Director of Engagement and Student Belonging at Boston University Hillel

About the role

The Director of Engagement and Student Belonging at BU Hillel will lead a campus-wide strategy to deepen one-on-one relationships, strengthen peer-to-peer connection, and build a comprehensive pillar of care for students. This person will be a thoughtful Jewish leader, organizer, and relationship-builder who uses human-centered design to listen to students, prototype supportive practices, and scale meaningful programs that help students find friends, receive practical support, and feel cared for in all moments of campus life.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy and vision for one-on-one student relationships across BU Hillel—define goals, measure impact, and iterate on approaches to create consistent, high-quality 1:1 care.
• Supervise, recruit, train, and grow the Coffee Crew peer-to-peer team (10–20 student interns).
• Build a scalable model for peer outreach, mentoring, and follow-through.
• Create and operationalize a “Pillar of Caring” that includes logistical and emotional supports: enabling students to host life-cycle and milestone events (birthday parties, celebrations, memorials) through Hillel, coordinating care for sick or isolated students, and organizing volunteer support networks.
• Create and operationalize emergency and short-term aid processes (food assistance, travel/homebound support, small grants) including fundraising pathways, eligibility guidelines, and partner relationships.
• Develop practices and expectations for staff engagement in 1:1 care—encourage and coordinate staff attendance at student concerts, shows, presentations, and other meaningful moments; create staff training and time-allocation plans that prioritize relational presence.
• Career coaching to help you during and after your position
• A network of terrific colleagues from across BU and the Hillel movement.
• Potential travel opportunities, both domestically and internationally, multiple times per year.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, Tax Deferred Retirement Plan, Life, AD&D and Long-Term Disability insurances, Flexible Spending Plan, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• A salary of $50,000 - $75,000 depending on level of experience.

Requirements

We are looking for a passionate, organized, and mission-driven leader who understands the power of relationships and caring in shaping Jewish identity and community. The ideal candidate will bring:

• Deep empathy and strong relational skills—comfortable initiating and sustaining 1:1 connections with students from varied backgrounds.
• Experience designing and scaling peer-support or mentoring programs; a proven ability to recruit, train, supervise, and retain student leaders.
• Strong project and program management skills—able to coordinate logistics, budgets, and multi-stakeholder collaboration.
• A systems-thinking approach to care—able to create sustainable processes, documentation, and measurement.
• Excellent judgment and discretion in handling confidential student situations and navigating complex case management.
• Comfort working collaboratively across campus partners (counseling, student affairs, financial aid) and community resources.
• A proactive, service-oriented mindset that values presence—willingness to attend student milestones, occasional evenings, and weekend events as needed.
• A commitment to Jewish pluralism and the mission of BU Hillel—able to integrate Jewish values of hesed (kindness), kavod (dignity), and kehillah (community) into care practices.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Jewish education, public relations, nonprofit management, social work, psychology, public health, or a related field.
• Background in business or in the private sector would be desirable.
• 3–5 years of relevant work experience, ideally in higher education or student services.
• Experience leading student engagement, residential life, student affairs, social work, or campus-based care programs.
• Background working with college-aged populations.

Skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Passionate about using care to build Jewish life and inspire the next generation of Jewish leaders.

Benefits

Boston University Hillel is at the hub of a thriving city of Boston, right near Fenway Park. Home to 4,000 Jewish undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students, BU Hillel’s mission is to inspire students to be proudly Jewish, engage in Jewish community, and be lovers of Israel. Boston University Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International. Hillel International enriches the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich the Jewish people and the world and envisions a world where every student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.