← All jobs
The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is the arm of the Jewish Community of Louisville (JCL) that represents the Jewish community to the wider public on public policy, community relationships, and human rights. It has been doing that work in Louisville for decades.
The Senior Manager of Education and Community Engagement advances the JCRC's community relations mission by building trusted relationships within K-12 and higher education, expanding educational partnerships, and strengthening connections between the Jewish community and the broader community.
This is a new position, and it does two things at once.
First, it makes education the center of the JCRC's work. The JCRC Senior Manager of Education and Community Engagement will be the lead professional for everything the JCL does with schools, colleges, and universities: building relationships with districts and campuses before problems arise, serving as a trusted point of contact when they do, and expanding the reach of Holocaust and antisemitism education across the region, alongside education that shares the richness of Jewish culture, the joy of Jewish life, and the resilience of the Jewish people.
Second, it extends that work beyond Louisville. Through a partnership with the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, this position brings professional community relations and education support to Lexington for the first time. No one has held that role in either location before, which means the person in this job will be building something rather than inheriting it.
The work is proactive by design. The goal is not to wait for incidents and respond, but to build a network of educators, administrators, campus professionals, and civic partners who already know the JCL, already trust it, and already have resources in hand when they need them.
This role is part of the national Frontline network. Frontline work today extends far beyond crisis response. Professionals in these roles are responsible for:
• Representing the Jewish community publicly and responsibly.
• Strengthening relationships with civic leaders and elected officials.
• Building bridges with interfaith and intergroup partners.
• Addressing antisemitism in K-12 schools, higher education, and public spaces, while sharing Jewish joy, culture, and resilience in those same settings.
• Supporting community education and engagement built on coalitions.
This is a public-facing job. It is also, at times, an emotionally demanding one. It calls for good judgment, steady communication, and the ability to work well with people who hold a wide range of views.
What You Do
K-12 engagement and school partnerships
• Build and maintain working relationships with public and private school districts, superintendents, principals, teachers, and district offices across Louisville, Lexington, and surrounding areas where Jewish families live, and schedule regular touchpoints with key education stakeholders so those relationships stay active.
• Serve as a trusted resource for Jewish students, families, teachers, and administrators dealing with antisemitism or with issues affecting how Jewish students are included at school.
• Serve as a key member of the incident response team by receiving, documenting, tracking, and responding to reports of antisemitic incidents and bias concerns in K-12 settings. Coordinate with the JCRC Director and community security partners on response efforts.
• Partner with the University of Kentucky and Jewish Heritage Fund's Kentucky Holocaust Education Initiative to expand Holocaust and antisemitism education alongside lessons on Jewish culture, joy, and resilience, deepen relationships with teachers, and grow the statewide network of trained educators.
• Launch and run Student to Student, a program in which Jewish teenagers visit classrooms to talk about their own lives and beliefs, along with other programs that build understanding and reduce stereotypes.
• Gather, create, and distribute teaching materials and professional development opportunities so that educators can teach Jewish history, the Holocaust, and present-day antisemitism with confidence, and can just as confidently share Jewish culture, traditions, and the joy and resilience of Jewish life.
• Deliver trainings to schools on recognizing and responding to antisemitism, paired with trainings on Jewish culture, traditions, and resilience.
• Coordinate the distribution of Jewish American Heritage Month resources to local schools and libraries.
Higher education and campus engagement
• Strengthen relationships with colleges and universities across Kentucky, with particular attention to Berea College, Bellarmine University, Center College, Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Simmions College, the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
• Work with Hillel professionals and the campus staff who support Jewish student life, to support Jewish students, address antisemitism on campus, and help campuses celebrate Jewish life and culture.
• Build relationships with faculty, student affairs staff, and campus administrators so that the JCL is a known and useful partner before a crisis, not a stranger during one.
• Lead educational programs and resources that teach Jewish history, the Holocaust, and antisemitism alongside Jewish culture and resilience, and create opportunities to share Jewish culture across campus.
• Provide trainings and teaching materials for educators, Jewish American Heritage Month resources for schools, and support for interfaith coalition building at schools.
Regional community relations and engagement
• Represent the JCL and the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass in public settings, including schools, campuses, community meetings, and coalitions.
• Expand the capacity of the Louisville JCRC by taking the lead on K-12 and higher education work.
• Support the responses of the JCL and the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass to antisemitic incidents through relationship-building, clear communication, community education, and coordination with local and national partners.
• Assist with trainings, educational programs, and rapid-response efforts related to current events.
• Support advocacy on antisemitism, public policy, and other issues that affect the Jewish community.
• Assist the JCRC Director in monitoring local, state, and federal education policy and legislation, and build coalitions among Jewish families and interfaith and intergroup partners around key education issues.
• Recruit, train, and support volunteer leaders and community members who want to be part of this work.
• Engage parents, volunteer leaders, and community members in education and campus initiatives.
• Support planning and operations for major community relations events.
• Attend quarterly JCRC committee meetings, prepare project updates, and deliver reports as needed.
Tracking and reporting
This position is funded through a national initiative that measures results across all participating communities. The person in this role will track and report on:
• Actions achieved: the specific steps taken to protect the Jewish community from antisemitism.
• Critical relationships: the number of key stakeholders engaged in addressing antisemitism, including school and district leaders, campus officials, law enforcement, and faith and civic partners.
• Community mobilization: the number of individuals brought into this work, including trained teachers, student participants, volunteer leaders, and community members reached through programs.
Reports go to the Jewish Federations of North America on a set schedule.
What Success Looks Like
This position should produce three things.
A regional education network. A coordinated set of K-12 and higher education partners across Louisville and Lexington, built through real