DEAN OF JEWISH LIFE & STUDIES (PART-TIME)

Job Description

Job Description

Half-Time (0.5 FTE) Founding Leadership Position · Reports to the Principal · Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s or M.Div preferred in Jewish Education, Judaic Studies, Jewish Leadership, Education, Spirituality, Theology, Youth Leadership Development, or a related field · 3+ years of successful secondary (grades 6–12) teaching or schoolwide leadership experience required; high school (grades 9–12) experience highly preferred · Some form of leadership experience is required; Jewish student center, campus minister, experiential program director, Judaics department, administration, or instructional leadership preferred · Jewish day, Jewish communal, or faith-based education experience is a plus · Being Jewish is not a requirement for this role, however, a deep appreciation for and understanding of key Jewish traditions and rituals is critical · Fewer years but exceptional craft? We hire for mastery, not seat time.

Are you a Jewish educational leader who believes vibrant Jewish identity is cultivated through meaningful learning, authentic relationships, and inspiring communal experiences? Do you want to help shape the Jewish character and culture of a new college-preparatory high school from the ground up? Are you at a stage of life or portfolio where a founding part-time leadership role is the right fit? If so, Davis School Chicago wants to hear from you.

The Dream Team

Davis School Chicago is a proudly Jewish, college-preparatory high school opening in fall 2027 in downtown Chicago, in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of a great city for learning. Every adult at Davis Chicago is an educator and a culture-builder. We hold two expectations at the same time: deep human warmth and uncompromising intellectual excellence. High health and high results, never one at the cost of the other. This is a summary of the characteristics that describe our dream team. Please read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator and more information about our opportunities before you apply.

To thrive here you are:

• Warm and intellectually formidable. Genuinely kind and seriously bright. We hire for intellectual horsepower; only sharp minds grow students to their full potential.

• You bring the room to life. Passion people feel, loud or quiet, with the range to teach, support, and lead.

• A builder who owns it. Startup grit, a real growth mindset, open about mistakes, gives the gift of feedback, and the drive to create what doesn’t exist yet.

• Teach how to think, not what to think. Rigor, evidence, and a love of hard questions, including the controversial ones. Students reach their own conclusions.

• Rooted in tradition, built for what’s next. Ancient wisdom and modern tools, AI included, aimed at today's problems.

• Unapologetically Jewish. Israel has a right to exist; that is not up for debate. Everything else is fair game, including spirited debate about Israel’s actions. You’re excited to help build a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel school.

What Davis Chicago Needs

Davis Chicago is hiring a half-time (0.5 FTE) Dean of Jewish Life & Studies: the founding architect of Jewish life and Jewish learning at the school. You teach Jewish Studies, and you design and direct Jewish life — tefillah, the holiday cycle, Shabbatonim, the service program, and the student leaders who will carry them — with support from other staff members and partners for the day to day. Davis School Chicago has also posted a full-time Dean of Jewish Life & Studies role. That is a different job, the daily presence and community face of Jewish life, not this one at more hours. Apply to the seat that fits your life; if you are open to either, apply to both.

If the classroom is your center of gravity rather than the schoolwide portfolio, see the Jewish Studies / Judaic Studies Teacher (Part-Time) posting.

Who Thrives in This Role

• Warm, Relational, and High-Performing – Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.

• A Magnetic Jewish Educator – The kind of presence students seek out; deep Jewish learning worn lightly, head and heart together.

• A Builder of Ritual and Community – Designs gatherings, retreats, and traditions people remember, then trains students to run them.

• An Entrepreneurial Builder – Thrives in ambiguity, solves problems, and creates programs, systems, and traditions from the ground up.

• A Curious and Courageous Thinker – Embraces learning, evidence, critical thinking, and meaningful debate.

• Rooted and Forward-Looking – Honors tradition while embracing innovation, technology, and AI.

• Committed to Jewish Life and Community – Values Jewish identity, the diversity of Jewish thought, and meaningful engagement in Jewish life.

• A Collaborative Culture-Builder – Balances accountability, care, and results while elevating everyone around them.

The Role

The Dean of Jewish Life & Studies is responsible for shaping and leading the school’s vision for Jewish learning, Jewish identity development, and community engagement, at a half-time (0.5 FTE) founding scope. The Dean establishes the rituals, activities, and events that form the foundation of the Jewish identity of the school. Reporting to the Principal, this individual will oversee Jewish Studies curriculum and instruction, Jewish experiential education, student leadership development, Israel education, community partnerships, holiday and ritual programming, and faculty development within Jewish Studies.

As a founding leader, the Dean will establish the frameworks, traditions, and cultural touchpoints that define Jewish life at Davis Chicago. This individual will build a thriving educational environment where students develop intellectual curiosity, moral courage, spiritual grounding, and a lifelong connection to Jewish learning and community.

The shape of this role is architect and teacher. You design the ritual life of the school and its first traditions, set the service program and the student leadership that will run it, and lead its signature moments, with other staff members and partners carrying the daily rhythm alongside you. And you teach, because the Dean who teaches stays close to students.

1. Strategic Leadership and Vision

• Develop and implement a compelling vision for Jewish life and learning that aligns with the school’s mission and values.

