Belonging and Campus Engagement Coordinator

Center for Jewish Life – Princeton Hillel

Role Overview

The Center for Jewish Life – Princeton Hillel seeks a warm, relational, creative, and highly motivated Belonging and Campus Engagement Coordinator to help more Jewish students experience the CJL as a place of connection, meaning, joy, and belonging. 

This new full-time role is central to the CJL’s growing vision for student engagement. The Coordinator will focus especially on students who are not yet deeply connected to Jewish life on campus, including first-year students, students on the margins of Jewish community, and those who may feel hesitant to walk into a Jewish space where they assume others already belong. 

The ideal candidate will be young in spirit, highly relatable to students, energized by campus life, and skilled at building trust through one-to-one relationships, small-group gatherings, and creative engagement in spaces where students already spend their time. This person will help students form meaningful relationships first, then guide them into CJL experiences such as Shabbat, holidays, learning opportunities, leadership programs, and community gatherings. 

The Belonging and Campus Engagement Coordinator will report to Rabbi Gil Steinlauf, Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Life – Princeton Hillel, and will work closely with Marni Blitz and Rabbi Rebecca Galin to translate the CJL’s belonging strategy into daily, on-the-ground student engagement. While senior staff provide strategic direction, mentoring, learning, and leadership development, this role will drive implementation, follow-through, student relationship-building, and creative presence across campus. 

What You’ll Do

Student Engagement and Relationship Building 

• Build authentic one-to-one relationships with Jewish students across campus, with particular attention to first-year students, less-engaged students, and students who may not yet see themselves as part of Jewish life. 
• Meet students where they are, including residential colleges, dining halls, athletic spaces, arts communities, student group settings, and informal campus gathering places.
• Create low-barrier entry points into Jewish community through coffee meetings, small-group gatherings, peer invitations, and creative touchpoints. 
• Help students move from initial connection toward deeper involvement in CJL programs, Shabbat and holiday experiences, learning opportunities, leadership roles, and ongoing community life. 
• Identify students who may benefit from pastoral, educational, leadership, or peer support, and connect them appropriately with CJL staff. 

Belonging-Focused Programming 

• Support the planning and execution of programs that foster connection, inclusion, Jewish joy, and student belonging. 
• Help create small-scale and relational programs that meet students’ needs in real time.
• Partner with student leaders and staff to develop welcoming pathways into major CJL experiences, including Shabbat, holidays, first-year programming, and community-wide gatherings. 
• Assist with outreach, logistics, follow-up, and evaluation for belonging-focused initiatives.
• Manage the CJL Cafe, including ordering, maintaining, displaying the offerings, and being a consistent presence there to greet students 
• Bring creativity and energy to campus engagement, including pop-up experiences, informal gatherings, and programs outside the CJL building. 

Peer Engagement and Student Leadership 

• Strengthen the CJL’s peer engagement infrastructure by supporting student connectors, interns, fellows, and volunteer leaders. 
• Help students invite their peers into CJL life in ways that feel natural, personal, and authentic. 
• Support student leaders with follow-through, communication, hospitality, and event execution. 
• Track student engagement patterns and help identify opportunities for deeper connection. 
• Work with staff to ensure that peer engagement efforts align with the CJL’s broader mission and strategic priorities. 

Communications and Follow-Through 

• Support clear, warm, student-facing communications for engagement programs and belonging initiatives. 
• Help maintain strong follow-up after programs, one-to-one meetings, and student gatherings. 
• Collaborate with staff to ensure that students receive timely invitations, reminders, and personal outreach. 
• Contribute to systems for tracking student engagement, interests, and next steps.
• Help tell the story of student belonging through brief reflections, impact notes, and program updates when needed. 

Staff Collaboration 

• Report to Rabbi Gil Steinlauf, Executive Director of the Center for Jewish Life – Princeton Hillel. 
• Work closely with Marni Blitz, Rabbi Rebecca Galin, and other CJL staff to implement the CJL’s belonging and engagement strategy. 
• Participate actively in staff meetings, planning conversations, and student engagement reviews. 
• Coordinate with staff across program areas, including Shabbat and holidays, learning, leadership development, Israel engagement, wellness, and student support.
• Serve as a bridge between student experience on the ground and the CJL’s larger strategic goals. 

What You’ll Bring to the Job

Qualifications 

The ideal candidate will bring many of the following qualities and experiences: 

• Bachelor’s degree required. 
• One to three years of relevant experience preferred, including campus engagement, Jewish communal work, student life, community organizing, education, social work, youth work, or related fields. 
• Deep enthusiasm for building Jewish community with college students.
• Strong relational instincts and comfort initiating conversations with new people.
• Ability to connect with students from a wide range of Jewish backgrounds, identities, beliefs, and levels of involvement. 
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage details, follow-through, and multiple projects at once. 
• Creativity, flexibility, warmth, emotional intelligence, and a collaborative spirit.
• Comfort working some evenings and occasional weekends, especially around Shabbat, holidays, and major student programs. 
• Commitment to pluralistic Jewish community and to the CJL’s mission of helping students grow through belonging, learning, inspiration, and service. 
• Familiarity with campus life, Hillel, Jewish student engagement, or residential college environments is a plus. 

Personal Qualities 

We are looking for someone who is: 

• Warm, approachable, and genuinely curious about students’ lives.
• Energized by informal relationship-building as much as formal programming.
• Able to notice students who are standing at the edge of community and help them feel seen. 
• Creative about bringing Jewish life beyond the walls of the CJL. 
• Reliable, organized, and strong on follow-through. 
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving, collaborative, student-centered environment.
• Passionate about helping Jewish students experience community as accessible, meaningful, and joyful. 

What You’ll Receive

• The salary range for this full-time position is $60,000–$65,000, commensurate with experience. 
• The position includes a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, a retirement plan, life, AD&D, and long-term disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, generous vacation and sick time, and parental leave. 
• The Coordinator will also benefit from high-level professional development in areas such as organizational management, student engagement, data analysis, and experiential Jewish education, with opportunities to learn from innovative organizations and professionals across the Jewish communal field. 
• The position includes mentoring and career coaching, as well as connection to a broad network of colleagues across the Hillel movement. Domestic and international travel opportunities may also be available several times a year, as appropriate and permitted.

About the Center for Jewish Life 

The Center for Jewish Life – Princeton Hillel is the home for Jewish life at Princeton University. Guided by our vision of a generation of Princetonians who carry Jewish purpose, resilience, and responsibility into the world, the CJL helps students grow through meaningful connection, inspirational experiences, Jewish learning, and a commitment to service. 

The Belonging and Campus Engagement Coordinator will play a vital role in ensuring that belonging is not only an aspiration, but a daily lived experience for Princeton students.

The Center for Jewish Life – Princeton Hillel is affiliated with Hillel International. Hillel International enriches the lives of Jewish students so they may enrich the Jewish people and the world, and envisions a world where every student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.