Director of the Israel Center

92nd Street Y•New York, NY

1d•$110,000 - $125,000

About The Position

The Director of the Israel Center will provide strategic vision, intellectual leadership, and operational oversight for a flagship initiative engaging Israel’s history, culture, challenges, and triumphs with nuance and honesty. The Israel Center will bring clarity, sophistication, and depth to the understanding of modern Israel for Jewish and broader audiences alike. The Director will be responsible for conceptualizing and implementing high-level programming that reflects a range of perspectives consistent with 92NY’s Israel policies, while fostering serious, thoughtful engagement around complex and often sensitive issues. The Israel Center is committed to presenting a diversity of perspectives on Israel and seeks an individual who values thoughtful dialogue across a broad spectrum of viewpoints. This role requires a dynamic leader who combines subject-matter expertise with program-building skill, public presence, and the ability to cultivate partnerships across cultural, academic, civic, and philanthropic communities.

Requirements

Deep and sophisticated knowledge of Israeli history, Israeli society, and contemporary political and cultural dynamics.
Minimum 7–10 years of senior leadership experience in Jewish communal life, Israel education, public policy, academia, media, arts administration, or a related field.
Demonstrated ability to engage complex and contested issues with nuance, balance, and credibility.
Proven experience building high-level public programming and managing multi-dimensional initiatives.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience moderating conversations and speaking publicly.
Demonstrated fundraising partnership experience.
Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.
Exceptional interpersonal skills, diplomacy, and emotional intelligence.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in Jewish Studies, Israel Studies, Public Policy, Education, Arts Administration, or related field preferred.
Experience working with artists, scholars, and public intellectuals preferred.
Experience overseeing research initiatives or publishing thought leadership materials preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and articulate a compelling vision for the Israel Center.
Position the Center as a leading national platform for nuanced, intellectually rigorous engagement with Israel.
Ensure all programming aligns with institutional values and policies while embracing complexity and diversity of thought.
Coordinate Israeli-themed talks and cultural programs addressing contemporary Israel, including art, culture, innovation, politics and society from diverse perspectives consistent with 92NY’s Israel policies.
Design and host off-the-record community conversations, especially involving the Jewish community, that invite participants to engage in structured dialogue around timely and “hot-button” topics related to Israel.
Ensure conversations are facilitated with professionalism, intellectual rigor, and emotional intelligence, with a goal of civilly airing community differences and finding areas of commonality and consensus.
Develop culturally resonant experiences that strengthen connections between Israeli expatriates and the broader Jewish community in New York and across the United States.
Expand programming geared toward Israeli Ex-Pats living in New York and elsewhere in the United States, building on the success of the Bronfman Center’s Shabbat B’Ivrit initiative.
Develop culturally resonant experiences bringing members of the Jewish community and other New Yorkers in contact with Israelis, both in the United States and in Israel, including exchange and travel programs.
Partner with professional pollsters and researchers to assess Jewish and non-Jewish opinion regarding Israel.
Oversee the publication of White Papers presenting findings, analysis, and insights that contribute meaningfully to public discourse about Israel.
Position the Center as a thought leader through data-driven analysis and public scholarship.
Develop programs, in conjunction with other 92NY departments, designed to platform deplatformed Jewish and Israeli artists, which could include residency programs.
Select and host Israeli artists to live in 92NY’s Residences and, while in residency, create, and exhibit or perform their works at 92NY.
Integrate resident artists into public programming, educational initiatives, and communal life.
Develop and manage program budgets and ensure fiscal responsibility.
Partner with Development to cultivate donors and secure funding for flagship initiatives.
Collaborate with Marketing and Communications to ensure strong positioning and visibility.
Supervise relevant staff and consultants as the Center grows.
Evaluate program impact and refine strategy based on feedback and communal trends.
Serve as an ambassador for the Center within national Jewish and cultural conversations.
Coordinate logistics for events with appropriate departments within 92NY.
Perform other appropriate duties as assigned by the Director of the Bronfman Center and Executive Leadership.