Employment

The Yiddish Book Center offers meaningful and challenging positions, a warm, friendly atmosphere, competitive salaries, and excellent benefits. We are seeking applicants for the following positions (see details below):​

Director of Communications and Marketing

The Yiddish Book Center is a nonprofit organization working to recover, celebrate, and regenerate Yiddish and modern Jewish literature and culture.

The million books recovered by the Yiddish Book Center represent Jews’ first sustained literary and cultural encounter with the modern world. They are a window on the past thousand years of Jewish history, a precursor of modern Jewish writing in English, Hebrew and other languages, and a springboard for new creativity. Since our founding in 1980 we have launched a wide range of bibliographic, educational, and cultural programs to share these treasures with the wider world.

The Center is located on ten-acre apple orchard adjacent to Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. In 2014, the Yiddish Book Center was awarded a National Medal for Museums and Libraries, the nation's highest medal conferred on a museum or library, at a White House ceremony. With more than 15,000 members and a growing endowment of $37 million, the Center is positioned to continue to expand its programs and its audience. The Director of Communications and Marketing will play a critical role in these efforts.

Position Summary

The Yiddish Book Center seeks a Director of Marketing and Communications to promote and raise awareness of the Yiddish Book Center on a national and international level using public relations, marketing, social media, the Center’s website, and advertising to achieve goals. This position will work with the President and Executive Director to shape, enhance, and refine the image of the Center. This position will report to the Executive Director and supervise the Communications Content Editor.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

  • Create and implement a comprehensive communications plan for the Center to build and sustain public interest, awareness, and support for the Center’s mission. 
  • Develop strategies and relationships to generate national visibility and media coverage and obtain print, broadcast, and digital coverage. 
  • Create and implement social media strategy to engage audience and lead to measurable action. 
  • Oversee writing, editing and distribution of press releases, and develop other promotional and collateral materials. 
  • Plan and implement public relations campaigns. Develop individual story pitches for key journalists.  
  • Conduct media research, plan, and coordinate advertising buys for branding, exhibitions, public programs and events across multiple platforms including: radio, print, digital platforms, and social media.  
  • In collaboration with senior staff, develop institutional messaging and oversee consistency in press and other marketing and communication vehicles.  
  • Serve as member of website team overseeing ongoing design and development. 
  • Curate web content, update and maintain website content in collaboration with staff across the organization. 
  • Provide marketing feedback on public programs and audience development initiatives, providing insight on audience trends interests, and commercial feasibility.  
  • Oversee design and production of promotional and collateral materials. 
  • Develop and manage department budget. 
  • Develop strategic partnerships including cross-promotion campaigns. ​

Qualifications    

  • A minimum of 5-7 years of experience in communications and marketing in a leadership role or in positions of progressively increased responsibility, ideally in a museum, cultural or educational organization.
  • Intellectual curiosity and depth necessary to understand and communicate the Center’s mission and programs.
  • Experience developing and implementing communications strategies.
  • A track record developing, implementing, and maintaining a press strategy and tactics that result in coverage.
  • Understanding of digital media and the ability to develop and implement digital strategy with analytical skills to interpret data.
  • Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills
  • Highly collaborative style and the ability to work with staff and external consultants, partners and constituents.
  • The ability to multi-task while meeting deadlines.
  • Bachelor’s degree required.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The position requires working at desk and using a computer for prolonged periods of time. The position also requires standing, walking, bending, climbing, and reaching. Work will usually be performed in an office environment and museum spaces. Some travel required. Some work may be conducted remotely.

Qualified individuals can send their resume with cover letter to the attention of the Executive Director to: [email protected]

The Yiddish Book Center is an equal opportunity employer.

 

Public Programs and Visitor Services Manager

The Yiddish Book Center offers meaningful and challenging positions, a warm, friendly atmosphere, competitive salaries, and excellent benefits.

The Yiddish Book Center is a nonprofit organization working to recover, celebrate, and regenerate Yiddish and modern Jewish literature and culture.

The million books recovered by the Yiddish Book Center represent Jews’ first sustained literary and cultural encounter with the modern world. They are a window on the past thousand years of Jewish history, a precursor of modern Jewish writing in English, Hebrew and other languages, and a springboard for new creativity. Since our founding in 1980 we have launched a wide range of bibliographic, educational, and cultural programs to share these treasures with the wider world.

The Yiddish Book Center seeks a Public Program and Visitor Services Manager to manage and provide administrative and technical support for public programs and visitor services. This position will report to the Director of Public Programs and Publishing.  

Major Duties and Responsibilities 

Manage administration and technical production of public programming (virtual and onsite) and coordinate logistics with presenters 

Maintain public recording archive 

Record and edit podcasts and post to RSS feed 

Post events page on Center’s website 

Engage with visitors as public-facing representative of the Center. Assist docents as needed with guest questions, on-site membership sales, as well as museum and public program ticketing and general information

Manage and maintain public program and visitor services spreadsheets/databases 

Create and send eblast for weekly programs and other related e-communications 

Respond to phone and email inquiries related to public programs and visitor inquiries 

Assist registrants with technical questions related to public programs 

Other duties as required 

Qualifications     

  • Technical facility  
  • Excellent writing and verbal communication skills 
  • Highly collaborative style and the ability to work with staff, volunteers, and the general public
  • The ability to multi-task while meeting deadlines 
  • Intellectual curiosity and depth necessary to understand and communicate the Center’s mission and programs
  • Weekend and evening work required 
  • Bachelor’s degree required

Familiarity with Drupal, Zoom, and CRMs a plus.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The position requires working at desk and using a computer for prolonged periods of time. The position also requires standing, walking, bending, climbing, and reaching. Work will usually be performed in an office environment and museum spaces. Some work may be conducted remotely.

Qualified individuals can send their resume with cover letter to the attention of the Public Programs and Publishing Director to: [email protected]

The Yiddish Book Center is an equal opportunity employer.