Mayim Tamid School Closure Programming

We are delighted to offer fun enrichment programs for Mayim Tamid children in grades K-2 on days when the Needham Public Schools are closed. Each day may include hands-on activities at TBS, enrichment programming within the building, healthy snacks, and playtime!

Full-day programs will run from 8:30 am-5:30 pm each day. Programs may be canceled due to insufficient registration. If you need to cancel attendance for a day, we are asking for 30 days’ notice. Registration for the program will close several weeks before the scheduled program date. This will allow us to adequately plan for activities and staffing. 

Etzim Fall Lounge 5786

Join Etzim on Thursday evenings, 6:15 pm-8:00 pm for dinner followed by a weekly lounge space. Lounge is open to all 8th-12th graders and is a space where teens can do homework, spend time with old and new friends, and participate in a combination of structured and unstructured activities, including art projects, games, and community building. Some weeks there will be themes, and other weeks there will be an open lounge with options of activities.

Mayim Tamid Jewish Learning Guide

Mayim Tamid Jewish Learning Guide (JLG)

ABOUT MAYIM AND MAYIM TAMID

Mayim is TBS’s elementary Jewish learning program for children in grades K-4 and their families. It is our version of what is often called “religious school” in other communities, but it is a completely different approach to learning in a congregational setting. Our approach is built on the core values of Deep Learning and Deep Relationships and includes weekly learning sessions and integrated opportunities for family engagement and strong relationship building. Mayim offers a distinctive thematic curriculum, through which children and educators partner to investigate big questions and engage in hands-on learning and long-term projects. Children also explore Jewish holidays and Hebrew, and the whole community participates in joyful t’filah (prayer and song) each week. 

Mayim Tamid (“Mayim Always”) is a multi-day program for children in grades K-4, which combines the after school care found in many extended day programs with the rich Jewish learning and community building found in our Mayim program. Each day, children enjoy playground time, homework time, healthy snack, Hebrew and Jewish learning, prayer and song, and free play. In Mayim Tamid, children experience Jewish life and cycles in real time, learning, celebrating and playing together in an environment that nurtures each child on their individual path. Children build deep relationships with their faculty, TBS rabbis and professional staff, and each other in a setting that helps children feel like the temple is their second home. Learn more at tbslearning.org.

ABOUT THE ROLE

This is not a typical “religious school teacher” position! As a JLG…

You will create opportunities for deep learning. JLGs plan thematic, project-based curricula and experiential lessons that are grounded in child development and guided by Jewish tradition. You will help children grapple with high-interest questions that invite them to participate in constructing their own learning.

You will foster deep relationships and cultivate a sense of belonging. JLGs work with small groups of children, creating an intimate setting for relationship building. With each group, you will engage in intentional community building activities that allow children to get to know one another and feel at home in our community.

You will be part of a team. JLGs work in small grade-level teams, supported by a curriculum coach, during paid time for planning and preparation each week. Together, your team will learn content on an adult level, craft curriculum, plan lessons, and reflect on the learning process.

You will form relationships with families. JLGs plan and participate in monthly Jewish Connection Experiences with children and their families outside of regular learning times. You will have opportunities to celebrate Shabbat and holidays together and to include parents in their children’s Jewish learning. You will send weekly email updates to families, thereby opening communication channels and creating additional opportunities for relationship building.

You will learn and grow as an educator. JLGs have paid time set aside for professional development. You will be challenged to develop your craft through group learning sessions, small group explorations, peer observation and feedback, and individual growth plans developed with your supervisor.

You will be treated as the professional you are. JLGs are full-time salaried employees and eligible for all benefits. You will be immersed and invested in one community, without having to worry about piecing together multiple teaching jobs.

ABOUT YOU

If the following statements describe you, you are a great fit for this role!

You love children and have working knowledge of child development. You are joyful, present, and relaxed with children. You are curious about the child’s perspective and enjoy partnering with children to promote learning. You effectively manage groups of children, and you have meaningful interactions that make each child feel like a valued member of the group.

Your teaching approach is rooted in experience. You have worked with elementary age children in experiential settings, such as overnight or day camp, afterschool programs, and arts-based environments. You value and understand how learning happens in non-school settings, and you create rich learning environments that inspire curiosity and wonder.

