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Executive Director, URJ Camps & Immersives

Job Title
Executive Director, URJ Camps & Immersives
Work Hybrid
Yes
Description

Executive Director, URJ Camps & Immersives  

Location:  Hybrid (in-person meetings and availability for onsite leadership during summer months) 

Organization: Union for Reform Judaism 

Employment Type: Full Time, Benefits Eligible, Exempt, MNGT  

Department:  Camps & Immersives Leadership  

Reporting to: Vice President, Camps & Immersives  

Start Date:  As soon as possible

Salary Range: $150,000 - $175,000, commensurate plus competitive benefits package 

Level/Salary Grade:  Organizational Leader – Strategic / F 

The Role 

The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) seeks a senior leader to serve as Executive Director, URJ Camps & Immersives. This role serves as the strategic and operational leader of a multi-site portfolio, effectively stewarding a mission-driven enterprise that spans camps and immersive experiences across North America. 

The Executive Director is accountable for the portfolio’s overall impact, financial sustainability, and long-term vitality. This includes shaping and executing a multi-year vision that expands access to transformative Jewish experiences, strengthens program quality and relevance, deepens year-round engagement, and ensures disciplined, values-aligned financial stewardship across sites. The role advances impact through multiple levers, including program innovation, market positioning, strategic partnerships, and philanthropy. 

Operating within a dynamic and evolving landscape, the Executive Director leads thoughtful, forward-looking organizational change across the portfolio. They lead and develop camp directors as senior enterprise leaders, while partnering closely across URJ to drive integrated strategy, performance, and shared learning. As a key member of the Camps & Immersives senior leadership team, this leader shapes URJ’s market position, strengthens stakeholder and donor confidence, and ensures the portfolio remains mission-driven, innovative, and financially resilient over time. 

This leader operates with a “Team OneURJ” mindset, aligning the camps and immersives portfolio with enterprise priorities and ensuring it both contributes to and benefits from the organization’s collective strategy, resources, and impact. They also serve as a primary storyteller and ambassador, clearly and compellingly articulating the value, impact, and distinctiveness of the broader URJ and immersive experiences to inspire participation, partnership, and investment across diverse audiences. 

What You Will Do 

STRATEGIC & BUSINESS LEADERSHIP 

  • Lead the overall strategy and performance of a multi-site portfolio of camps and immersive experiences, with accountability for impact, sustainability, long-term growth, and deep integration across URJ teams, priorities, and shared goals. 

  • Develop and execute multi-year portfolio strategies that align mission, program offerings, financial models, and market opportunities. 

  • Establish and use key performance indicators across impact, participation, retention, financial health, and philanthropy to guide decision-making. 

  • Oversee portfolio-level financial planning, forecasting, and resource allocation in partnership with Business Strategy & Management. 

  • Ensure disciplined and values-aligned decision-making around investments, cost structures, and prioritization. 

  • Balance near-term operational performance with long-term transformation and investment. 

IMPACT, PARTICIPATION & MARKET DEVELOPMENT 

  • Use data, market insights, and demographic trends to inform program design, pricing strategies, and geographic reach. 

  • Drive strategies that expand participation, strengthen retention, increase accessibility, and support sustained growth across summer and year-round experiences.  

  • Position enrollment growth as an outcome of program excellence, strong value proposition, and effective market engagement. 

  • Identify opportunities to deepen impact beyond the summer season, including academic-year offerings, alumni engagement, leadership pathways, and other URJ flagship experiences and offerings. 

  • Strengthen and scale recruitment and engagement pipelines through partnerships with URJ flagship experiences and offerings, congregations, youth movements, federations, and other communal organizations. 

  • Translate program impact into clear, compelling narratives that strengthen market positioning, support recruitment, and deepen connection among families, alumni, and partners. 

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP & CHANGE

  • Model and operationalize a “Team OneURJ” mindset, holding leaders accountable for enterprise thinking, shared outcomes, and collaboration beyond individual sites or portfolios. 

  • Lead, develop, and support camp directors as senior leaders responsible for the URJ, including all URJ experiences and offerings, people, and operational outcomes. 

  • Drive organizational alignment across portfolio and broader URJ, advancing shared standards, systems, and ways of working that strengthen collective impact and reduce fragmentation. 

  • Drive strategies that expand participation, strengthen retention, increase accessibility, and support sustained growth across summer and year-round experiences.  

  • Build leadership capacity and succession pipelines to ensure long-term strength and continuity. 

  • Serve as a visible and trusted leader to staff, families, donors, alumni, and community stakeholders. 

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY & RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 

  • Drive strategies that expand participation, strengthen retention, increase accessibility, and support sustained growth across summer and year-round experiences.   

  • Partner closely with Development Center of Expertise to align fundraising strategy with programmatic vision and growth opportunities in addition to opportunities that support URJ at large.  

  • Drive strategies that expand participation, strengthen retention, increase accessibility, and support sustained growth across summer and year-round experiences.  

  • Support and develop camp directors and camp boards as effective partners in fundraising and external relationship building for portfolio, overall youth engagement, and the broader URJ.  

  • Personally engage in major donor cultivation and stewardship, using compelling storytelling to connect vision, impact, and investment opportunities at both the portfolio and enterprise level.  

OPERATIONAL STEWARDSHIP & RISK MANAGEMENT 

  • Maintain executive accountability for safety, compliance, and risk management across all sites.  

