Managing Director, Learning, Community, & Belonging

Managing Director, Learning, Community, & Belonging

ABOUT US

UpStart accelerates growth, nurtures ideas, and advances new experiences for the Jewish community by connecting impact-driven entrepreneurs to expertise, community, and capital.

UpStart was founded over fifteen years ago with a sole focus: to accelerate the success of social entrepreneurs fueling a renaissance in Jewish life. Since then, we have invested in hundreds of ventures and their leaders while cultivating an ecosystem of institutional leaders and funders committed to Jewish community change. We are excited to be actively implementing a new Strategic Plan to put social entrepreneurs at the center of everything we do. 

INCLUSIVE HIRING COMMITMENT

UpStart is powered by Jewish wisdom, ethics, and values. We believe these elements of Judaism help shape diverse, inclusive, equitable and vibrant communities. As such, we aspire to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem that models a future that is more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just. Statistics show that women and structurally marginalized and/or underrepresented groups of people need to see themselves in almost 100% of the requirements in a job posting to apply. We welcome you to apply even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, as no one applicant ever does.

UpStart strongly encourages applications from individuals with varied identities and backgrounds, including people of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQIA people, and people who come from low-income or working-class backgrounds. As an equal opportunity employer, all individuals are encouraged to apply without regard to race, color, religion, age, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, genetic information, medical condition, veteran status, or any other class protected under federal, state, or local laws. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Managing Director, Learning, Community, & Belonging, will shape and lead UpStart's approach to creating transformational learning experiences that foster belonging across our network, ensuring our programs, partnerships, and leadership development reflect the beautiful diversity of Jewish life.

This position will oversee UpStart's social entrepreneurship programs, design and launch an UpStart Jewish and Israel education initiative, and lead the organization's community & belonging strategy—ensuring these priorities are fully integrated into how we support ventures, convene the network, develop leaders, and cultivate a thriving innovation ecosystem.

This role reports to the Deputy CEO and works closely with the CEO and senior leadership team. It supervises key staff and manages programmatic, learning, and network-related budgets, including Upstart’s Senior Director, Experiential Learning; Director, Community Engagement; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice Manager; and other staff or consultants supporting community, belonging, and/or learning initiatives.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Program & Learning Strategy

• Design and lead UpStart's social entrepreneurship programs with learning at their core, ensuring they align with UpStart's values and advance both innovation and belonging as central to Jewish life.
• Collaborate with the Deputy CEO to evolve UpStart's entrepreneur curriculum, ensuring it reflects cutting-edge thinking on leadership, innovation, community-building, and ethical leadership.
• Embed learning about community and belonging into UpStart's programs, helping ventures lead with both innovation and care for the broader Jewish community.
• Leverage UpStart’s investment in AI technology to expand its reach and impact within the Jewish community by supporting the development and deployment of scalable, shareable, and innovative AI-driven resources that support Jewish learning, teaching, and leadership.
• Develop processes to review and refine program content so that every program reflects UpStart's commitment to ensuring all leaders feel seen, respected, and equipped to lead diverse communities.
• Supervise program staff and manage associated budgets.

Community and Belonging Strategy

• Lead UpStart's evolving strategy for fostering belonging, ensuring ventures, staff, board, and stakeholders experience UpStart as a community where all voices are heard, valued, and reflected.
• Design and implement practices to ensure that the full diversity of Jewish identities, experiences, and leadership is visible and supported across UpStart's programs, network, and decision-making processes.
• Partner with People & Culture to ensure UpStart's internal policies and team culture reflect our values around belonging.
• Build tools and facilitate training to help ventures foster cultures of belonging within their own organizations and communities.
• Convene spaces for courageous conversations within UpStart's network, helping leaders explore the intersections of Jewish identity and innovation in thoughtful, growth-oriented ways.

UpStart Jewish and Israel Education Leadership

• Design and launch a Learning Lab to help ventures embed high-quality Jewish and Israel learning into their work.
• Convene and lead the inaugural initiative, likely in person, curating expert educators, peer mentors, and content experts to help ventures strengthen their educational capacity.
• Enhance UpStart's existing Learning Platform by facilitating the curation of new signature content—source sheets, curricula, workshop guides, and digital learning modules—from across the network. This will expand the platform's content library and make it even more robust and accessible for ventures, staff, and external partners.
• Facilitate regular Jewish and Israel learning experiences for UpStart staff, board, and stakeholders, embedding learning as a core leadership practice within UpStart itself.
• Explore opportunities to adapt and share content beyond the UpStart network, creating resources that can serve Jewish camps, schools, campuses, and community organizations.
• Serve as UpStart's thought leader on the intersection of learning, belonging, and Jewish innovation, sharing insights through writing, public speaking, and convenings.