You resonate deeply with Temple Beth Shalom’s mission and values. You are motivated and inspired to be part of a warm, vibrant, and diverse Jewish community and close-knit, hard-working professional team. 

You are guided by Jewish values and grounded in Jewish tradition. You are a role model for children and their families through living and making explicit your Jewish values. You eagerly engage with Jewish practice, ritual, prayer, and holidays. You inspire children to develop relationships with Judaism that are ever evolving and growing. 

You are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. You model anti-bias practices and cultural sensitivity. You are excited to be part of a community that is diverse by age, family make-up, religious background, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation. You embrace each person as having been created b’tzelem Elohim (in the image of God), and you work hard to create environments where every learner can thrive. 

You are an excellent collaborator and team player. You are eager to partner with and learn from fellow educators. You thrive in an environment that values learning, relationships, collaboration, and joy. You are flexible, adaptive, authentic, confident, and humble. 

You are an effective communicator and relationship builder. You easily develop rapport and inspire trust. You have a warm, energetic, and authentic personality that translates to building lasting relationships. You demonstrate deep listening in your interactions with others and respond in a way that honors each person. 

You are a reflective, emotionally intelligent learner. You are self-aware and seek to learn and refine your skills. You are eager for feedback and engage in your own ongoing reflective practices. You recognize your own emotions and are able to engage with them in healthy ways.

You are able to participate actively in children’s learning. Our hands-on, active approach to learning includes frequent reaching, stooping, sitting on the floor, bending, occasional lifting and carrying, and supervising children’s active play.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

We are proud to have a transparent and equitable faculty compensation model that begins with a base salary ($48,500 for 1.0 FTE) and includes steps to account for experience, education, longevity, and performance. See our compensation model. Full-time JLGs are eligible for all benefits, including medical insurance, dental insurance, retirement account, flexible spending account, and more.

TO APPLY

Please email a cover letter and resume to Liron Riess, Director of Mayim Tamid, at lriess@tbsneedham.org. When you submit your application, please indicate if you are looking for part-time or full-time work.

APPLY

Mayim 3rd Grade Shabbat Dinner 5786

Please join us Friday, November 14, at 5:30 for Shabbat dinner in Simon Hall before our 6:15 pm Shabbat service! This dinner is for TBS families with 3rd Graders enrolled in Mayim. The service is our monthly “Friday Night Lights” service, which is designed especially for families with elementary-age children. Please RSVP by Friday, November 7.

Executive Director

Executive Director

WHAT YOU’LL DO

At a time of tremendous growth and opportunity, TBS seeks an Executive Director to provide strategic oversight of key functional areas of the congregation. This position will join our Senior Leadership Team, serve as a trusted partner to clergy, staff, lay leaders, volunteers and members, and advance TBS’ mission to provide a deep sense of belonging to our congregation and commitment to one another. This is a highly visible role that touches all facets of temple life. Specifically, the Executive Director will:

Ensure a powerful Jewish community experience through operational excellence and member engagement

  • Provide strategic leadership and hands-on management of key functional areas: office administration, finance, human resources, technology, communications, development, events, safety & security, facilities, and membership.
  • Supervise, coach, and mentor a team of direct reports inclusive of an Office Administrator, Fractional Chief Financial Officer, Director of People & Culture, IT Systems Administrator, Communications & Program Manager, Associate Director of Philanthropy, Kitchen Manager, Events Manager, and Facilities Manager.
  • Proactively anticipate and address operational challenges and needs to better support congregational growth, new capital projects, and other strategic initiatives.
  • Serve as primary point person for membership, working collaboratively with staff and lay leaders, ensuring that prospective and new members have a positive overall membership experience.
  • In partnership with senior leadership, finance team, and finance committee, serve as a thought partner for the annual budgeting process.
  • In partnership with the Director of People & Culture, support the smooth delivery of day-to-day HR.
  • In partnership with the Facilities Manager, ensure the sound management of building maintenance, safety, and security.
  • Plan and oversee the logistics for the High Holy Days, in conjunction with staff and lay leaders, ensuring a seamless and joyful experience for the community. For all observances, support the activities of the Welcome Corps (staff and volunteers) and technology team.
  • Working cross-functionally, oversee the management and usage of member database, inclusive of maintaining accurate information and leveraging data to identify leadership and engagement opportunities for members.
  • Liaise with lay leader led membership engagement committee, building/security committee, community affinity groups demonstrating responsiveness to lay leaders’ requests and providing support or leadership where needed.
  • Support the planning and execution of Board of Trustees and Leadership Council Meetings.

