Job Description

Job Title : Jewish After School Director

Reports to : Director of Youth Learning and Engagement

Position Type : Full-Time

Hours : 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday-Friday with occasional evenings for special events 

Our Organization

Congregation Rodeph Shalom (RS) is a vibrant Reform community in center city Philadelphia. It has grown to become the largest Jewish congregation in the region. We are a fast-paced, mission-driven workplace, and we welcome employees who strive for excellence.

Our congregational vision: Immersed in Jewish time, guided by enduring values, compelled to moral action; we create profound connections.

Our after-school program mission: to provide a welcoming and safe entryway to Jewish life, values, and peoplehood through offering reliable, playful, purposeful, and joyfully-Jewish after-school care to children in kindergarten through 6th grade.

The After-School Program Director will create and manage an after-school program that is aligned with the congregational vision and the after-school program mission, thus helping RS to realize its full potential as a sacred community.

Position Summary

The after-school program at Congregation Rodeph Shalom (The Clubhouse) will be a completely unique place for children to play and learn, offering the services of a premium after-school program with a full, experiential Jewish learning experience. Our goal is to create a welcoming, safe entryway to Jewish life, values, and peoplehood, through offering reliable, playful, purposeful after-school care to children in kindergarten through 6th grade, located at Congregation Rodeph Shalom. This goal will inform the way you execute all of your duties as an Afterschool Director.

The Jewish After School Director is responsible for all aspects of building, launching, and running a dynamic Jewish after-school program. This includes marketing to raise awareness about the program, creating infrastructure for procedures, developing lesson planning based on pre-established curriculum to be provided, staff hiring, developing and managing the teaching team, event planning, parent communications and engagement, enrollment, budgeting, teaching, and student management.

Specific Responsibilities

The categories of responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Program Development

● Market and distribute information about the after school program to the local community, and to the broader community.

● Attend PTA meetings, school sponsored events, and other local/community events in order to promote the program.

● Establish a marketing approach for the promotion of the new program and distribute information through email, social media, and partnership with other organizations.

● Integrate the after-school program with other programmatic offerings of Congregation Rodeph Shalom, being sure to create bridges from the Buerger Early Learning Center into your program by co-hosting events and coordinating with leadership.

● Work with administrative staff and other professionals to develop and refine organization policies, procedures, and program initiatives.

● Set up the after-school space to be ready for the start of the school year, including setting up classrooms, ordering supplies, materials, securing transportation vehicles, etc.

● Set a transportation schedule for the school year based on student enrollment.

● Customize and hone the provided curriculum, vision, and approach to the after-school program. This includes creating an intentionally community-centered environment.

● Learn from and coordinate with the Jewish After School Accelerator program.

Enrollment Growth

● Follow up with leads generated by marketing efforts, and foster continual communication with interested leads

● Recruit new families through online sources, Open Houses, Back to School night, festivals, open houses, and other promotional events (if possible).

● Take families out to coffee, ice cream, etc. as part of the enrollment process to get to know families better and encourage them to enroll (if possible).

● Lead tours for new families and interested parties.

● Coordinate marketing efforts with Rodeph Shalom marketing and communications staff

● Consult with the after-school advisory task force on ideas to grow enrollment.

● Learn from and coordinate with the Jewish After School Accelerator program.

Team Management

● The Jewish After-School Director should be prepared also to serve as a teacher, at least in the early development of the program.

● Recruit, hire, and train after-school program teachers, assistant teachers, and specialists as needed.

● Plan and run teacher training at the beginning of the school year and throughout the school year, in conjunction with the Jewish After School Accelerator program.

● Plan and run staff meetings for the Afterschool Community team.

● Support teachers as needed with lesson planning, discipline challenges, etc.

● Support your team of teachers during operating hours.

● Cultivate a positive, hardworking, supportive culture among staff.

● Recruit and manage volunteers, as needed.

Family Relationship Management

● Provide excellent service to parents and communication with parents.

● Send weekly newsletters and program updates to parents.

● Communicate with parents during work hours by phone, email and in-person meetings about their children's experience.

● Be the point of contact for all questions and information about the Jewish after-school program.

Operations Management

● Handle any on-site facilities issues as they arise by notifying appropriate parties or taking action as needed, including playground and building maintenance if applicable.

● Organize and maintain the administrative side of the after-school program (student/teacher les, enrollment documents, organization of lesson plans, etc.)

● Purchase program supplies and snacks as needed.

● Manage budget and spending for the after-school program.

● Provide regular reporting on budget and enrollment, to the congregation and to the Jewish After School Accelerator program.

● Create and implement health and safety protocols.

● Plan and organize transportation from schools to Rodeph Shalom.

● If needed, drive transportation vehicles from schools to Rodeph Shalom.

School’s Out “Camp Days”

Plan and implement the programming and staff for all “Camp Days when schools are closed throughout the year. This includes:

● Tracking student enrollment.

● Arranging for guest presenters and field trips (if applicable).

● Creating and maintaining a daily schedule.

● Hiring, managing, and prepping the team for their roles .

● Communications with parents and staff around camp logistics.

Special Events

● Create and execute co-sponsored events with other programs hosted by your parent organization to help drive new enrollment

● Attend and help plan special events as needed. Some examples include Shabbat Potluck dinners and end of year ceremonies.

Specific Qualifications

In addition to the skills listed above:

● Bachelor’s degree

● Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office products (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel).

● Excellent communication skills, including writing and speaking

● Strong interpersonal skills

● Ability to work cooperatively and independently

● Strong organizational skills

● Collegiality and ability to cooperate with colleagues

Salary and Benefits

● Compensation is $65,000 annually.

● 403(B) contribution at 6% of compensation after one year (employee match not required)

● Medical insurance and Health Savings Account, paid by employer

● Paid time off, based on tenure with the organization

If you are interested in applying for this position, please send your resume and cover letter via email to Jennifer James, Director of Youth Learning and Engagement at jjames@rodephshalom.org. Congregation Rodeph Shalom is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not take into consideration the race, gender, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, (or any other protected class) of any applicant for this position. For more information, visit our website at  

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