Network Capacity-Building and Field Leadership

• Build deep relationships across UpStart's network to understand the needs, strengths, and challenges ventures face in creating welcoming and inclusive programs.
• Design responsive programs and tools to help ventures strengthen their own cultures of belonging to lead diverse communities with care and confidence.
• Develop public-facing thought leadership (blogs, panels, convenings) that positions UpStart as a leader at the intersection of learning, belonging, and innovation.
• Represent UpStart to funders, partners, and public audiences, telling the story of how learning, belonging, and innovation combine to shape the Jewish future.
• Support internal development efforts with securing funding for learning, network building, and community belonging work.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities associated with the position.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Required Experience

• 10 years of leadership experience in Jewish education, program design, community building, or organizational development.
• Strong program management and strategy skills, including managing teams and budgets.
• Fluency in Jewish content and Israel education, with demonstrated ability to teach, curate, and design content for learners from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Proven success in designing programs that engage diverse participants and foster inclusive leadership.
• Experience leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to enhance efficiency and scalability.
• Experience building learning communities where participants wrestle with identity, power, and purpose.

Core Competencies

• Ability to hold complexity—engaging Jewish tradition, modern identity, innovation, and power dynamics with nuance.
• Adaptive leadership, especially in nimble, evolving environments.
• Relationship-first approach, building trust across diverse stakeholders—from teammates to social entrepreneurs to funders to educators.
• Skilled facilitator and educator, able to lead both joyful learning and hard conversations.
• Clear and compelling communicator—in writing, speaking, and facilitation.
• Commitment to integrating a diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice lens into every piece of their work.
• Adaptability and agility in the face of change, both organizational and technological.
• Passion for UpStart’s mission and the work of UpStart’s network.
• Commitment to upholding UpStart’s values and Guiding Principles.

Preferred Experience

• Track record designing programs at the intersection of identity, community, and leadership.
• Familiarity with the Jewish innovation ecosystem, including UpStart's ventures and peer organizations.
• Experience in social entrepreneurship or Jewish innovation work.
• Evidence of the ability to manage teams through change with confidence.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

To ensure equitable compensation, UpStart uses labor market benchmarking as the basis for establishing the salaries of employees across all roles at the organization. Biennial labor market benchmarking is conducted by an independent third-party partner retained to review available data and analyze the rates of pay being offered by organizations similar to UpStart located in the Bay Area, CA. Aligned with this practice, and in support of upholding internal equity, we don’t negotiate salaries. The starting annual salary for this role is $130,000.

In addition to a competitive salary, UpStart currently offers the following benefits: 

• A comprehensive benefits package, including 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Life, short-term, and long-term disability insurance.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave with no waiting period.
• 100% employer-funded Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) for medical-related travel, up to $1,950 per year.
• FSA and Commuter Benefits accounts.
• Employer-sponsored 401K with employer match.
• Flexible discretionary paid time off.
• Annual $1,500 professional development stipend.
• One-time $300 office setup stipend and provided Mac.
• Monthly $50 cell phone stipend.
• 3:00pm local close-of-business on Fridays.
• Days off for all work-prohibitive Jewish holidays, in addition to secular US holidays.
• A one-month (30 days) paid sabbatical per every five years of employment.
• Occasional travel for meetings, conferences, and other business-related activities.
• A great workplace culture! Check out our culture deck here.

HOW TO APPLY

Use the fields below to submit your resume and a thoughtful, one-page cover letter to our hiring team.

UpStart is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, UpStart will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided accommodations. If accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact Sydney Hirsch at sydneyh@upstartlab.org for assistance.

WHAT TO EXPECT

We are committed to a fair and respectful hiring process, and we do our absolute best to respond to every applicant. We prioritize communication and transparency with all candidates, even those who are not moving forward. For questions or concerns about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, please contact Whitney Weathers, Managing Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice, at whitneyw@upstartlab.org.

Here’s an overview of our hiring process*: 

• Step 1: Apply with your resume and cover letter!
• Step 2: Phone screen with an UpStart recruiter. 
• Step 3: Video interview with the hiring manager.
• Step 4: A video interview with a panel of UpStart employees. 
• Step 5: We’ll check your references to learn about your past experience. 
• Step 6: Get an offer letter, sign it, and start your professional journey with UpStart!

*Note: Some of our hiring processes may vary, and not all candidates will advance to each step.