Director of Wellness

Queens Hillel

Role Overview

Queens Hillel is hiring a Social Worker to join our team and deepen our commitment to our model of holistic student engagement. At Queens Hillel, we believe that supporting the whole student - emotionally, socially - is inseparable from our mission to enrich the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.

Queens Hillel supports students from some of the most diverse campuses in the country, Queens College, Queensborough Community College and St. John’s University, and our community reflects that richness. The right candidate will bring clinical skill, cultural humility, and a genuine passion for meeting students where they are across two active sites, three campuses, and a borough-wide reach that is still growing.

This is a meaningful role for someone who wants their work to matter, not just within the walls of a Hillel but within the lives of students navigating college, identity, and what comes next.

Who You Are

You are a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) ready to join our team as a full-time member of our growing staff. This is a role for someone who understands that holistic student engagement means showing up for students across every dimension of their lives, using their warmth, flexibility and expertise to help students succeed.

Our students come from one of the most diverse areas of the country, and they bring real complexity with them: food insecurity, financial stress, career readiness fears, domestic neglect or violence, and more. You have a rich and robust network in NYC and are ready to use it to meet students where they are, connect them to what they need, and stay in relationship with them for the long haul.

In this role, you will supervise two social work interns, participate actively as a member of our staff team, support wellness-minded programming designed with students, and facilitate cohort-based Jewish learning programs — because at Queens Hillel, wellness and Jewish engagement are not separate tracks. You are excited to connect with national and local cohorts of social workers supporting Hillel populations, and you bring the professional maturity to contribute meaningfully to those conversations.

You lead with high emotional intelligence, strong communication skills, and a genuine desire to build lasting relationships with students throughout their college careers and beyond.

We know this role is big, and we are serious about support. Queens Hillel's organizational culture is rooted in respect, humor, and authenticity. We prioritize the mental and physical well-being of our staff, invest in professional development, offer fair compensation, and create space for cohort engagement with like-minded professionals. We are looking for someone who brings their whole self to work while also modeling the kind of boundaries and coping skills we hope our students will develop for themselves. That balance is not incidental to this role — it is part of it.

Hierarchy of Needs for a Commuter/Multi Campus Hillel Student

1. Physiological: A Hillel professional might be the only one to ask “have you eaten today?”
2. Safety - Emotional or Physical: Hillel may be the only place for them to be their full self.
3. Love & Belonging: Unconditional support for where the student is on a journey - Hillel is an opportunity to explore identity in general, and more specifically Jewish identity.
4. Esteem: Opportunities to use their skills and create experiences leads to feelings of achievement, dignity and independence.
5. Self Actualization: Connection to Judaism and Jewish community over time.

What You’ll Do

• Oversee the Social Work Internship program, as a SIFI certified supervisor, you’ll supervise 2 social work interns;
• Build meaningful relationships with students of diverse backgrounds and experiences with an orientation toward wellbeing promotion and deepened involvement in Jewish life;
• Guide and empower student leaders to develop and lead meaningful wellness experiences based on their peers’ needs and interests;
• Train Hillel staff on best practices to serve our student population and incorporate these practices into our structures and culture;
• Work with colleagues to infuse meaningful wellness promotion into current Jewish life experiences that help students promote their physical, emotional, and mental health;
• Connect students with culturally-sensitive services and resources in the community.
• Establish & maintain partnerships to help students access food, including overseeing our Kosher Grocery Program (in partnership with Commonpoint Queens);
• Establish and maintain partnerships to help students access career services, including overseeing the CUNY Career Connect program in partnership with Commonpoint Queens.

What You’ll Bring to the Job

• LMSW required, LCSW preferred (clinical supervision provided)
• SIFI required; or willingness to obtain SIFI at start of employment and supervise in year 1 and beyond
• Experience working as a social worker within a community organization such as a school, community center etc.
• Experience training or empowering college students and young adults to design opportunities to promote social, emotional, or physical well-being.
• Empathetic leadership and a commitment to creating welcoming and inclusive environments
• Willingness to work at multiple locations
• Readiness to connect students with support as they navigate diverse issues
• A working knowledge of the network of support resources in New York City such as: food insecurity, job readiness and support, domestic neglect or violence, sexual abuse/assault, and financial literacy among others.

What You’ll Receive

• Competitive salary ($78,000-$82,000)
• Access to both national and local cohort for professional trainings and support
• A comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plan, Life, AD&D and Long Term Disability (LTD) insurances, Flexible Spending accounts, generous vacation/sick time, and parental leave.
• Great professional development, mentoring and skill building opportunities, and access to up to $2,000 annually through our Talent Investment Fund.
• Opportunity to attend our annual professional conference
• Commitment to a culture of self care, work life dynamic, and balance.

About Queens Hillel

Located in the heart of the world’s borough, our students represent more diversity in religious traditions, ethnicities, kinds of Jewish education and communal involvement, socioeconomic backgrounds, and academic profiles than any other Hillel in the United States. We serve “commuters” (who come to campus and then go home) and “residents” (who live in the dormitory or neighborhood apartments) alike. Our students represent the future of the New York Jewish community, as the vast majority will likely stay close to home after graduation.

As we work to achieve our mission of enriching the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world, we strive to be an inclusive resource that empowers students to engage in open-ended identity exploration, mentors them to seek and find what they need and feel passionate about, and coaches them to actualize their big ideas. Since our founding in 1947, our primary campus community and home has been Queens College. Today, we’re an award-winning Hillel, with two locations in Queens, and with the inspiring vision to serve every Jewish college student in the borough whether they attend Queens College, Queensborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College, or St. John’s University.

Queens 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.