Rabbinic Assistant  

Central Reform Congregation is a vibrant urban Jewish community dedicated to supporting one another in holy ways, pursuing justice and lifelong learning, and providing a shelter of peace.

The Job

This position works closely with the CRC rabbis to ensure that religious programming, religious education and pastoral care is consistent and of high quality. Some overlap with facilities, events, communications and education will be required, as much of the work of the rabbis is in collaboration with other departments. The primary focus of this role is to provide support to the rabbis, provide oversight of Friday night and Saturday morning services, Holiday programming and provide organizational leadership for some of our events.  

Hours: Full time - Tuesday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Friday and Saturdays, oversight of services will be required and hours will be adjusted accordingly.  

Responsibilities

Pastoral Care, Lifecycle, Services

• Manage pastoral care administration using RMS or Salesforce to enter information and track data  
• Provide staff support to the Religious Events Committee and other rabbi-led events and committees
• Take calls regarding deaths and manage rabbinic funeral officiating, send out death notices, maintain the Yizkor and Yahrzeit lists; create processes so that each death is handled in similar ways
• Provide support to the retired rabbis as defined and requested
• Provide comprehensive support for Friday and Saturday services, including preparing materials (e.g., Shabbat packet), confirming setup, and being onsite to ensure smooth execution.
• On Saturdays, arrive at 9:00 a.m., ensure set up is correct for service
• Ensure streaming is ready to go (not doing any of the technical work)
• For Friday and Saturday, confirm that facilities (staff or vendor) is onsite and that preparations are complete for any food service
• Welcome new members as requested by Member Services
• Plan and execute Religious Events (i.e. First Night, First Light)
• Organize Shabbat Dinners as needed

High Holidays

• Manage High Holiday planning and execution in cooperation with the Rabbinic Team and Executive Director
• Support the Rabbinic Team with supplies, service materials, and logistics, while monitoring and maintaining inventory to ensure all needs are met.
• Lead regular staff meetings in preparation for the High Holidays.
• Collaborate closely with the Volunteer Coordinator to support and engage volunteers. 
• Create and manage a High Holiday calendar
• Coordinate with the Salesforce Administrator to ensure event registrations are accurately created and executed on time.
• Collaborate with Communications on branding and timely execution of the High Holidays communications plan.
• In coordination with the Executive Director, assign CRC staff duties during the High Holidays
• Be present on site during all High Holidays
• In coordination with Communications, create, disseminate and distribute results of a post High Holiday survey 

Education

• On behalf of rabbis, organize Rabbinic led classes and other Adult Education programming
• Coordinate with the Education department with regard to Rabbinic input in Beit Mitzvah preparation (i.e. rehearsals, siddurim prep)
• Communicating changes in the Beit Mitzvah Binder to Education prior to 4th grade meeting each year
• Preparing Siddurim for Beit Mitzvah
• Provide support to the rabbis in their roles as teachers within the religious school.
• Assist with planning and execution of special trips for older youth 

Administrative and Operational

• Answer emails and phones calls for the Rabbinic team and respond/forward/take action as needed
• Assist with financial tasks such as uploading receipts to accounting system, processing fees for events, creating registration processes
• Maintain calendars and schedule events such as mikvahs, classes, lifecycle events, etc.
• In coordination with Office Manager, order and maintain supplies needed specifically by Rabbis 

Event/Rental Management

• Respond to calls and emails with regard to any event at CRC, from initial inquiry to execution of the event.
• Manage the Master calendar to schedule events
• Update and disseminate event/rental information to Facilities, Executive Director and staff during meetings as needed.
• Communicate with and coordinate logistics with any vendors who will work the event. Miscellaneous Office and Overlap ? Assist Office Manager with Front Desk, Front door and phone support
• Provide support for Events during your regular work hours; may also be asked to provide event support outside of regular work hours on a voluntary basis (except High Holidays which are required for all staff)
• Provide support and information to caterers

Requirements and Skills 

• Minimum 2 years work experience
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, Google Suite as well as attention to detail, accurate and timely communication skills; familiarity with Salesforce or CRM helpful
• Solid knowledge of Jewish customs, holidays, events, culture
• Must maintain absolute confidentiality at all times
• Basic understanding of Hebrew helpful
• Must be customer service focused
• Able to set appropriate boundaries and seek guidance from the Executive Director or colleagues when faced with new or unfamiliar situations.