Director of Education

To ensure a safe and welcoming environment for Jewish students in K-12 schools, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is seeking our first-ever Director of Education. This position will be the driving force in JCRC’s innovative outreach, training and advocacy initiatives with Bay Area educational institutions and interest groups to build understanding of Jewish identity and protections for Jewish students in our schools. The Director of Education will also help guide JCRC’s policy and statewide work on K-12 education issues.

This new position has been created as JCRC embarks on a new strategic plan to address rising antisemitism and hate, delegitimization of Israel, widening racial and economic inequities, and a weakening of our democracy in the Bay Area and across our state. 

For 75 years, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) has served as the Bay Area’s leading Jewish public affairs organization, bringing together diverse Jewish communities with our neighbors to build a just society and a secure Jewish future.

The Director of Education will have four main areas of responsibility:

Outreach and Relationship Building: Formulate and lead the implementation of a comprehensive outreach and relationship building plan with public and private educational institutions and leadership in the Bay Area.

Advocacy and Community Organizing: Organize and mobilize collaborative organizational and grassroots efforts to proactively address issues related to Jewish identity, antisemitism and Israel, including ethnic studies, in K-12 education institutions in the Bay Area and serve as a resource for Jewish communities and organizations statewide.

Training and Education: Help develop, recruit audiences for, and facilitate trainings and workshops on Jewish identity and other education-related topics for school administrators, Jewish community members, and others.

Policy and Issue Expertise: Track statewide education-related legislation, help develop JCRC’s education-related policy agenda, identity relevant trends in education and serve as a Jewish community issue expert on public education.

This position requires local travel between different Bay Area counties and possible occasional travel to conferences across California.

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Education or other degree with equivalent educational experience
• At least 5 years’ experience in K-12 education
• Strong understanding of the K-12 public education system
• Knowledge of Jewish issues such as antisemitism, diversity of Jewish identities and Israel preferred
• Understanding of the local Bay Area community desired but not required
• Strong written and verbal communication, including presentation skills
• Ability to work with diverse communities
• Works well in a collaborative and fast-paced environment
• Commitment to the mission and goals of JCRC to bring together diverse Jewish communities with our neighbors to build a just society and a secure Jewish future.