Post a Job

Positions Outside the Pulpit

If you are hoping to fill a position in your organization with an RA rabbi, you can post your job opening on our job board at no cost. To begin your rabbinic search create an account.

You can then log in and upload the new position and job description. Microsoft Word or PDF formatted job descriptions can be uploaded as is. Usually, a job description includes a few paragraphs about the employer, a few about the job description and responsibilities, and information about the compensation package. Our policy, for fairness and gender equity, is to post only positions that include salary information.

To add a job, click on the left tab “Add New Position” where you can enter the job title, select the start date and then click “Choose File,” (the gray box next to “Document.”) You can browse your computer files for your job description. Once you select it, it will show up in gray next to the “Choose File” Button. Make sure you click the blue box “Insert New Pos” and you will have successfully uploaded it.

Once you submit it, the Career Center will review and approve it, and your posting will be visible to all RA members. There is no monthly deadline for filing applications - you may upload your job description 24/7. We will check in with you monthly about the status of your job. Please update us when you wish to take down your job opening if it is filled or you are no longer hiring.

Pulpit Positions

To start your rabbinic search, you need to register on our e-placement online system. Fill out the registration form with all the appropriate information. Enter your own email and password as a log-in, and record it, because you will need it later to access your account. If you have used an email address for an RA account for any purpose before (like ordering books), you will need a new email address. When you are ready, click “I Agree, Register” indicating you have accepted the “Placement Code of Conduct.”

A congregation needs to be in good standing with USCJ to be approved. Once USCJ confirms the congregation’s status, the RA Career Center approves your registration. This process in generally completed within two business days.

Once you are approved, work with your search committee to fill out the congregational questionnaire. The form is now completely online. You can use this worksheet as a draft, but it will all need to be transferred before posting. If you prefer to complete it online from the start, you can work on it slowly and save it as draft until it is complete, then click submit. PLEASE NOTE: there are now character limits. If you wish to use this worksheet, please double check your characters so you will not be cut off when transferring it to the online form. Characters include spaces and punctuation.

Here is a video tutorial to walk you through the process.

You may work on and submit your questionnaire 24/7. The RA Career Center will review your submitted questionnaire, making certain that all of the questions have been answered completely. The Career Center will simultaneously e-mail the incumbent rabbi to confirm the availability of the position so that the search can begin. Incumbent rabbis must confirm via e-mail that they are leaving and that all is squared away between the rabbi and congregation.

Congregational questionnaires are generally approved within 24 hours at which time your congregation’s main contact is notified via email. Once a congregation’s questionnaire is approved, it is immediately available for viewing to all rabbis in the Rabbinical Assembly.

The “prime season” for a job search is December through April. In an ideal world, congregations spend 4-6 months preparing their questionnaire and refining their process. They post a position in December or January and typically make an offer to a rabbi before Pesach. However, there is always a “second season” of the process and some congregations don’t conclude until May or June.

Congregations seeking a leader for a transition process may seek a one-year interim rabbi instead of long-term leadership. Congregations often seek an interim rabbi after a rabbi of many years retires, when they are coming out of a major conflict, or when they have suffered some kind of traumatic experience. The congregation must complete the regular questionnaire for rabbis. Interim rabbis are engaged for one year and may not apply for the longer-term pulpit position. The interim search season generally begins later than the long-term rabbinic search season, with questionnaires posted in March or April.