Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA)
Executive Director
Chicago, Illinois
Salary: $135,000-$145,000
BACKGROUND
The Organization
The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) organizes Chicagoland’s Jewish community to pursue justice. For more than 60 years, we’ve trained, mobilized, and connected Jewish individuals and institutions to combat injustice in deep partnership with our neighbors across Chicago and Illinois.
JCUA recently completed a new strategic plan that articulates the organization’s focus for the next three years as inspiring and accelerating the Jewish community’s role in local movements for racial and economic justice. We seek to do this through three key areas: i) Issue-based campaigns and community organizing; ii) Training and education for members and partners; and iii) Community building through Jews of Color, youth, Sephardi/Mizrahi, and other caucuses.
JCUA’s strategic plan also reaffirms the organization’s commitment to combating white supremacy. JCUA seeks to be an anti-racist organization that works to dismantle anti-Blackness, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate. Over the next three years, JCUA specifically seeks to elevate the organization as a resource on antisemitism for the Chicago community. JCUA operates with the understanding that our safety as Jews is inseparable from the well-being of our neighboring communities.
JCUA’s work is powered by more than 2,000 members who collaborate with staff, board, and coalition partners to lead campaigns and initiatives. Members are key actors in implementing JCUA’s mission. Current campaign focus areas include immigration justice, community safety, housing, and economic justice. JCUA’s portfolio also includes the Community Ventures Program, a zero-interest revolving loan fund focused on community development.
JCUA Votes, JCUA’s C4 sibling organization, mobilizes the Jewish communities of Chicagoland to endorse, elect, and co-govern with progressive leaders in Chicago and Illinois. JCUA Votes shares the values and vision of JCUA but pursues change through electoral organizing.
The Position
JCUA and JCUA Votes seek a dynamic Executive Director to guide the organizations by maintaining and strengthening their visions, building relationships with key stakeholders and partners, fostering a vibrant, thriving staff culture, and strengthening the organizations’ infrastructures.
Reporting to JCUA’s Board of Directors, the Executive Director will have oversight of JCUA’s $1.4M budget, 3 direct reports and 11 staff responsible for programs, development, operations, and administration. Half of the current staff positions fall within a bargaining unit represented for collective bargaining purposes by a labor union (SEIU Local 73). JCUA Votes has an annual budget of approximately $65,000.
This is a unique opportunity in an extraordinary moment to join a powerful pair of organizations rooted in Jewish values and experiences, and mobilizing for dignity, equity, and justice for all people.
Priorities for the Executive Director
• Implement the 2026-2028 strategic plan with clear benchmarks, cross team alignment, and accountability.
• Diversify JCUA’s fundraising and revenue model to sustain and grow the organization.
• Strengthen collaboration between organizing and development teams to integrate power-building and fundraising.
• Champion the outcomes of JCUA’s Stakeholder Engagement Process to ensure that JCUA remains a home for all Jewish people who want to organize around local campaigns for justice. Navigate ideological tensions while keeping the coalition intact.
• Better clarify and integrate the JCUA ecosystem of organizations, programs, and initiatives, including JCUA, JCUA Votes, and the Community Ventures Program (CVP).
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ROLE OVERVIEW
Strategy and Leadership
• Ensure that JCUA's vision and values are expressed in every aspect of the organization, including its culture, personnel, and programs.
• Build trust and relationships across members, board, staff, and partners.
• Manage the leadership team and build their capacity, encouraging professional development. Balance empathy with accountability.
• Work with the board to identify, cultivate, recruit, and retain board members. Maintain transparency and collaboration.
• Ensure clear membership criteria and engagement ladders; Maintain a presence with our members.
• Provide stability in a fast-moving environment, make timely and values-aligned decisions.
• Lead with an anti-racist lens, externally and internally.
Fundraising
• Own major gifts strategy, institutional funding, and donor diversification across the c3 and c4.
• Collaborate with development staff to implement a fundraising strategy that aligns with the mission to raise patient, durable, and risk-tolerant funds.
Community Engagement, Partnerships, and External Communications
• Represent the organization in multi-sector coalitions and spaces and nurture strategic partnerships citywide.
• Communicate complex ideas and represent organizational viewpoints to a variety of stakeholders and serve as a public presence and storyteller across Jewish and civic spaces. Tell a resonant story of JCUA’s work.
• Energize membership engagement and democratic decision making. Support the expansion of JCUA’s multiracial, multigenerational base.
• Champion the outcomes of JCUA’s Stakeholder Engagement Process to ensure that JCUA remains a home for all Jews who want to organize around local campaigns for justice.
Operations
• Work in close coordination with the board and JCUA’s Director of Finance and Operations to continue a plan for financial sustainability and growth.
• Develop long and short-range financial plans, monitor the budget and ensure that sound financial controls are in place; set financial priorities accurately to ensure that JCUA is operating in a manner that supports the needs and values of the program and staff.
• Oversee the organizational infrastructure and establish clarity and consistency in policies, processes, and internal operations to support staff and delivery of programs.
• Partner with the staff union to uphold agreements. Lead fair and transparent personnel practices.
Operating Budget Staff; Direct Reports Members
JCUA $1.4M
JCUA Votes $65,000 JCUA 11; 3
JCUA Votes 0 2,000
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate for the Executive Director position possesses the following competencies:
Skills and Qualifications
Social Justice Experience
• Relevant experience in community, labor, and/or electoral organizing.
• Experience working with a union.
• Understanding of an intersectional analysis of antisemitism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness. Demonstrated commitment to learning.
Executive Leadership Skills
• Demonstrated understanding of the philosophies of organizational change and leadership transitions.
• Understanding of how to maneuver an organization in a complicated political landscape.
• Experience balancing bold action with organizational security.
Partnership Building
• Understanding of the national/local Jewish communal landscape.
• Understanding of Chicago and Illinois’ political and communal landscapes.
• Ability to bridge ideological divides and align multiple constituencies; coalition leadership across differences.
• Experience working with a 501c4, and aware of both the challenges and value a c4 brings to a c3.
WHO WE ARE
Work Environment
JCUA is located on the north side of Chicago. Staff currently work the same two days per week at JCUA’s offices and are permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week.
This position description is based upon material provided by JCUA, an equal opportunity employer.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Salary: $135,000-$145,000, commensurate with experience
• Medical, dental and vision coverage (100% employer paid).
• Retirement matching after 3 months of employment, up to 3%.
• Three weeks paid vacation.
• JCUA closes at 1pm on alternate Fridays to promote healthier work-life balance.
• Flexible working hours and comp time for those who work more than 80 hours in a pay period.
• One month paid sabbatical leave after 5 years of employment.
TIMELINE AND NEXT STEPS
If you are interested in this position, please click here. All applicants will receive an email confirming receipt of their application.
We encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply, even if you do not meet all of the qualifications outlined above. If you are selected to move forward for an initial screening call, we expect you to hear from us by May.
Sarah Raful Whinston
Partner
swhinston@drgtalent.com
Merav Schwartz
Talent Consultant
mschwartz@drgtalent.com
Submit an application HERE.