Executive Assistant to the Rabbis
19 days ago
Scarsdale
Job Description Executive Assistant to the Rabbis Westchester Reform Temple [WRT] is an established house of worship located in Scarsdale, NY, and serves over 1,000 member households. WRT provides a wide variety of activities through regular worship services, special holiday celebrations and events, life-cycle events, after-school & preschool classes for children, adult education opportunities, and many volunteer-led cohorts and related activities. This full-time, non-exempt position reports to the Director of Congregant Relations and Pastoral Care, and must also work closely with the Clergy, Executive Director, and Philanthropy Director to support the needs of WRT. The Executive Assistant to the Rabbis provides high-level administrative, scheduling, and program support to the rabbis and clergy team and supports key congregant-facing workflows. This role requires exceptional organization, discretion, calm professionalism, accuracy, and consistently strong customer service in a busy environment. This role balances cyclical responsibilities with new requests, prioritizing work to best serve clergy, congregants, and operational needs. Essential duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Clergy Scheduling, Calendar Administration, and Correspondence ● Enter the Pastoral Care coverage and Clergy On-Call schedules onto clergy calendars, coordinate updates with, and communicate changes to, the reception team. ● Maintain rabbis’ calendars and schedule appointments and meetings, including for wedding couples, families with baby namings, unveilings, aufrufs, and pastoral meetings. ● Enter recurring appointments and events on rabbis’ and clergy calendars, including full staff and calendar meetings, Shabbat Torah Study coverage, and clergy on-call schedules. ● Check rabbi’s calendars for Friday Shabbat coverage, B’nei Mitzvah officiation, ECC rotation, and other calendar entries created by others. ● Add clergy officiation for life cycles at Friday Shabbat services to all clergy calendars. ● Add JLL calendars and responsibilities to rabbis’ calendars. ● Add Internal Master calendar programs to rabbis’ calendars. ● Each summer and winter, create schedules for weekly Senior Staff Meetings and monthly Calendar Meetings, consult the Senior Rabbi and Executive Director regarding possible conflicts, assign Divrei Torah and note-taking responsibilities, and disseminate the schedule to participating staff. ● Attend monthly calendar meetings, take notes, update rabbis’ calendars, monitor and resolve inconsistencies between the Internal Master and rabbis’ calendars. ● Prepare all correspondence requested by rabbis, Director of Congregant Relations and Pastoral Care, and Philanthropy Director. ● Coordinate all scheduling closely with the Executive Assistant to Cantors for seamless clergy support. Lifecycle Coordination and Tracking ● Track weddings, baby namings, unveilings, and aufrufs in separate Google spreadsheets to record officiation, and ensure that each couple or family has the correct number of appointments and remains on schedule. ● Track lifecycle inquiries that have not yet been scheduled or assigned an officiant and provide ongoing support to the Director of Congregant Relations and Pastoral Care through outreach to families or follow-up reminders. ● Verify membership status for families with lifecycles, with particular attention to wedding families whose preparation and celebration may span two fiscal years. ● [1] In consultation with the B’nei Mitzvah Coordinator, track B’nei Mitzvah student and parent appointments with the officiating rabbi in a Google sheet. ● Prepare unveilings, baby naming services, and wedding remarks for rabbis. Pastoral Care and Ritual Observance Support ● Generate weekly yahrzeit Reports and create Kaddish/Yahrzeit lists from the database to support the Pastoral Care Director. ● Add new bereavements, greeters, and Friday night bima honors to the weekly Yahrzeit lists. ● Print hard copies of Yahrzeit and Mi Shebeirach lists for officiating clergy each Friday. ● Create weekly yahrzeit observer call lists for the Assistant Rabbi. ● Make congregant-requested date changes to yahrzeit records and follow up with congregants. Maintain and update the lists to ensure accuracy. ● Add first yahrzeits to Senior Rabbi’s and officiating clergyperson’s calendars. ● Maintain the annual Yizkor necrology with names of all deceased. Donation Acknowledgements ● Receive copies of all donations arriving via mail and email, and create digital records of their details. ● Prepare and track all donation acknowledgement letters in close coordination with the Director of Philanthropy. ● Assist in determining appropriate funds for lifecycle donations and coordinate with the Director of Philanthropy when