Director, Inclusion And Belonging

The Jewish Federation professional team is mission-driven and dedicated to helping every member of Greater Washington’s Jewish community connect with purpose, at a time when maintaining those connections is more important than ever before. JFGW is committed to proactively using our resources, platforms and influence to build a culture of inclusion and belonging and to work to repair our broken world (“tikkun olam”) – with a core focus on disability inclusion. Our work is grounded in the value that every human being is created “b’zelem elohim” (in G-d’s image), across ability, race, gender-identity, LGBTQ+ status, and other aspects of identity. We recognize that this kind of important work starts from the inside out, and our responsibility in this ongoing journey includes fostering inclusion, equity and belonging for our professional team, our volunteer & Board leadership, and for our community.   

The Director, Inclusion & Belonging is a key driver and champion of this work, responsible for collaborating with colleagues, volunteer leadership, and other community builders to create a robust culture of inclusion & belonging and deep impact within the organization and in the broader community. You will be leading and managing the development and implementation of Federation’s belonging and inclusion strategies, along with a cross-functional team, with the full backing of our Executive Team. 

You will: 

• Be responsible for continuing to evolve our internal and external Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging strategy, partnering across the organization, and offering a level of subject matter expertise that will continually elevate how we think about belonging and inclusion at Federation for our staff and lay leadership.

• Inspire learning and collaboration across our organization, and with our community partnerships, while maintaining a data driven approach, including monitoring and measuring progress to ensure that our activities and actions are leading to the right outcomes.

Be an internal and external resource and area specialist in disability inclusion, with the ability to mobilize resources on the broader belonging agenda, who will convene and collaborate with Federation colleagues across the organization, as well as community leaders, congregations, agencies and schools, to advance thought leadership in the field and advance opportunities for people with disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of Jewish community. At core, the Director, Inclusion & Belonging will be responsible for ensuring we are living up to our values through building a pipeline of diverse lay leadership, honoring a commitment to disability access and inclusion. This is an opportunity for the right candidate to lead a high impact, evolving function in a fast-paced, mission-driven and strategic organization. 

• Champion the development and successful execution of Federation’s inclusion and belonging strategy to help us shape a diverse and inclusive team, Board and leadership pipeline, and support for organizations within the Greater Washington ecosystem; support organizational and team-level inclusion and belonging goals

• Provide training, support and expertise so that Federation promotes diversity, inclusion and belonging throughout our internal and external programs.

• Convene lay and professional leadership networks to develop, implement, and monitor strategies for inclusion of people with disabilities in the Greater Washington DC Jewish community, working in partnership with consultants, self-advocates, community lay leaders and professionals, congregations, agencies and schools to advance thought leadership, share best practices to build organizational capacity, and create and implement innovative new opportunities for inclusion of people with disabilities

• Identify, build, and sustain community partnerships and convenings to support a community culture of diversity and inclusion and belonging

• Represent the Greater Washington Jewish community and the Federation at local, national and international disability inclusion and other DEIB forums, organizational meetings and trainings to benefit the growth and enhancement of disability access and inclusion, as well as other aspects of diversity, inclusion and belonging

Your Background, Qualifications, and Success Factors 

• Recognized by peers and the broader community as a thought leader on topics related to Inclusion & Belonging – with specific expertise in disability inclusion

• 10+ years of success within the Inclusion & Belonging space, including minimum 7+ years specific experience working in disability access and inclusion

• Demonstrated experience articulating a vision, translating it into executable strategy and driving cross-functional teams to deliver to established priorities with measurable positive impact on outcomes

• Demonstrated experience facilitating organization-wide initiatives involving stakeholders at all levels (professional and volunteer) and across all functional areas of a matrixed and integrated organization

• Experience convening and facilitating a broad range of external stakeholder to collectively build and implement successful inclusion and belonging initiatives

• Understanding of the Jewish community organizational ecosystem

• Experience with data collection practices and a strong ability to translate data into actionable insights

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Proficiency in MS Office Suite, and various electronic communication tools

A People-Friendly Workplace 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is an equal opportunity employer offering a people-friendly environment, including:  

• excellent health care and retirement benefits

• generous time off

• flexible work options

• opportunities and an annual stipend for continued professional development

• access to the JPRO Network, which connects, educates, inspires, and empowers professionals working in the Jewish nonprofit sector

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington envisions an open, connected, and vibrant Jewish community that cares for each other, fosters Jewish learning and journeys, embraces Jewish peoplehood and Israel, and acts as a force for good in the world. As a mission-driven non-profit organization, we work to inspire, build, and sustain vibrant Jewish life in a changing world by mobilizing our community in common purpose, intentional innovation, and effective action. Learn more at shalomdc.org.