  • Ensure high standards in medical care, mental health support, facilities, and staff training.  

  • Partner with central teams to ensure operational consistency, preparedness, and resilience across the portfolio.  

  • Drive strategies that expand participation, strengthen retention, increase accessibility, and support sustained growth across summer and year-round experiences.  

Who You Are 

You are a mission-driven, enterprise-level executive who brings vision, discipline, and ownership to leading complex, multi-site systems. You think beyond individual programs or sites, aligning strategy, people, and resources to achieve shared outcomes across the organization. 

You combine strategic insight with strong business and financial acumen, translating vision into clear direction, disciplined decisions, and measurable results. You lead and develop senior leaders, building high-performing, accountable teams and fostering a culture of collaboration, learning, and shared responsibility grounded in a “Team OneURJ” mindset. 

You balance big-picture thinking with operational rigor, leading across a diverse portfolio of sites and stakeholders. You understand that participation and growth result from program excellence, compelling value, and effective positioning, and you lead accordingly. 

You are a clear and compelling communicator and storyteller, able to translate impact into narratives that inspire participation, partnership, and investment. You lead change with clarity and purpose, navigating complexity with focus, transparency, and a commitment to expanding the reach, relevance, and long-term sustainability of immersive Jewish experiences. 

Keys to Success (the must-haves) 

  • Strategic & Business Leadership – Lead a complex, multi-site portfolio with a clear, forward-looking strategy that integrates mission, program, and business objectives, translating vision into actionable plans, measurable outcomes, and enterprise-wide alignment. 

  • Impact, Participation & Market Development – Expand reach, deepen engagement, and strengthen retention across summer and year-round experiences by leveraging data, market insight, and a strong value proposition to drive participation and connection. 

  • Organizational Leadership & Team OneURJ Mindset – Lead and develop senior leaders with clarity and accountability, modeling a “Team OneURJ” mindset that prioritizes shared outcomes, cross-organizational collaboration, and a high-performing, aligned culture. 

  • Financial Sustainability & Resource Development – Drive long-term sustainability through strong financial leadership and partnership, including forecasting, pricing strategy, resource allocation, and philanthropic growth, using clear narratives to connect impact with investment. 

  • Operational Excellence & Risk Management – Ensure strong, consistent operations across sites, including safety, compliance, facilities, and crisis management, while building systems and practices that enable resilience and long-term success. 

  • Relationship Building, Storytelling & Stakeholder Engagement – Build trust and credibility with staff, lay leaders, donors, families, alumni, and communal partners, serving as a compelling ambassador who clearly communicates vision, impact, and value to inspire participation, partnership, and investment. 

Qualifications 

  • 10+ years of senior leadership experience leading complex organizations, portfolios, or business lines within camps, youth-serving organizations, education, nonprofit networks, or mission-driven enterprises. 

  • Demonstrated success leading and developing senior leaders, including setting strategy, driving performance, and building leadership capacity. 

  • Strong business and financial acumen, including experience with budgeting, forecasting, pricing strategy, and long-term sustainability planning. 

  • Proven experience driving growth and impact through program development, market expansion, audience engagement, or related strategies. 

  • Experience leading organizational change, including evolving structures, systems, or operating models. 

  • Experience managing complex, multi-site or multi-functional operations, including oversight of facilities, safety, compliance, and risk management. 

  • Demonstrated ability to build and sustain relationships with diverse stakeholders, including staff, lay leaders, donors, families, and community partners. 

  • Experience partnering on or leading fundraising efforts, including major gifts, capital campaigns, or strategic partnerships. 

  • Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, with experience fostering communities of belonging. 

  • Ability to navigate camp environments, including walking and standing for extended periods, working outdoors in variable conditions, and occasionally lifting up to 15 pounds. 

  • Availability for onsite leadership during summer months. 

Application Process 

Please apply online and include a resume and a one-page cover letter describing your interest in the role and how your experience aligns with the qualifications listed. We look forward to hearing from you!     

About the Union for Reform Judaism 

Serving more than 800 congregations and reaching nearly 2 million people, the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) is the engine of Reform Judaism in North America, strengthening the communities, leaders, programs, and experiences that help people find meaning, belonging, joy, justice, and purpose through Reform Jewish values and teachings. 

Through congregational partnerships, 14 overnight camps, youth and teen programs, Jewish learning opportunities, Israel engagement, leadership development, work to build communities of belonging, and the justice efforts of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, we help people and communities connect to Jewish life at every stage of their journey. 

We believe Jewish life is strongest when it is rooted in tradition, responsive to the world around us, connected to Israel and the Jewish people, committed to justice, and expansive enough to welcome many voices, identities, and pathways into community and belonging. 

Together with our congregations, camps, leaders, and partners, the URJ is building a more connected, resilient, and joyful Reform Movement, helping shape a Jewish future grounded in peace, justice, belonging, and joy. 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER 

The URJ strives to be a welcoming and inclusive environment that acknowledges diversity as a critical strength. We promote strenuous policies and practices of equal opportunity and diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is our objective to recruit, hire, and retain the most qualified individuals including those of any race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic or status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Our equal employment philosophy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, compensation, benefits, training, promotions, transfers, job benefits, and terminations. The URJ encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+, and other often underrepresented groups.  

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