Assistant Director, Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies

Department

HUM Staff: Jewish Studies

About the Department

The Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies, was created in 2009 as an inter-divisional center in the Divisions of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Divinity School whose aim is to nurture dialogue among the many disciplines, scholars, and students engaged in Jewish Studies at the University. Building on the particularly theoretical and interdisciplinary intellectual culture of Chicago, the Center aims to raise new questions and catalyze unexplored connections that will reconfigure the boundaries of Jewish Studies both within and beyond the walls of the University.

Job Summary

The Assistant Director for the Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies serves as the primary operational and administrative lead of th4e Center, ensuring it runs smoothly and effectively across multiple functional areas. This position encompasses key responsibilities in administration, budget/finance, and academic and student support. Additionally, this position supervises one full-time special event coordinator position supporting both Jewish Studies and the Center for East European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (CEERES).

Candidates must upload a resume AND cover letter to be considered for this position. When applying, the documents MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page in the section titled, Resume/CV of the application.

Responsibilities

• Develops a deep understanding of the Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies and serves as point person for the Center. Responds to inquiries, liaise with internal and external partners, and provides administrative support to ensure smooth operations.
• Processes a high volume of financial transactions for Jewish Studies and CEERES, including reimbursements and payments for academics, visitors, students, vendors, grants, GEMS activities,co-sponsorship events, honorariums, invoices, and event-related expenses.
• Maintains records of financial purchases, account balances, and spending. Troubleshoots and reconciles financial transaction concerns; elevates issues as needed. Stays current on financial systems, policies, and processes through regular trainings and adoption of best practices.
• Plans and manages Center budget. Provides Director and Board with regular budget reports.
• Writes and submits internal grant proposals to supplement Center funding and provide reports to granting institutions on use of funds.
• Manages correspondence for the Center. Organizes and takes minutes for board meetings. Represents the Center at monthly staff meetings and annual Registrar’s meeting.
• Maintains contact with donors. Fulfills donor requests for information on sponsored visiting scholars and fellowship recipients. Drafts solicitation letters on behalf of the Director and partner with the Development team on mailings and communications with donors.
• Supervises the Jewish Studies and CEERES (shared) Special Events Coordinator position.
• Oversees the Jewish Center website, event calendar, newsletter, and outreach efforts. Ensures updates entered by the events coordinator are made timley and accurately.
• Regularly updates Center directories and academic programming information on web pages and other platforms.
• Hires and supervises student workers.
• Supports Visiting Professor Program, including two-to-three visitors per year. Gathers academic dossier on candidates for appointments managed through degree programs. Assists with onboarding, housing, visa, office space, research assistants, and matters related to teaching courses, such as information on Canvas, ordering books, etc.
• Ensures effective administration of the Major and Minor in Jewish Studies. Maintains the College Catalog of courses. Manages student awards, including sending call for applications, organizing material for faculty review, arranging for awards, research and travel grants, conference presentation grants, essay prizes, graduate student funding, etc.  Stands-in for director at meetings and awards ceremonies when needed.
• Schedules courses. Liaise between the Board and the College to ensure Registrar’s requirements are met and courses are included for credit within the major and minor.
• Checks course listings of departments for courses related to Jewish Studies and seeks crosslistings for undergraduate offerings.
• Advertises undergraduate and graduate courses quarterly; maintains historical list of all JWSC courses and cross listings.
• Maintains office equipment and supply inventory.
• Uses moderate/solid understanding and experience to administer the delivery of services to program participants and/or beneficiaries.
• Sets and communicates program priorities and performance sta