ENCOUNTER is an educational organization dedicated to providing Jewish Diaspora leaders from across the religious and political spectrum with exposure to Palestinian life... READ MORE

Program Director
Reporting to: Executive Director, Israel
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Organization: ENCOUNTER
Application Deadline: September 4, 2009
Start Date: November 1, 2009

ENCOUNTER is an educational organization dedicated to providing Jewish Diaspora leaders from across the religious and political spectrum with exposure to Palestinian life. Through ground-breaking tours to Palestinian cities, dialogue facilitation trainings, and follow-up programming in North America, ENCOUNTER is creating breakthroughs in understanding and conflict transformation between Jews and Arabs as well as between Jews and other Jews. Founded in 2005 by Rabbis and veteran peace-builders, ENCOUNTER has partnered with Palestinian organizations to bring more than 700 Jewish leaders – from Federation executives to Orthodox Rabbis to Jewish day school educators– to Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah and East Jerusalem.
ENCOUNTER is poised to grow significantly in size and impact in coming years. In the past year we have tripled our programming and staff, and expect to continue to experience significant growth in the coming years.
We seek a Program Director for our Jerusalem office who will join us at this pivotal time to help us accomplish our mission and sustain our continued growth. This newly created position will play a critical leadership role in ENCOUNTER's small Middle East team, working closely with the Executive Director in program development and implementation. The ideal candidate will possess uniquely strong organizational and interpersonal skills, integrating analytical thinking with emotional intelligence and demonstrating exceptional ability to work independently. This individual will be self-motivated, will execute our program at a high standard of excellence, and will bring strong leadership, passion and dedication to ENCOUNTER’s mission and key program activities.

Job Responsibilities:
Program planning and implementation of all elements of monthly Encounter programs in the Middle East, including:
• Recruitment and Participant Selection: Liase with a diverse array of Diaspora Jewish students and leaders from across the political and religious spectrum, publicly representing Encounter and networking with appropriate institutional leaders, Rabbis, Jewish educators, social innovators, media and philanthropists.
• Relationship-Building with Key Palestinian Leaders: Build strong relationships with Palestinian leaders from community-based organizations, media, education, government, business, and other sectors of civil society, as well as with local community members throughout the West Bank.
• Program Development: Work with Executive Director to design and implement two-day program in the field, including development of itinerary and selection of diverse Palestinian speakers; development of interactive activities between Jewish participants and Palestinian community members; integration of small group processing and Torah study into programs; and oversight of all administrative and logistical elements of Middle East program. Programs primarily take place in Bethlehem, as well as in Hebron, Ramallah, and East Jerusalem
• Group Facilitation: Serve as group leader and small group facilitator. Foster group formation and cultivate listening and communication skills in Jewish participants during orientations, trips, and post-program debriefings. Conduct leadership development and facilitation training for trip leaders and facilitators.
• Planning and Evaluation: Work with Executive Director to plan and maintain annual calendar in partnership with North America office. Assist Executive Director in designing relevant evaluation tools and analyzing evaluation results.

Qualifications
• Passionate commitment to conflict transformation between Jews and Arabs as well as between Jews from diverse religious and political backgrounds
• Strong leadership and ability to take initiative
• Self-motivated and able to work independently and as part of a team
• Proven professional track record in non-profit environment with project management, program design and implementation
• Team management and supervision experience preferred
• Detail-oriented, highly organized and resourceful with ability to prioritize, multi-task and handle pressure
• Professional experience working in American Jewish, Palestinian, and Israeli communities
• Must be able to travel legally in all areas of Israel and the West Bank
• BA required; graduate degree preferred
• Minimum two year time commitment in Jerusalem

Full-time. Attractive compensation package commensurate with experience, including competitive salary and comprehensive benefits.

Please send cover letter and resume to Ilana Sumka at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and include ‘Your Name, Program Director Application, Jerusalem’ in the subject line.

No phone calls please. Finalists will be notified by September 30, 2009. Please note that due to the anticipated high level of interest in this position, Encounter will only be able to respond to application finalists.