Serve as a senior leader, collaborative colleague and champion for TBS’ mission, vision, and values

  • As a member of the senior management team, contribute to guiding overall organizational strategic direction, decision-making, prioritization, and goals.
  • Serve as a thought partner to senior leaders and drive cross-functional coordination with all aspects of temple life e.g. education, engagement, worship.
  • Wear multiple hats as a part of a fast-paced, busy organization, supporting the work of others and taking on new projects/tasks as needed and keeping an eye on the broader needs of the community.
  • Foster a warm and caring environment so that congregants, prospective members, lay leaders, volunteers, and staff feel welcomed, respected, nurtured, and appreciated.

WHO YOU ARE

  • You resonate deeply with Temple Beth Shalom’s mission and values. You are motivated and inspired to be part of a warm, vibrant, and diverse Jewish community and close-knit, hard-working professional team. You thrive in a fast-moving environment that values learning, relationships, collaboration, and joy.
  • You bring 15+ years of professional experience, including 5+ in a senior leadership role, at a growing organization. You possess business acumen and operations know-how to ensure sound oversight of functional areas (e.g., finance, operations, facilities, human resources, communications) that keep an organization running. Leadership experience gained in a nonprofit, school, camp, membership organization, or comparable setting is a plus.
  • You are a compassionate and attentive staff manager who leverages individuals’ strengths and fosters collaboration. You have experience in recruiting and hiring talent, building strong teams, and coaching and mentoring direct and indirect reports for high performance and accountability. You promote the growth and development of individual staff through empowering, advocating, and differentiating support.
  • You are an outstanding communicator and relationship builder who develops rapport easily and inspires trust. You have a warm, energetic, and authentic personality that translates to building lasting relationships both internally and externally (i.e., staff, lay leaders, volunteers, members, visitors.) You demonstrate deep listening and high emotional intelligence in your interactions with others.
  • You possess exceptional executive functioning skills and the ability to lead and prioritize multiple workstreams. You bring experience managing large and complex projects, with a demonstrated ability to coach others in how to take a project from start to finish. You are detail oriented, highly organized and translate strategic plans into effective work streams and tactics. You create structures, processes, and procedures that help organizations do their best work.
  • You are an unflappable problem solver, who calmly and confidently navigates challenges. You exercise good judgment and are able to make decisions both independently and collaboratively. You are able to shift gears quickly, assess what needs to be done, and bring a “get it done” attitude, with the ability to stay focused and nimble in a dynamic environment.
  • You are a positive force for organizational growth, change, and excellence. You embrace and lead through change, modeling adaptability and a high level of awareness of how change impacts others. You possess a sense of personal accountability for results and hold others to high standards. You are energized by what’s possible while working on what needs to be done today.

WORK LOCATION AND HOURS

This position works onsite at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, MA. Hours are typically 9am-5pm, with some evening, weekend, and holiday responsibilities. The temple is conveniently accessible from Route 95/128 or the MBTA commuter rail.    

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $175,000 – $200,000, along with a generous benefits package that includes medical insurance, dental insurance, flexible spending account, medical supplement plan, 4 weeks vacation. For those interested, employees receive a free membership to the synagogue. Employees receive a discount off TBS school tuition.

TO APPLY

If this opportunity speaks to you, please apply here with your 1) a thoughtful cover letter that describes your interest in this particular position and 2) your resume. Please address your cover letter to Jay Perlman, Senior Rabbi. We review applications on a rolling basis and strive to get back to applicants within two weeks.

Temple Beth Shalom has retained DH Search to lead the search for an Executive Director. DH Search partners with mission-driven organizations to hire the people they need to create a more just and equitable world. Learn more at www.dhsearch.net.

APPLY

Director of People & Culture

Director of People & Culture

WHAT YOU’LL DO

Provide strategic leadership for the organization-wide HR function.

