Location and Job Title:

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO)
JCC Metrowest
760 Northfield Ave
West Orange, NJ 07052

Principal Responsibilities:

Summary

JCC MetroWest, in West Orange, NJ, seeks a strategic, relational, and innovative leader to move the JCC into its next phase of development. This individual must have excellent business skills, a forward-looking approach to donor development, and a compelling executive presence to drive community engagement and lead a seasoned professional team.

JCC MetroWest has been a pillar of the community for over 145 years. Nearly 2,000 people enter the J for educational, social, cultural, and fitness programs every day. The Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC in West Orange and the day camp, Camp Deeny Riback in Flanders, NJ, serve an area that covers 400 square miles, from New York City to the east of Essex County and extending to the outlying suburbs of Morris County to the west. JCC MetroWest touches the lives of 50,000 people each year from infants to octogenarians and everything in between. In keeping with Jewish heritage and values, JCC MetroWest is an inclusive community of communities. The JCC is open to and appreciates people of all ages, genders, races, religions, nationalities, ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientations, education, socioeconomic levels, and political perspectives.

The CEO Position

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JCC MetroWest reports to the Board of Trustees, and is responsible for the organizations operations, consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives. The CEO is responsible for partnering with the Board to establish the long-term strategic direction for the JCC and to formulate policy. The CEO leads an excellent and highly tenured staff and represents the JCC in the Jewish and overall community, promoting the JCCs mission and its vital role in the community to all stakeholders.

The ideal CEO candidate will exemplify the following leadership competencies:

Provides Exemplary Executive Leadership

The CEO will build trusting and collaborative relationships through genuine encounters with all agency stakeholders and community partners. The CEO will be a strong visionary, who is able to address emerging issues with flexibility and adaptability. The CEO will promote a culture of innovation to continue the JCCs trajectory of growth, anticipating trends and identifying opportunities in the community.

Proven Ability in Fundraising and Resource Development

The CEO must engage and steward donors and seek gifts of significance. Entrepreneurial and attuned to donor interests and concerns, the CEO will establish strategies and direct forward-looking practices in donor development to enhance and improve the communitys potential. Highly visible in the community, the CEO will reach out and cultivate new potential donors at all levels, including seeking grants from local and state government, foundations, and support from local businesses.

Presents Visionary and Strategic Leadership

The CEO will promote an all-encompassing and compelling vision that captures the energy of the JCC and its robust, engaged and involved community going forward. The CEO will actively engage with other Jewish and secular community organizations, working to support existing collaborative programs and to envision new ways to work together. The CEO will strategically deploy existing resources, both staff and infrastructure, to maximize the JCCs impact and delivery on its mission. The CEO must see the big picture and be able to think creatively - managing current issues while thinking about evolving business models in both the near and long term and well beyond the walls of the JCC.

Representing the Agency

Together with the Board Chair, the CEO will serve as a key spokesperson and ambassador for the JCC throughout the Jewish community and the community at large, with private and public funders and national and international Jewish organizations. The CEO will identify and promote opportunities to collaborate and share resources with other organizations and build strong partnerships. The CEO must understand the effective use of marketing and branding to interpret the JCC mission with all community stakeholders.

Displays Financial Acumen

The CEO will develop a realistic annual operating budget in partnership with the CFO, the Finance Committee and Board of Trustees. The CEO will oversee and collaborate with the CFO on financial matters including long-term budgeting, ongoing financial performance, and financial strategy. Using financial statements and business dashboards to guide and oversee agency performance, the CEO must remain flexible, making necessary changes to ensure financial stability and sustainability.

Minimum Qualifications:

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have:

• Minimum of a bachelors degree with 10+ years of executive leadership, strategic and operational management experience in JCCs, other Jewish organizations, business, or in the not-for-profit sector. An advanced degree is preferred.
• Successful ability to meaningfully engage with a wide range of core stakeholders and community partners, and drive change.
• Proven record of fundraising success, including knowledge of and participation in individual donor development, planned giving, and grant procurement; capital and endowment campaigns; foundation building; corporate sponsorship and special events.
• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage, and develop high-performance teams, set and achieve strategic objectives, and manage fiscal priorities.
• Proven ability to manage a large, idiosyncratic physical plant; experience with renovation projects a plus.
• Strong analytical skills, relying on data to make key decisions.
• Ability to drive tactical and long-term strategies which are fiscally responsible and align with the JCCs mission.
• High energy, flexible, approachable, empathetic, and inspirational leader to staff, lay leaders, and other key stakeholders.
• A keen interest and understanding of Jewish culture, practices, and traditions.
• Authentic executive presence as the internal and external face of the organization.
• Experience working collaboratively with a Board of Trustees and understands the importance of developing a successful and engaged board.
• Appreciation for, and commitment to, diversity; works easily with people of all backgrounds and ages.

Compensation

A competitive compensation package, including relocation, is available for the successful candidate.

To Apply

Qualified candidates can apply for this position at executivesearch@jcca.org. Please include a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements.

Agency Information:

About JCC MetroWest

The JCCs mission is to strengthen the community and add meaning to the lives of those served by connecting them to - and through - shared Jewish experiences. Its vision is to be the premier Jewish social, recreational, cultural, and educational center serving the entire MetroWest community and inspiring every individual to explore the boundless potential of Judaism. JCC MetroWest is a welcoming Jewish neighborhood that links every person to the community, and to the rest of the Jewish world.

JCC MetroWest was renovated and expanded in 2006. This included a 4.5-story, 300-car parking garage and 45,000 square feet of new construction, including a Fitness Center, Early Childhood Center, atrium, kosher cafe, Kids Club, Health & Healing Center, Art Gallery, conference center, new program space, and improved accessibility. Programming at the JCC is cutting edge and expansive. In addition to its award-winning fitness center that includes two full-size swimming pools and over 100 weekly group exercise classes, the JCC is home to infant care, pre-school, and Bridge to Kindergarten; summer day camps including ACA accredited Camp Deeny Riback, located on a beautiful 20-acre site in Flanders, NJ; afterschool programming and school vacation programs for children; services for people with disabilities; Jewish education classes and workshops; and an Adult Enrichment Center providing programming for adults of all ages and stages, including an extensive travel program.

The 150,000 square foot building includes the Gaelen Center for the Arts, encompassing the Maurice Levin Theater which hosts theater productions, film festivals, speakers and more; art galleries, and a wide variety of dance, book groups and other arts classes. The fitness center features 65 top-of-the-line Precor cardio machines, all-new flooring and a new functional fitness area featuring Queenax functional training. Group exercise studios, two swimming pools, the Margulis gymnasium with a full-size basketball court and running track, pickleball and paddle ball courts and a full complement of sports and recreation opportunities to round out fitness activities at the JCC.

About West Orange, neighboring towns and the MetroWest Jewish Community

The JCC is located in West Orange, which is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey. West Orange is both an inner-ring suburb of Newark, the county seat of Essex County and New Jersey's largest city, and a commuter suburb of New York City; it is approximately 12 miles west of Manhattan. There are many surrounding towns also in Essex County such as Livingston, Short Hills, Millburn, South Orange, and Maplewood that have strong Jewish communities and are filled with close-knit neighborhoods spanning all age groups and a variety of housing options. Essex County is part of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, which encompasses Essex, Morris, Sussex, and northern Union counties and serves a Jewish population of approximately 120,000 with over 56,000 Jewish households. The MetroWest area features a vast Jewish landscape, with dozens of synagogues of every denomination, four Jewish Day Schools and, according to a Jewish community study in 2020, two-thirds of the Jewish population feels connected to the Jewish community.