Campus Rabbi

Penn Hillel

Role Overview

Make your mark on Jewish student life and leadership by joining Penn Hillel as a Campus Rabbi. Entrepreneurial energy and Jewish passion are the keys to success in this position.  In addition, the Rabbi should exhibit creativity, the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, ability to take initiative, passion for teaching, interest in professional growth, and excellent interpersonal, communication, and leadership development skills.  The Rabbi must be capable of working both independently and as part of a team, and have the ability to prioritize and handle multiple assignments.

In the dynamic world of the college campus, students are asking essential questions about their lives: who they want to be, how they want to live, and what matters most to them—often alongside questions about ambition, leadership, and professional purpose. Jewish tradition, simultaneously timeless and timely, offers insight into these universal concerns and provides enduring frameworks for ethical decision-making and purposeful living.

Through deep and meaningful relationships, Hillel professionals mentor Jewish students across a wide range of interests and paths, including those with strong pre-professional orientations in fields such as business, finance, and entrepreneurship. In doing so, they help students integrate Jewish values with their emerging professional identities, shaping how they engage success, responsibility, and impact—on campus and beyond.

Campus Rabbis build relationships with students from all Jewish backgrounds through meaningful conversations and experiences, offering insight to their big questions in dialogue with Jewish tradition. These educators function as change agents by being accessible to students of all backgrounds and infusing consequential conversation and facilitating informed Jewish discussions.

Please note that this is a fully in person role, and is not a traditional 9-5. 

What You’ll Do

• Build 180+ personal relationships with students each year, with a special focus on engaging students in fraternity and sorority life at Penn (approximately 50% of Jews are involved with Greek life at Penn)
• Serve as a thought partner and entrepreneurial leader to increase liberal Jewish life on campus
• Create new initiatives to serve the needs of students in real-time
• Develop and implement curriculum for weekly learning experiences 
• Serve as a rabbinic presence for students in the Penn ecosystem
• Collaborate with other Hillel staff to help shape and develop the mission of Penn Hillel.
• Support and/or organize trips for students, including Birthright Israel, Alternative Spring Break, and others.  
• Attend staff meetings and participate in regular supervision with your direct supervisor. This position is supervised by Penn Hillel’s Assistant Director, Jenna Ferman Klein.
• Other duties as assigned

A typical day may include:

• Coffee meetings or pastoral one-on-one sessions with 4-6 students
• Bringing dinner to a fraternity house, and facilitating either a formal or informal Jewish educational session on a relevant and provocative topic
• Hosting a group learning session in the evening at Hillel
• Providing space for a student experiencing a personal problem who may need time away from their dorm, apartment, or roommate
• Recording and tracking interactions in Penn Hillel’s system

This position will be successful if:

• A significant number of new students are being meaningfully engaged in Jewish life and have a direct relationship with this individual
• This individual has a teaching and/or Jewish mentoring relationship with 180 students
• It is animated by a comprehensive engagement strategy that utilizes peer engagement and relationship building
• S/he is capable of bringing sophisticated, relevant Jewish substance to conversations and activities with students

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• Gifted relationship builder
• You’re a charismatic self starter who is willing to hustle
• High degree of emotional intelligence
• Contagious Jewish passion and a reservoir of knowledge to share with students
• Willingness and ability to go out and find students and meet them where they are
• An entrepreneurial spirit- an openness to trying new approaches to Jewish engagement and a willingness to take risks in order to actualize our vision for strengthening Jewish life
• Talented and compelling teacher/informal educator
• Deep interest in students, student growth and supporting student-led initiatives
• Interest in personal and professional growth
• Rabbinic Ordination, ideally recently

What You’ll Receive

• The salary range for this position is $95,000-$120,000, commensurate with experience
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, life insurance, Long Term Disability (LTD), flexible spending account, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• Great professional development, mentoring, and skill building opportunities.
• Biweekly mentorship from Executive Director Rabbi Gabe Greenberg

Penn 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.

About Hillel International

In 1923, Rabbi Benjamin Frankel started Hillel with humble means, a noble mission and a breathtaking vision: to convey Jewish civilization to a new generation. Today, Hillel International continues to enrich the lives of Jewish students and is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world at nearly 1,000 colleges and universities across North America and around the world. As Hillel evolves as an organization, the mission remains steadfast: to create lasting connections with every Jewish student that foster an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel and train them to become the next Jewish leaders.

Hillel is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an accepting and inclusive environment for all.