About the Role: We're seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial rabbi who is passionate about building meaningful Jewish community, cultivating emerging leaders, and strengthening Jewish life across the region. In addition to hosting gatherings, teaching, and providing pastoral support, this rabbi will play an important role in identifying and mentoring individuals with the potential to become Jewish community builders, including through Mem Global's MHWOW, Moishe House and Pod programs, and other leadership opportunities.
This is an opportunity for a collaborative, self-directed professional who is excited to shape an innovative model of rabbinic leadership leveraging the resources, partnerships, and shared mission of a global organization.
About Base: Base is a model of Jewish community with the home of a pluralistic rabbi and partner serving as a central meeting place for Jewish learning and life. Serving as a third place for young adults, Bases provide direct access to a rabbi, pastoral and rabbinic guidance, Shabbat and holiday meals, educational, experiential, and immersive learning opportunities, and engaging programs to strengthen local Jewish eco-systems and support individual and communal exploration of Jewish identity.
With the support of Mem Global and the Base National team, over the course of their tenure, Base rabbis are expected to deepen their own learning, expand their knowledge of the vastness, diversity, and depth Jewish life has to offer, and invite young adults into their homes to journey alongside them navigating the complexity of Jewish identity today to better serve the Jewish community of the future.
Who You Are and What You'll Do: Your Jewish Mission - You believe in a pluralistic Judaism and actively create space and spiritual practices for Jews of all and no labels.
- You model an integrated Jewish life and inspire others to explore how Jewish wisdom, tradition, and practice can inform their own lives.
- You are an engaging educator, with experience in experiential education, hevruta, source-based text study, and other pedagogies. You'll use these approaches to help participants discover meaning, relevance, and purpose in the in the breadth of Jewish wisdom, while modeling effective educational practices for others.
- You bring a compelling vision for vibrant, accessible Jewish life and are excited to advance that vision within the mission and framework of Mem Global. You understand the local and broader Jewish communal landscape and collaborate effectively with people whose backgrounds, perspectives, and approaches to Jewish life differ from your own.
- You bring deep Jewish knowledge and a commitment to lifelong learning, sharing a rich reservoir of Jewish content while continually pursuing your own growth and development.
Your Professional Identity - You are passionate about the Base model and Mem Global's broader mission. You understand the value of working within a larger ecosystem of Jewish community-building programs and can build something new while operating within established structures, policies, and shared organizational goals.
- You are a collaborative colleague who values diverse perspectives, builds productive relationships, and navigates disagreement with professionalism and respect. You contribute ideas, translate shared decisions into action, and balance independent initiative with communication, accountability, and collective responsibility.
- You are a self-starter who demonstrates sound judgment, emotional intelligence, and professional maturity. You take ownership of your work, manage competing priorities, respond constructively to feedback, communicate effectively, and approach challenges with curiosity and a solutions-oriented mindset.
- You bring creativity, vision, and resilience to your engagement work, pairing an entrepreneurial instinct to test new approaches with the thoughtful planning and professional judgment needed to strengthen Jewish life.
- You are a natural host and connector who builds rapport across diverse communities and recognizes and cultivates leadership potential in others.
- You are a strategic community organizer who knows how to reach and engage young Jewish adults beyond traditional communal networks and applies community-organizing methodologies to build relationships, develop leaders, and create lasting participation.
- You are a capacity builder who can lead an annual grassroots fundraising campaign to generate local support and strengthen the long-term sustainability of your Base.
- You embrace and demonstrate the Mem Global Mindset: Be the Difference, Connect & Listen, Invest Wisely, Embrace the Unknown, Own It!, Value People, and Work Well, Live Well, and Have Fun.
The Daily Work - You'll build the local Base community through:
- Reaching 450-650+ Jewish young adults each year by offering them a variety of immersive Jewish experiences along the four Base pillars (Hospitality around the Jewish calendar; Jewish learning; service; and pastoral care).
- Developing one-on-one relationships with at least 180 unique individuals over the course of a year.
- Providing pastoral and spiritual counseling (18 conversations per month).
- Inviting young adult Jews from your community into your home for Shabbat and the Jewish holidays (4 programs/meals per month on average).
- Creating and leading dynamic learning opportunities, including classes and workshops (6 learning classes per month on average).
- Facilitating community service projects (one per month).
- Building connections with community members based on repeated, substantive, personal experiences, so that at least 40% of individuals return on a regular basis.
- Facilitate one immersive Shabbaton retreat annually
- Ongoing communication with Base National team and the Base Rabbinic Hevre to further our shared work and mission, support one another in this holy work, and continue to build a pluralistic movement of rabbinic leadership serving as custodians of our tradition into the future.
- Program performance and community engagement data will be reviewed regularly, with formal goals and progress analyzed collaboratively with the Base National team throughout the year.
