Start date: January 1, 2024 (Full-time)

Location: Hybrid position in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area

About Wilderness Torah
Wilderness Torah is on a mission to promote healing, belonging, and resilience. We awaken and celebrate earth-based Jewish traditions through inclusive and intergenerational village-building.

After 16 years of transforming lives and community, Wilderness Torah is poised for incredible growth. Its recent 2023-2029 Strategic Plan outlines a bold vision for impact  in the Bay Area and nationwide:

• Strengthen our Bay Area Village — the heart of who we serve  — by showcasing how a locally-rooted, intergenerational community can build a more resilient future.
• Expand our reach and grow the earth-based Judaism movement by scaling our programs to reach new audiences.
• Integrate social justice and climate resilience throughout our work. 
• Build a strong, regenerative organizational infrastructure to deliver on our strategic priorities.

Wilderness Torah seeks an Executive Director to lead its growth and maximize its impact in the world. The Executive Director will lead strategic decision-making and culture-building. This role has primary responsibility over fundraising and grants, finances, strategic partnerships, and organizational development. The Executive Director will work with the Board to transition to a more equitable and dynamic governance model for the organization. 

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity 
Wilderness Torah is committed to building an inclusive and pluralistic Jewish community centered on creating a more resilient and equitable world. We hold a vision of liberation for all peoples and are committed to building spaces where people from all backgrounds feel a sense of safety, belonging, and home. We create spaces that affirm the plurality of Jewish identities and combat systems of oppression and racism. Committed to the Jewish value of Tikkum Olam, we hold this work close to our heart in our holiday programs, youth programs, and educational trainings. We are committed to creating Jewish spaces that celebrate diversity in race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and embodiment.

We value the unique perspectives that people from traditionally marginalized communities would bring with regards to this role of community leadership. Recognizing that prevailing systems of oppression have made it more difficult for people of historically marginalized identities to have access to positions of power and decision making, we warmly welcome applications and resumes from people of the global majority/Jews of Color, women and femme identified folx, Queer and non-binary individuals, and differently abled individuals.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive Leadership & Strategy

• Lead and participate as a member of the leadership team; lead strategic planning, formulate and implement policies that meet the organization’s short- and long-term goals.
• Supervise team on organization’s financial, budgeting, program, and administrative processes, including legal, HR, bookkeeping, and benefits.
• Communicate regularly with individual board members; meet regularly with Board president; provide regular reports on financials to the Board; and prepare quarterly reports for Board meetings.
• Be accountable to the development of, and adherence to, the strategic plan; collaborate with the Director of Marketing and Operations to implement strategic planning processes and Organizational Plan development.

Organizational Development

• Collaborate with Board and staff on organizational development, which may include redesigning decision-making structures, leadership structures, staff pay models, program budgets, new fundraising strategies, clarified staff roles, updated organizational policies, revenue models, and pricing structure.
• Collaborate with the Director of Operations to steward organizational culture, including mentoring and training staff, developing cultural vitality days and retreats.
• Ensure that management standards exist and are being adhered to.
• Be accountable to and collaborate with staff to evolve leadership, model regenerative culture, distribute power equitably, and support accountability for inclusive leadership.
• Be accountable for JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) across the organization, including board, staff, mentors, teachers, and community members.
• Support organizational culture by developing opportunities for internal culture building that unifies staff and makes Wilderness Torah a more desirable workplace.

Staff Management

• Directly supervise Director of Marketing & Operations, Community Programs Directors, and Youth Programs Director. Collaborate with leadership in determining strategic vision for programs, marketing, and operations. 
• Support the hiring processes and compliance, along with annual staff reviews, in collaboration with the Director of Operations.
• Support all staff in their roles, mentor in process and content as appropriate, hold accountable for roles and responsibilities.
• Supervise and collaborate with the Rabbi & Creative Director to support vision for programs, community engagement, and other educational services; work with the Rabbi & Creative Director in supporting pastoral care to the community.
• Collaborate with Director of Operations and be accountable for risk management processes in place (emergency plans for programs exist now; need to develop organizational risk management plan, i.e., if there’s an emergency).
• Collaborate with Director of Operations and be accountable to development and adherence to staff policies; collaborate with Director of Operations to review and approve all legal agreements, contracts, and documentation.

Strategic Partnerships

• Cultivate strategic partnerships that support and amplify Wilderness Torah’s mission.
• Represent Wilderness Torah in the innovation sector and other strategic networks (e.g., UpStart, Wexner, Federation, JOFEE, Jewish Social Justice Roundtable).
• Provide leadership in earth-based Judaism movement building (e.g., JOFEE Network Gathering, Fellowship).