• Serve as a member of the school’s senior leadership team.

• Establish the traditions, rituals, and cultural norms of the founding school community.

• Partner with school leadership on strategic planning, enrollment growth, student engagement, and community-building initiatives.

• Ensure Jewish values are meaningfully integrated throughout the student experience.

• Create measurable outcomes for Jewish learning, identity development, leadership, and belonging.

• Establish systems for evaluating the effectiveness of Jewish life and educational programming.

2. Jewish Life and Student Experience

• Design and oversee a comprehensive Jewish life program that promotes belonging, engagement, leadership, and community.

• Lead school-wide Jewish programming, celebrations, and educational experiences.

• Grow student leadership by growing the programs that need student leaders — recruit, train, and coach students to lead tefillah, learning, Shabbatonim, and chesed, and hand over real responsibility as they earn it.

• Partner with students to create programming that reflects their interests, identities, and aspirations.

• Foster an inclusive environment that welcomes and celebrates diverse Jewish backgrounds and experiences.

• Design the school’s ritual life and tefillah, its holidays, and its rhythms of gathering, in partnership with other staff members and community partners.

• Design and lead Shabbatonim for students.

• Design the service program as a core expression of Jewish life at Davis Chicago.

• Manage departmental budgets and allocated resources.

• Set the calendar and the standard for Jewish life programming, with planning and execution shared with other staff members and partners.

3. Jewish Studies Teaching & Leadership

• Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing refinement of the Jewish Studies curriculum, including the placement mechanism that places students into honors and standard sections.

• Teach Jewish Studies, beginning with Principles of Jewish Learning and growing across levels as grades are added.

• Develop innovative approaches to teaching Jewish texts, history, ethics, philosophy, and contemporary Jewish issues.

• Promote interdisciplinary learning experiences that connect Jewish Studies with humanities, STEM, arts, and real-world issues.

• Integrate Israeli culture, literature, history, current events, and contemporary topics into instruction.

• Differentiate instruction to support diverse learners and learning styles.

• Utilize educational technology and innovative teaching methodologies to enhance student engagement and achievement.

• Assess student progress through a variety of formative and summative measures and provide timely, meaningful feedback.

• Showcase student achievement through competitions, presentations, exhibitions, and public events.

• Promote inquiry-based learning, analytical writing, discussion, research, and project-based experiences, including immersive and experiential approaches — simulation, role-play, performance — where they deepen mastery.

4. Israel Education and Global Jewish Engagement

• Set the direction for Israel education and engagement initiatives.

• Develop programming that explores Israel’s history, culture, society, and contemporary issues.

• Help students engage thoughtfully and respectfully with complex issues related to Israel and the global Jewish community.

5. Family and Community Engagement

• Serve as a visible ambassador for Jewish life at Davis School Chicago.

• Build strong partnerships with families to support students’ Jewish growth and development.

• Build the first partnerships with synagogues, camps, and community organizations that extend Jewish life at the school.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required, M.Div or Master’s degree in Jewish Education, Judaic Studies, Jewish Leadership, Education, Spirituality, Theology, Youth Leadership Development, or a related field preferred.

• Language: Hebrew proficiency preferred.

• Experience: 3+ years of successful secondary (grades 6–12) teaching or schoolwide leadership experience required, progressively responsible leadership in Jewish educational or communal settings preferred; high school (grades 9–12) experience highly preferred; Jewish day, Jewish high school, or faith-based settings preferred.

• Leadership: Evidence of building Jewish learning and community that people remember. We evaluate mission fit and craft over credentials; rabbinic ordination is welcome and not required.

Core Competencies

1. Jewish Learning: Jewish Studies curriculum and instruction; Israel education; text and tradition brought to life.

2. Community and Ritual: gatherings, holidays, retreats, and service; traditions that stick.

3. Student Leadership: forming the students who will run tefillah, Shabbatonim, and service.

4. Organizational Leadership: program building; community partnerships; entrepreneurial with startup grit.

Compensation and Benefits

This is a half-time (0.5 FTE) founding leadership role. The anticipated annual compensation is $38,772–$68,550, reflecting half-time placement on the school’s established Faculty Salary Schedule (full-time equivalent $77,543–$137,099), plus a leadership differential of $2,000–$4,000, determined by years of leadership experience. Placement within the range is determined by a combination of relevant leadership experience and educational attainment, including Bachelor's, Master's, Master's + additional graduate credits, Education Specialist (Ed.S.), and Doctoral (Ed.D./Ph.D.) degrees, in accordance with the school’s step-and-lane compensation structure. Paid leave and paid sick leave accrue as required by law; this position is not eligible for the school’s benefits package.

How We Hire

Our process is thorough and we believe that hiring is a dual decision-making process; you are vetting us as much as we are vetting you. Our process includes focused conversations with the people you would work with, a battery of assessments we use for your development as much as for selection, and interview rounds both in-person and virtually. We use artificial intelligence tools in our recruitment and hiring process to help review and organize applications and interviews; every hiring decision is made by a person. Davis School Chicago is an equal employment opportunity employer.

Is this you?

This isn’t for everyone. If it’s you, it may be the best work of your life. Read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Chicago Educator , then apply.