Senior Executive Assistant to the Sr Rabbi

Source:

We are partnering with our trusted nonprofit client Temple Israel, located in the beautiful Uptown community in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for an Executive Assistant to the Senior Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman.

Temple Israel is an urban congregation dedicated to serving a diverse community. Temple Israel was the first synagogue established in Minneapolis and is now one of the ten largest congregations in the United States. Temple Israel, the largest and oldest Reform Jewish congregation in Minneapolis, is at the heart of a vibrant, community-oriented environment.

You do not need to be of the Jewish faith to apply for this role.

The Executive Assistant for the Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel will be pivotal in providing high-level personal and administrative right-hand support to the Senior Rabbi of a 6,000-member congregation. This role will be the right-hand trusted support of the Senior Rabbi, a high-profile influential individual, and a pillar in the Minneapolis community for over 38 years.

The Executive Assistant is a consummate professional who possesses integrity, sound judgment, tact, discretion, attention to detail, and the ability to build and maintain relationships with colleagues, community leaders, donors, and other stakeholders.

What Makes This Opportunity Unique:

You will serve as a trusted administrative partner to a nationally recognized faith leader whose work uplifts, unites, and supports an entire community.

Your organizational administrative talent and emotional intelligence will directly impact individuals during life’s most meaningful moments, from weddings and baby namings to funerals and personal crises.

You will join a workplace culture that is kind, inclusive, and mission-driven, where collaboration and compassion are woven into daily life.

If you are intellectually curious and open to learning, this role offers a rich opportunity to deepen your understanding of Judaism, nonprofit leadership, and the powerful role of faith-based institutions in the modern world.

This is a calling for someone who sees administrative excellence as a way to serve, who is detail-oriented, composed under pressure, and committed to making a difference.

You will work with a team that supports and serves each other and works together to make a difference in people’s lives. The team is kind, caring, trust-based, happy, and wants to be there! You will be part of a nonprofit institution that is a pillar in the community, often called upon during times of community healing and celebration.

Temple Israel is a welcoming community that embraces diversity and fosters mutual respect for all. Inspired by Jewish wisdom.

This is an in-office position, with some flexibility as needed, typical office hours M-F with the flexibility to attend occasional meetings and events as needed after-hours

Temple Israel is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

• 5+ years of progressive Executive Assistant experience supporting Senior-level Executives, Executive Directors, or similar
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, problem-solving skills, and ability to handle sensitive information.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills with high attention to detail and accuracy
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills. Must be equally comfortable on the phone as in person.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex meeting and travel arrangements.
• Intuitive ability to juggle competing priorities. Understands when to take initiative and when to ask for guidance.
• Proven ability to work independently, proactively, and creatively while exercising sound judgment and discretion on confidential matters
• Must be equally comfortable with complex project management as with basic data entry or setting up snacks and coffee for a meeting
• Ability to work under pressure at times to handle a wide variety of activities with shifting priorities, making wise decisions, sometimes under pressure
• Advanced proficiency with MS Office Suite and Google Workspace. Basic proficiency with Salesforce or other CRM databases strongly desired, or willingness to learn quickly with hands-on training. Basic knowledge of CRM, such as Salesforce, is preferred.
• An appreciation of the Jewish faith. You do not need to be of the Jewish faith to apply for this role. The team is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish team members, reflecting an inclusive and welcoming organizational culture.

• Maximize the Rabbi’s time, anticipating her needs and managing a fast-paced calendar filled with services, life cycle events, community outreach, and leadership responsibilities.
• Serve as the Rabbi’s liaison to congregants, community leaders, and internal staff with the utmost confidentiality, discretion, and empathy.
• Coordinate communications, correspondence, and follow-up, ensuring no detail is overlooked and every request is met with care and responsiveness.
• Create clarity and calm in a high-touch, high-trust role where your presence will be both felt and valued.
• Manage the Senior Rabbi’s professional calendar, balancing competing priorities to ensure that their time, and other members of the executive staff’s time, is used strategically. Because the Senior Rabbi is generally booked with meetings each day, the successful candidate must efficiently and quickly leverage time between meetings to manage follow-ups and prepare the Rabbi for her next meeting. The Senior Rabbi will also require some assistance managing her personal calendar.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for the Senior Rabbi, triaging requests and following up in a timely manner to ensure a high level of customer service and directing requests as needed to other areas within the organization.
• Develop systems and processes to effectively manage competing demands on clergy time, collect essential data, and make use of CRM (Salesforce) to better support clergy work and organizational record-keeping. Create systems to effectively organize, anticipate, and accommodate the quickly changing demands on clergy while maintaining effective internal leadership and optimize cross-departmental functions.
• Assist Senior Rabbi with management of special projects and next actions for key tasks.