appropriate. ● Craft tailored letters for donations related to clergy-officiated lifecycles. ● Provide administrative support for the Philanthropy Director as requested. Publications, Communications, and Proofreading ● Maintain a comprehensive and continuously updated master list of all lifecycles and donations for publication in the quarterly Bulletin. ● Proofread the donations and lifecycles sections of the Bulletin multiple times and send corrections to the Director of Communications. ● Proofread the weekly eblast and identify and resolve calendar conflicts. ● Proofread publicity materials, as assigned. High Holy Days Honors and Service Support ● Provide scheduling and administrative support for High Holy Days honors for main sanctuary, family, and TOT services. ● Track honors outreach and responses for all services. ● Prepare and maintain High Holy Days folders for clergy and interns that include honors, cues, and relevant Yahrzeit and Yizkor lists. Website and General Clergy Inquiry Routing ● Field inquiries and communications that come through the Temple website for the Senior Rabbi and general inquiries for clergy and ensure that they are routed and handled appropriately. Support Groups Administration ● Maintain mailing lists for Caring Community, Bereavement Group, and Caregiver Groups. ● Collect RSVPs for events and group meetings and send reminders. ● Make schedule adjustments as needed, reconcile changes with the Temple calendar, and field questions from participants, including members and non-members. Clergy Office Operations and Visitor Coordination ● Prepare a daily schedule for security and receptionists listing all visitors for clergy and tutors. On Fridays, prepare the schedule for the weekend. ● Provide backup to reception team for preparation of bereavement and birth notices and letters, when needed. ● Provide backup to reception team for phones, tasks and front desk coverage, as needed. Cemetery Administration Support ● Prepare cemetery sales correspondence and deeds and update cemetery inventory, sales, and burial spreadsheets. ● Migrate spreadsheets to Google Sheets and reconcile records against deeds. ● Maintain hard copy files of deeds, WRT purchases, and cemetery rules and regulations. ● Assist with preparation of burial permits and monument permits as receptionist backup when needed. Memorial Wall Support ● Create and maintain the master memorial wall spreadsheet for all plaques, including Hebrew and secular yahrzeit dates and plaque locations, and verify entries with the Director of Congregant Relations and Pastoral Care. ● Update Salesforce and the Memorial Wall map legend when plaque locations are shifted. ● Update the sales spreadsheets regularly, track payments prior to annual orders, and assist with annual orders. The ideal applicant for this position will demonstrate the following qualifications: ● 5+ years of administrative experience, including an Executive Assistant role. ● Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. ● Highly organized and detail-oriented, able to anticipate needs and challenges, and takes initiative to resolve them. ● Communicates effectively and respectfully, demonstrates warmth and professionalism in all interactions with supervisors, coworkers, community participants, and outside vendors. ● Maintains a welcoming environment, and delivers accurate, timely administrative support. ● Demonstrates sound judgment, maintains confidentiality, and manages competing priorities effectively. ● Comfortable in a dynamic environment, while remaining composed and responsive. ● Knowledge of Jewish traditions, holidays, and synagogue life. ● Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Workspace required. Knowledge of Constant Contact and Salesforce is a plus. ● Some knowledge of Hebrew is a plus but not required. The salary range for this role is $70,000-$80,000 annually (this is a non-exempt position), depending on credentials, relevant experience, and skills. In-office hours for this role are Mondays-Fridays 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM preferred. Assistance with special evening event check-in a few times per year. WRT believes that all applicants should be considered fairly for job opportunities. We are most interested in finding the best candidate and recognize that strong candidates may come from a less traditional background. We encourage you to apply if you feel you are poised to excel at leading this important work with us. WRT abides by all applicable federal, state and local laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of any protected characteristic as established by law. To apply, email your cover letter and resume to: . Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the search will remain open until a candidate is hired.
John S.Active 11 months ago
