for students to converse, share ideas, and explore and develop their own ideas on relevant issues.
• You’re A Recent College Grad: Whatever your degree, you are excited about Jewish life on campus and have experience as a participant and maybe even as an educator in a Jewish educational setting.
• You’re A Creative Thinker: You are constantly reimagining the ordinary, seeking ways to repurpose and improve things.
• You’re A Bold Visionary: Think big and creatively, viewing everything as a possibility and embracing a risk-taking, entrepreneurial spirit.

 ~You’re A Springboard Fellow ~

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• 0 -3 years professional work experience
• Bachelor's degree
• This is an in-person role located in College Park, MD; remote work is not available for this position 
• Willingness to admit what you don’t know, and excitement to learn in those areas. 
• Creative problem-solving skills.  
• Ability to be flexible and work together with a diverse team of staff and students.  

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary in the nonprofit marketplace. The salary range for this role is $46,000 - $47,000 in year one of the Fellowship, and $48,000 - $49,000 in year two of the Fellowship.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, Life, AD&D and Long Term Disability (LTD) insurances, Flexible Spending accounts, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• High-level professional development to help develop core skills in experiential education, including learning from some of the most innovative organizations in Jewish education today. 
• $3,200 in professional development funds from the Springboard Fellowship to utilize over the course of two years.
• Intensive Jewish summer and year-long learning experiences that will provide you with the knowledge, passion, and critical tool kit to fuel your work building our Jewish communities. 
• Mentoring and career coaching to help you during and after your Fellowship. 
• A network of terrific colleagues from across the Hillel movement. 
• Travel opportunities, both domestically and internationally, multiple times per year (if permitted).