Executive Director

Background

At fourteen years old, The Kitchen is a thriving religious institution in San Francisco, as well as a destination for Jewish life, inspiring countless communities, groups, and leaders across the US, Israel, Paris, and Germany. In San Francisco, The Kitchen has built our reputation on a legendary Shabbat. Serving 350 member households and thousands of others annually, Kitchen hosts hundreds weekly for one of the only Sepharadi / Ashkenazi shabbat services in the country.

Led by Rabbi Noa Kushner and Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy, and accompanied by the Kitchen’s siddur, the first Sepharadi / Ashkenazi prayerbook in the US, our Shabbat regularly attracts visitors from around the globe. Following evening services, everyone is invited to a sit‑down, multi‑course dinner cooked by our chef from Michelin‑starred restaurants.

Shabbat is the cornerstone of the Kitchen, and our Family education program — one of the few in the Bay Area that continues to grow — led by Rabba Mor Shimonie is built around shabbat, with 150 students and parents joining us Saturday mornings for our singular approach. Our holidays and full Jewish calendar, as well as our life cycles, scholars and classes, and small groups fill out our community’s gatherings, growing each year.

Our new Rabbinic fellowship in Sepharadi and Ashkenazi Hazzanut, as well as our now annual conference, allow us to continue to teach our approach, leading worldwide.

We are at an exciting moment, nearing the end of a search for a large facility in the Mission that will allow us to expand both our shabbat and outreach programs, engaging community members and teaching our shabbat and what we do to visiting groups from other communities. This facility will offer us the ability to create partnerships in the Bay Area, serve our growing community, and allow us to host guests from Europe and Israel.

We are seeking a strategic, ambitious, and entrepreneurial Executive Director who will partner with the founding rabbi to oversee and manage all existing functions within the organization and help shepherd us into the future. The ED is responsible for overseeing each of the following areas:
Development, Operations, Finance, Human Resources, Community Relations, and Strategy, as well as engaging with the Board of Directors. Integrity, honesty, and trustworthiness are of the utmost importance in this role. Working with a wide variety of stakeholders and handling different business pressures and priorities simultaneously, the Executive Director shares the weight of the organization.

Our ideal candidate has a start‑up mentality and is excited to implement new ideas – always striving to bring our work to a higher level. Their management style inspires those around them and allows for maximizing efficiencies within a small team. They have a hands‑on style, they are present, member‑facing, and are able to manage both day‑to‑day tasks and long‑term goals simultaneously.

While our ED does not need to have any religious background, they need to have a great degree of enthusiasm, commitment, and dedication to our Jewish mission and values.

• Works closely with the Board and Founding Rabbi to create appropriate fundraising strategies and goals, and executes the associated activities
• Identifies, oversees, and writes grant reports and proposals
• Plays a visible and active role in fundraising efforts
• Provides research, coordination, and input for donor solicitations
• Develops and cultivates relationships with community members, potential donors, and foundation officers

• Directly oversees the execution of all Kitchen events, services, and family education – requiring presence on Shabbat and holidays
• Sources locations, manages the Kitchen office and administrative systems, owns all vendor/leasing contracts
• Leads the new building initiative – eventually running The Kitchen property
• Supervises and delegates to the Admin & Operations Manager, providing professional development and appropriate delegation

• Ensures sound fiscal management, systems, and accurate reporting structures are in place
• Develops annual budget in conjunction with the Board and…