Part-time contract opportunity based in Auckland:
Coordinator of the Jewish Education Programme at Beth Shalom
| Date position is available from: February 2023 |
| Address: 180 Manukau Road, Epsom, Auckland 1023, New Zealand |
| Email: office@bethshalom.org.nz Telephone: + 64 9 524 4139 |
| Website: https://bethshalom.org.nz/ |
| President: Michelle Wise Rabbi: Dean Shapiro |
About Beth Shalom
Beth Shalom, Auckland’s Progressive Jewish community, is diverse, inclusive, egalitarian and welcoming, with 200 member households who hail from across the globe. We are led by a committed Board of Management and Rabbi Dean Shapiro, who spent three years with us previously and returned eighteen months ago from the United States to live in New Zealand with his family.
The opportunity
At Beth Shalom, we are re-imagining our Jewish education offering, starting with the launch of a new Programme for young people and their families in March 2023. This Programme will be a combination of in-person classes and activities at our shul in Epsom and elsewhere in Auckland, Bar and Bat Mitzvah training, and online Hebrew classes (using curricula and materials from a reputable provider), which students will log into from home.
We have done a lot of thinking about who we are and our aspirations for our students. Now we are ready for a charismatic, dynamic Coordinator to help bring life to our vision. Our Coordinator will be warm, welcoming and able to connect with all people, particularly young people and their families. They will also have excellent communication and organisational skills and experience and be very comfortable with working and communicating collaboratively online. They will need to have some understanding of the Jewish calendar and life-cycle events, but they will not have to be Jewish or speak Hebrew. Classroom experience preferred.
The role will be 10 hours per week, working as an independent contractor, during the 2023 school year. Some but not all of the work will need to be done in-person at our shul in Epsom, Auckland. A few hours per week will need to be done online from home or the Beth Shalom office. The hourly rate will be up to $35 per hour, depending on skills and experience.
The successful candidate will report directly to the Board, as represented by the President or his/her designee(s). They will be working collaboratively with the Beth Shalom Board of Management, Education Committee, Rabbi and, most importantly, our on-the-ground teachers.
Key duties and responsibilities of the Coordinator:
- Assume responsibility for the implementation and regular operation of our Jewish learning programme for young people and their families.
- Coordinate and be present at in-person classes and activities for 6-11 year olds and their families, at Beth Shalom, in Epsom, Auckland, fortnightly during weekends (teachers will be responsible for teaching).
- Implement, direct and lead Family Learning based on a provided curriculum and activity plan.
- Coordinate (from home or the Beth Shalom office) and facilitate online Hebrew classes for 6-11 year olds during school term time, weekly on weekday afternoons (teachers will be responsible for teaching).
- Coordinate regular meetups for young people aged 13-15.
- Coordinate teachers and support their work.
- Be prepared to take up some teaching, as needed.
- Organise supplies and resources, including food and parent helpers/volunteers.
- Connect with families and children in a welcoming way, keep the community informed about the activities of the Programme, conduct enrolment, and keep records of attendance.
- Communicate with our families through appropriate emails and texts, and with our community through comms, including e-blasts, our newsletter and social media.
- Cultivate and maintain collaborative, effective relationships with the Board, the Education Committee, the Rabbi, teachers, staff and community members, particularly young people and families.
- Report regularly to the Education Committee on operational matters and progress towards achieving KPIs.
Could this be you?
If you want to help shape Progressive Jewish Education in Auckland, have excellent communication and organisational skills and experience, and this role sounds interesting to you, we encourage you to apply. Please email your Expression of Interest to office@bethshalom.org.nz, including an up-to-date CV and contact information.
Jewish Education at Beth Shalom
At Beth Shalom, we are committed to Jewish education that enables our children to:
- Feel connected, confident and proud;
- Know about Jewish religion, culture and history (including Israel) and appreciate Hebrew as a living language;
- Do Jewish traditions and customs, including those relating to Shabbat and holidays;
- Be moral, ethical human beings, informed by Progressive Jewish values.
We have developed a Graduate Profile for young people aged 6-12. Our higher-level hopes and expectations for our graduates align with four themes:
- Jewish Identity: Graduates will have a strong sense of Jewish identity, enthusiastic belonging and personal pride.
- Community: Graduates will progress through Bar and Bat Mitzvah into adulthood and become engaged members of our community.
- Knowledge and Wonder: Graduates will be knowledgeable about Judaism, appreciate Hebrew as a living language and be committed to pursuing lifelong relevant learning.
- Moral Character: Graduates will be moral, responsible human beings, living our shared Progressive values and Jewish ethics.
We also expect that our graduates will have the following capabilities:
- Understand and participate in the traditions and customs of our community, including those relating to Shabbat and holidays.
- Be able to lead a Shabbat service in our community.
- Be able to read and write the Hebrew Aleph-Bet and some key Hebrew words and to be able to communicate in simple Hebrew sentences.
- Be familiar with key events in Jewish history and the history, culture, and geography of the State of Israel.
- Be familiar with Progressive Jewish values.
