Coordinator, Teen Engagement

At JCC Chicago, we are focused on growing good kids, building communities, and educating ourselves about the past to make a difference for the future. The largest JCC in North America, JCC Chicago offers a life-affirming journey that builds on the richness and power of Jewish values and continues to reimagine them for a more connected, inspired community.

The Coordinator, Teen Engagement works under the direct supervision of the Senior Manager of Family Engagement to support the agency’s efforts in creating opportunities for the Jewish community and teens to create deeper connections to their communities and Judaism. The Teen Engagement Coordinator will work primarily with Jewish Student Connection (JSC) during the school year, providing high school students with an in-school informal educational experience focused on compelling issues of Jewish pride, identity, and connection to Israel.

JCC Chicago is an equal opportunity agency that offers career opportunities, internships, and volunteer roles for all. Our goal is to foster relationships, build our community, and create connections that will enable our mission to reach a larger impact. We welcome you to join us in building your career, as we build a stronger community.

Key areas of responsibility:

Programming

• Plan and coordinate leadership training for JSC teens and other teen/community engagement opportunities as needed throughout the year.
• Plan and organize weekly JSC club activities to inspire Jewish pride and identity. Manage all scheduling, budgeting, curriculum decisions for their JSC clubs.
• Develop curriculum for JSC and community clubs on topics related to Jewish culture, holidays, peoplehood, Israel, and more.
• Advertise and recruit for those clubs, utilizing print materials posted and announcements within the schools, social media, as well as other methods to reach target attendance numbers and continue to grow the club including, but not limited to, meeting with our marketing department on ways to increase engagement.
• Track and enter attendance, interactions, and other pertinent data into JSC database on a weekly basis. Sending CEO monthly emails on attendance and interactions within clubs.
• Purchase supplies and snacks to bring to JSC club meetings as needed.
• Build and nurture relationships with BBYO and other teen professionals (USY, NFTY etc.) to maximize reach and impact.
• Work with Senior Manager of Family Engagement and Teen Engagement colleagues to create a strategic plan to maximize reach and impact at Revere.
• Work with Chi professionals to maximize impact and reach and assure seamless teen customer experience across the agency. Assist in planning and implementation of all JCC teen programs, i.e. Backyard Games, Maccabi Games, and more.
• Work with JCC staff to develop and support other community programming in alignment with JCC Mission and goals as needed.

Community Outreach

• Foster and maintain relationships with club participants; work to ensure their continued involvement in Jewish life beyond attendance at the JSC clubs.
• Connect with teens outside of JSC clubs at community events as a representative of JSC and JCC.
• Identify new potential schools for JSC clubs, establish relationships with teens and faculty at those schools.
• Think creatively about usage of JSC social media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat) and assist in maintenance of accounts as needed.
• Develop and foster relationships with school administration and staff to ensure both JCC and the school’s goals are met and exceeded.
• Maintain weekly out-of-club communications with JSC participants.

Summer Expectations

• Continue to cultivate teen engagement through staffing at Apachi Day Camp, Camp Chi/Maccabi Including but not limited to City Life, CIT Unit Head or Delegation Head.
• Build and cultivate relationships with staff, campers, parents, and families.
• Collaborate with the camp administration team to manage daily camp planning.

Key Essential Job Duties/Physical Duties:

• Ability to lift/move objects up to 40 lbs.
• Move from sitting (chair and floor) to standing position easily and quickly.
• Stand for extended periods of time and be able to actively engage with teens.
• Possess strength and endurance required to maintain constant supervision of teens.
• Clearly and effectively communicate in a manner that teens understand.
• Know the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Prevent, circumvent, and deal with problem behaviors appropriately and effectively.
• Maintain a sense of calm and perspective with physical and mental alertness during stressful times.
• Consistently demonstrate and reinforce the values of caring, respect, honesty, and responsibility.
• Ability to run up to one hundred yards (in the case of an emergency).
• Plan and implement activities to meet the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social needs of the teens in the program.

Job Category:

Union Professional

Days/Hours/% Travel:

Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm, evenings and weekends as needed; position is based in Chicago/Northbrook with daily travel to various sites.

Education Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in education, Jewish Studies or related

Other Requirements:

• Previous experience working with teens in a youth group, camp, or teen leadership environment.
• Demonstrated enthusiasm for working with teens in an informal educational setting.
• Demonstrated organizational, time management and priority setting skills is a must.
• A passion for working as part of a broader team of professionals dedicated to Jewish teen education and outreach.
• Must be able to communicate with a varied audience including teens, parents, school staff and coworkers.
• Must have reliable transportation, valid driver’s license, proof of insurance (with a minimum $250,000 liability).
• Ability and willingness to travel to various sites.

JCC Chicago provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual preference, gender identity or expression, marital status, apparent or non-apparent disability, veteran’s status, or unfavorable discharge from military service in accordance with state and federal laws