Description

The YAD Engagement Associate works as an integral part of the Federation’s engagement team with a focus on building relationships that connect Houston’s Jewish young adults (20s – 40s) to Jewish life, community, leadership, and philanthropy. This role owns proactive outreach and follow-up, helps design and deliver engaging programs rooted in Jewish values and traditions, and partners with Federation colleagues and community organizations to strengthen a clear pipeline from first touch to sustained involvement.

What Success Looks Like

• New and returning participants feel welcomed, known, and consistently invited into next-step opportunities.
• Programs and events are well-attended, mission-aligned, and executed smoothly, including evenings and weekends.
• Community partnerships and volunteer leaders are cultivated to expand reach and deepen impact.
• Participant information and engagement activity are accurately tracked, enabling clear reporting and smarter outreach.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct proactive outreach to individuals new to YAD and/or Houston through digital communication and 1:1 meetings while building and maintaining ongoing relationships with participants and volunteer leaders.
• Identify, recruit, and cultivate emerging young adult leaders; connect them to meaningful volunteer and leadership roles.
• Represent YAD and model Federation values across the Greater Houston Jewish community.
• Build and sustain partnerships with community organizations across denominations to encourage collaboration and broaden reach.
• Plan and lead ongoing YAD programs (e.g., happy hours, volunteer opportunities) that integrate Jewish values and traditions. Provide timely follow-up after events and touchpoints.
• Support planning and execution of various Engagement Team events from concept to day-of logistics to post-event follow-up.
• Support YAD’s semiannual (twice-per-year) young leadership development program.
• Help convene and strengthen a network of local professionals working in Jewish engagement.
• Collaborate with the Engagement team to build and improve a participant pipeline from first engagement through deeper involvement.
• Support the broader Federation team by attending events, promoting cross-team collaboration, and cultivating relationships with donors and stakeholders.
• Develop engagement and marketing content (emails, newsletters, social media posts, and texts) aligned to YAD voice and goals.
• Manage and grow YAD’s social media presence and subscriber base; partner with the marketing team to refine strategies based on audience trends.
• Maintain accurate records in CRM and related systems to track outreach, attendance, follow-up, and engagement trends. Assist with regular reporting on engagement activity and progress toward pipeline goals.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Ability to build authentic relationships and communicate clearly with diverse audiences.
• Strong organization and follow-through; comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Expertise with digital communication and social media; ability to learn new tools quickly.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams) and Canva; experience with CRM platforms (including Microsoft Dynamics) and/or willingness to learn.
• Understanding of Jewish life, calendar, and culture, with the ability to incorporate Jewish values and traditions into programming.
• Previous nonprofit work, particularly Jewish communal engagement.
• Experience planning and executing events and/or volunteer-led programs.
• Comfort with using data and surveys to assess results and improve outreach and program strategy.
• Commitment to the mission and values of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.