  • Develop and implement strategies that align HR activities with TBS’s overarching goals and values and reflect best practices for attracting, developing, motivating, compensating, and retaining staff.
  • Build upon and ensure existing systems, processes, and policies are consistent, scalable, and people-centric and design new solutions that optimize operational efficiency and improve employee experience.
  • Lead strategic workforce and succession planning efforts to ensure the organization is equipped for future growth.
  • Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to the senior leadership team by sharing strategic insights, workforce trends, and support for complex talent challenges.  

In partnership with directors and managers, oversee the smooth delivery of day-to-day HR activities and create the conditions for staff to do their best work.

  • Oversee and provide support to managers in the execution of full-cycle talent management inclusive of recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training and development, and performance management.
  • Build upon and refine existing goal setting and performance evaluation processes, ensuring all employees have clear expectations and goals that are aligned with departmental and organizational objectives. 
  • Serve as a trusted point person for all employee relations, exercising deep listening and conflict resolution with staff in partnership with managers and fostering healthy communication and trust between and among team members.
  • Work closely with staff accountant and controller who are responsible for payroll and benefits administration, and support hiring managers with background checks, employee files, and required reporting.
  • Ensure accurate documentation of state and federal paperwork such as Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML), workers’ compensation, and unemployment filings.

Foster a positive work culture that is reflective of TBS’ greater community.

  • Promote and grow a culture that is centered around relationships and celebrates community, appreciation, wellness, mental health, inclusivity, and learning.
  • Identify and organize opportunities for continuous staff learning and engagement e.g. DEIB, conflict resolution, leadership skills training.
  • Create initiatives for staff to connect with each other, lay leaders, and members, and participate in the broader TBS community.
  • Administer the biannual employee experience survey, analyzing data to identify opportunities to improve staff experience and satisfaction.

WHO YOU ARE

  • You resonate with Temple Beth Shalom’s mission and values. You are motivated and inspired to be part of a warm, vibrant, and diverse community and close-knit, hard-working professional team. You thrive in a fast-moving environment that values learning, relationships, collaboration, and joy.
  • You are a people-centric and hands-on human resources leader. You bring at least 12 years of experience in roles that span multiple aspects of HR management (e.g., recruitment, hiring, onboarding, training and development, performance management.) You create systems, processes, and policies that foster positive employee performance and engagement, and organizational health. A background in a school or nonprofit organization setting is strongly desired.
  • You are a thoughtful relationship builder who develops rapport and connections easily. You have a warm, energetic, and genuine personality that translates to making authentic connections with others. You exercise flexibility and tailor your interpersonal approach based upon the situation. You possess high emotional intelligence and lead with kindness and empathy.
  • You are an effective communicator who inspires trust and open dialogue. You are a deep listener and seek to understand others’ perspectives before responding. You communicate with confidence and gravitas, and adjust your approach based upon the audience. You are comfortable working effectively and sharing constructive feedback with senior colleagues. You are highly professional and trustworthy.
  • You operate with integrity and discretion, with the ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment. You jump in to solve problems proactively and play a hands-on role in healthy communication and conflict resolution. You hold yourself and others accountable for ethical conduct.

WORK LOCATION AND HOURS

This position works primarily onsite at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, MA. Hours are typically Monday through Friday 9am-5pm. The temple is conveniently accessible from Route 95/128 or the MBTA commuter rail.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The salary range for this position is $115,000 – $130,000K, along with a generous benefits package that includes medical insurance, dental insurance, flexible spending account, retirement plan, medical supplement plan, sick time, three weeks vacation and paid holidays, and synagogue membership (if desired). Employees who wish to enroll early childhood and/or school-aged children in our learning programs receive a discount off tuition.

TO APPLY

If this opportunity speaks to you, please apply here with your 1) a thoughtful cover letter that describes your interest in Temple Beth Shalom and the Director of People & Culture position and 2) your resume. Please address your cover letter to Jay Perlman, Senior Rabbi. We review applications on a rolling basis and strive to get back to applicants within two weeks.

Temple Beth Shalom has retained DH Search to lead the search for a Director of People & Culture. DH Search partners with mission-driven organizations to hire the people they need to create a more just and equitable world. Learn more at www.dhsearch.net.

APPLY