Finance & Operations

• Supervise all back office operations, including finance, marketing, and operations.
• Design and implement nonprofit business and financial strategies; manage overall budget and finances; execute financial analysis and modeling, create annual and multi-year budgets; and engage staff teams to develop and manage their budgets.
• Develop new revenue generation strategies to reduce reliance on foundation grants. 
• Partner closely with development and program teams to prepare grant budgets and reports and deliver on complex grant administration requirements.
• Manage monthly reconciliations with support from bookkeeper.
• Monitor and analyze the organizational financial position including cash flow throughout the year.
• Prepare and present key monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting to the Board of Directors.

Fundraising

• Work with Rabbi & Creative Director to develop annual fundraising strategic plans.
• Devise innovative ways to expand fundraising reach via new markets, messaging, and creative ways of engaging donors. 
• Manage strategy and timelines for donor communications and outreach, in collaboration with cross-cutting and program staff.
• Identify funding prospects via online databases and in-person networking. Prioritize and move forward prospects from individual, foundation, and institutional funding sources.
• Make fundraising asks to major donors and foundations (shared with Rabbi & Creative Dir.)
• Develop cultivation and stewardship strategies; oversee full portfolio, which is currently 25+ grants and 200+ individual donors per year. 
• Manage scoping and budgeting processes for proposals,  report calendars and preparation processes; maintain accurate proposal and report records.
• Manage development workstream; oversee work to build out and maintain CRM donor databases in Salesforce and online donation platforms; work with the Board of Directors to play a more substantial role in fundraising.

About You

You are a leader and a team player who loves to collaborate. You have experience transitioning traditional governance models of an organization to be more equitable and dynamic. You’re excited to come into an organization that’s ready for this type of change. You’re ready to create innovative fundraising strategies and other revenue models to create long-term financial stability. And, you feel passionate about earth-based Judaism, desire to work in a mission-driven, non-profit organization, and possess the experiences and skills listed below. 

• Bachelor’s Degree and seven or more years of experience in senior management, preferably with nonprofit organizations
• Strong experience in fundraising, finance, staff management, and organizational development
• Knowledge of leadership and management principles for nonprofit organizations
• Proven success working with a board of directors
• Entrepreneurial mindset, with innovative approach to business planning and revenue models
• Commitment to building an organization that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice
• Highly organized with project management experience; highly ethical behavior and effective communicator.

Preferred:

• Built out/scaled up a community-based and/or national organization
• Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Business Administration, MBA or similar degree 

Location
Candidate should live in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, home of Wilderness Torah’s community and location of a majority of its programs. Candidate will work from a remote office in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and be able to attend in-person meetings regularly. Wilderness Torah does not have a physical office. 

Compensation & Benefits
Throughout the hiring process we will seek to understand your specific skills, experience, and abilities as they will fit into our team. The offer range for this position will be commensurate with experience, based on the final job level determined by the responsibility, scope, and complexity of the position. If you have salary requirements, please note them in your application.

Wilderness Torah offers an excellent benefits package, including:

• Medical and dental benefits
• Retirement plan with a SIMPLE IRA with matching
• Ten U.S. holidays and Jewish holidays off (that follow the Shabbat rules of no work)
• 3 weeks paid vacation (increasing with time), 10 sick days, and parental leave
• 13 weeks of sabbatical leave after six (6) years of service
• Free attendance at Wilderness Torah community programs, 25% discount on youth programs
• Funding for professional development opportunities

How to Apply

Email the following materials to jobs@wildernesstorah.org. Include “Executive Director Application” in the subject line.

1) Resume/CV

2) Video recordings (no more than 4 minutes) answering these questions:

• Why are you interested in this position?
• What makes you a good match for this position?
• How would you describe 3 key strengths and 1 area of challenge for you as an organizational leader?

3) Written responses to these questions (no more than 400 words)

• How would you describe your leadership style?
• If we asked the people who currently work with you, “What is this person like to work with?” what would they say? 
• Tell us about your experiences with fund development and what you have learned from those experiences that you would bring to this position.
• Tell us about your experience with progressive or alternative leadership structures?

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the position is  filled. 

Wilderness Torah believes that personnel diversity is an organizational strength, and recognizes and values the intersecting identities that staff members bring to our organization. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply. Wilderness Torah is committed to providing equal employment consideration without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ability, religion, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other protected status.