Executive Director

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITION 

BOSTON WORKERS CIRCLE 

Boston Workers Circle (BWC) seeks a new Executive Director to lead and manage our vibrant Boston area secular Jewish community. Located in Brookline, BWC is a nonprofit organization that works to be:

• A caring, democratically-run community and home for secular Jewish life.
• A voice for progressive Jewish values and social change.
• An arts, culture, and education center celebrating Yiddish, Jewish, and progressive culture.
• A community where, whatever one’s Jewish background, whatever the faith, ethnic, racial, or gender diversity of one’s family, children and adults feel welcome and participate fully at all levels of the organization.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 

1. Build an equitable community that is actively working against racism, with representation and leadership from BWC members who identify as Sephardic, Mizrachi, Ashkenazi, Jews and non-Jews of Color, multiracial, trans, non-binary, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, working-class, low-income, poor, immigrants and people with disabilities.
2. Be a powerful & strategic activist voice for justice in the Boston & Jewish communities.
3.  Work together to cultivate an intergenerational community based in chesed, loving kindness.
4. Grow our organizational capacity and resources to meet the increasing demands of our community

THE OPPORTUNITY 

Boston Workers Circle is at an important juncture in its organizational history, as we work towards integrating new strategic directions with our historical mission and roots. We are a 117 year-old organization, affiliated with the national Workers Circle (WC). With a membership of approximately 600 adults and their families, and with 90 children in our Sunday School, we operate through active volunteer committees and a five person staff, not counting teachers. All staff report to the Executive Director, who reports directly to the Chairperson of the Board of Directors.

Our current work includes: building and sustaining our secular Jewish community; providing education for children and adults in multicultural Jewish history and culture; implementing ritual and holiday celebrations of all kinds and offering strong and vibrant Yiddish programming, including language classes, arts and a chorus; mutual aid; organizing for social action on issues that we care about, including, racial and economic justice, immigrant justice, worker’s rights, justice in Israel/Palestine, and Jewish/Muslim solidarity; and continuing to build a strong youth and young adult voice and a next generation of leaders for our community. We see opportunities for organizational growth and strengthening the links among our members, both across the generations and across our activities.

As a predominantly white and Ashkenazi organization, we have specifically committed to becoming an anti-racist organization through deepening our understanding of our journeys as Jews and how we have been impacted by and/or participated in structural racism, and aligning our policies, practices and activism accordingly.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A CANDIDATE WHO HAS: 

1. Experience in the operations and management of small to medium-sized nonprofit organizations
2. Experience managing growth and change processes
3. Passion for social, economic, and racial justice work
4. Understanding of Jewish secular and multicultural life, and familiarity with progressive Jewish spaces

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 

GOVERNANCE, PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

• Provide leadership to the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
• Support staff working with committees, including Executive, Finance, Personnel, Equity and Inclusion and Fundraising.
• Provide leadership on developing and implementing BWC’s strategic priorities to ensure organizational growth and sustainability as well as vibrant programming, leadership development, membership recruitment and retention, and communications.
• Oversee member-led leadership and volunteer activities and build relationships throughout the organization; develop new leadership and activists at all levels of participation.

FISCAL MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

• Provide financial oversight; partner with the Treasurer to set priorities; manage bank account balances and payroll; and provide supervision to staff on budget development and monitoring, accounts payable/receivable, liaising with the accountants/auditors, and working closely with the Finance Committee.
• Partner with the Deputy Director to provide leadership on fundraising and development, with a commitment to growing revenue over the next five years. Cultivate close relationships with key donors.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS

• Serve as the primary liaison with the national WC office, provide reports on Boston activities, participate in national meetings and calls, work with national WC on matters impacting Boston’s interests.
• Build collaborative working relationships with local and national Jewish and progressive communities to enhance Boston Workers Circle’s ability to advance our social justice agenda; serve as or support staff designee that serves as BWC’s representative on the Jewish Community Relations Council.

PERSONNEL: STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS

• Supervise staff, including leading regular meetings to set goals; develop and monitor work plans that incorporate strategic visioning and priorities; offer support, and identify areas for improvement and professional growth. Foster a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie among staff. Oversee staff responsible for human resources systems and benefit programs.
• Partner with the Personnel Committee chair to set priorities, and support and work closely with the Personnel Committee.
• Collaborate with staff to identify, mobilize and support volunteer leaders.

PROGRAMMING

• Work with staff and member leadership to identify and develop new program initiatives, cultivate new leadership, and create opportunities for integrating new perspectives.

SALARY: $82,000-90,000

Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to: jobs@circleboston.org. Resumes will be reviewed as they are received. BWC aims to fill this position by January 2022 or sooner. No phone calls or letters please.

BWC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. People who identify as Jews and non-Jews of Color, multiracial, Sephardic, Mizrachi, trans, non-binary, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, people with disabilities, and immigrants are strongly encouraged to apply.