Director of IdeaLab at Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation

The role

The Director of IdeaLab leads research and experimentation to strengthen the rabbinic leadership ecosystem. This person identifies promising ideas, runs pilots in real settings, and oversees research and evaluation to produce actionable insights for the field.

What you will do

• Scope, plan, and run several pilots and experiments at once
• Recommend what to explore, advance, hand off, or stop to the Chief Innovation and Impact Officer
• Oversee large-scale, fieldwide research by working with contracted research and evaluation experts
• Synthesize research findings into actionable insights for the field
• Build practical ways to capture learning in real time from pilots and stakeholders
• Share learnings with the field through briefs, cases, tools, and convenings
• Build trust with rabbis, seminaries, employers, researchers, and funders
• Help shape the process for how Atra and partners coordinate pilots and collaborations
• Manage the IdeaLab budget and help inform annual budget planning
• Support fundraising by sharing findings with funders and the board

Required qualifications

• 5–8 years of experience in Jewish communal, nonprofit, or related settings
• Track record of building and piloting new programs, tools, or partnerships from scratch
• Skill in building trust with people of differing perspectives and backgrounds
• Strong writing and synthesis skills
• Proven commitment to research and evaluation
• Familiarity with the rabbinic landscape and broader Jewish communal ecosystem

Nice to have

• Rabbinic ordination, or equivalent experience in direct work with rabbis and/or institutions that sustain Jewish spiritual leadership
• Experience helping others build and test new ideas
• Experience convening senior professionals and field leaders
• Experience managing consultants or contracted partners and a project or program budget
• Local candidates in the NYC area

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Unlimited vacation
• Paid sick days
• Generous holiday calendar including all Jewish holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Professional development funds
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Employer HSA contribution
• Employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance
• 403(b) retirement plan with a 5% employer contribution after two years of service
• Parsonage for rabbis who work at Atra

Before you apply

• Application Deadline is Friday, December 11
• Process includes screening calls, interviews, and a final panel interview with a practical exercise

About the company

Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation is a leading pluralistic platform advancing rabbinic leadership across North America. It is fiscally sponsored by Hillel International.