- Manage the operational and administrative responsibilities of your Base, including budgeting, reporting, data management, marketing, and timely communication through Mem Global's organizational systems. Maintain strong working relationships with national colleagues and consistently meet agreed-upon deadlines, reporting requirements, and organizational expectations.
- You'll grow Base's footprint and build the field of home-based rabbinic leadership:
- Serve as a strategic thought-partner and on-the-ground engagement expert to local funders and Jewish institutional leadership to collaboratively chart a path for the future of vibrant Jewish life in the Carolinas.
- Identify, empower, and support local young adult leadership to embody, model, and support Jewish life and strengthen young adult engagement across the Carolinas leveraging existing and emerging Mem Global opportunities and programs.
- Serve as young adult weaver, connector, and leadership developer by strengthening existing and developing new relationships with the varied Jewish organizational offerings in the young adult engagement space to support lay-leaders and the leadership pipeline in the Carolinas.
- Travel to two neighboring cities (Charleston 2x/year for 1 week each trip, and Wilmington 2x/year for 1 week each trip) to strategically scout and explore possible engagement work locally through relationship mapping, leadership recruitment, hosting programs, and establishing a presence within the young adult community.
- Serve as a spiritual leader and educator within the Mem Global staff community.
- Leading Jewish Learning Retreats and other immersive Jewish experiences.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with Mem Global colleagues and departments, local Jewish institutions, and community partners to strengthen collaboration, expand program reach, and advance shared goals.
- Represent Base and Mem Global in the local Jewish community, including cultivating relationships with donors and funding partners in coordination with the VP of Base and Rabbinic Innovation and the Development team.
- You'll develop competencies in the following core skill sets:
- Administrative and executive skills
- Pluralism and cultural competency
- Continuous growth and learning
Minimum Requirements - You have Rabbinical Ordination, preferably having completed formal training and graduated from a rabbinic seminary.
- You have a bachelor's degree in any related field; four additional years of full-time experience may be substituted for the degree.
- You have at least 5 years professional work experience through full-time employment.
- You bring experience working with young adults, and a proven ability to relate to individuals in this developmental life stage.
- You currently live in a shared home with your committed partner who is willing to serve as the Base Partner as an independent contractor (separate contractor agreement sent along with Base Rabbi offer).
- You're able to prioritize and balance multiple projects and stakeholders simultaneously.
- You have working knowledge of the Microsoft 365 Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams) and major social media channels; experience with Slack and Salesforce preferred along with an openness to learning new software and technologies.
- You have eligibility to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.
The Fine Print: This is a full-time position, requiring significant evening and weekend hours to complete job requirements, with expected travel several times per year to staff team retreats (x2) and leading Mem Global immersive retreats (on average 1 per year). This position reports to the Director, Base Programming. Base Rabbis are expected to make an initial three-year commitment, with the possibility of continued employment and advancement based on organizational needs, available funding, and demonstrated performance. Opportunities for professional growth and advancement are an important part of Mem Global's investment in rabbinic leadership. Renewal is not guaranteed and will be awarded or denied at the sole discretion of Mem Global leadership.
How Mem Global Takes Care of You: Compensation:
- Total Compensation Package: $184,500
- $36,000 annual housing stipend
- $20,000.00 annual contract stipend for Base Partner
- Up to $3,500 in 401k employer match funds
- Up to $25,000 (avg) employer contribution toward medical benefits, professional development, and more.
- Plus, parsonage eligibility
- 3% annual salary increase beginning years two and three contingent on satisfactory performance and meeting all goals
- Every employee at Mem Global is at-will. The Base Rabbi position is not only a job, but an investment in a rabbi to explore and contribute to an evolving and developing model of a rabbinate. The Base Rabbi position is a journey of professional and personal growth mapped out over 6 years. To honor this professional growth, you may be offered a promotion to Senior Rabbi in year four, pending continuation of employment. This title change includes a 6% raise for year four (returning to 3% annually in subsequent years). Promotion to Senior Rabbi is based on an assessment by the Base National Staff and Mem Global leadership during year three. An employee who has been on a performance improvement plan within 30 days of the promotion decision is ineligible for promotion. Such an employee's promotion decision will be either postponed or declined, at management discretion. Promotion is solely at the discretion of Base National Staff and Mem Global leadership and may be denied at management's sole discretion.
- Opportunity to launch Embark cohorts earning an additional $3,600-$6,600/cohort. Compensation scale is based on size of cohort and is contingent on recruiting the minimum 6 couples/cohort.
Other Benefits:
- Healthcare: Health, vision, dental, and mental health benefits
- 15 days paid time off (PTO) per year that increases with continued employment (additional benefits for former Hillel and BBYO full-time emplo
