STATUS/ Seasonal, Full-time fellow, Stipend

FELLOWSHIP DATES/ Fall cohort flexible start date, November-December

Spring cohort flexible start date, January-February

STIPEND/ $1,200/month, room and board, certifications

WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO

The Brandeis-Bardin Campus (BBC) of the American Jewish University (AJU) is located in Simi Valley, CA-land of the Micqanaqa'n, Fernandeno Tataviam, Tongva, Chumash, and Yuhaviatam peoples-45 min. from downtown Los Angeles.

During the school year we are a conference and retreat center, and we host local, national, and international organizations. Our guests range widely in age, vocation, identities, and reasons for coming to our campus. We facilitate their experience on campus with the goal of fostering our guest connections to themselves, to each other, and to the land.

Our campus is 2,700 acres in size; approximately 100 acres are “built environment” with a conference center, two dining halls, two pools, grass sports fields, basketball and tennis courts, a climbing wall and alpine tower, rec halls, dance pavilions, a small farm, and lots of guest housing. The other 2,600 acres are unmanaged high desert and oak savannah, and we use them for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, overnight camping trips, and free ranging horses and cattle.

HOW YOU’D FIT IN

The JENE fellows will work with our Experiential Education manager to learn how to facilitate experiential education programing, practice their facilitation by running programing with guest groups, and develop their own experiential education program.

When we say experiential education we mean a guided experience that is designed to teach a lesson or value through participation in the experience, rather than through traditional education methods like lecture. We do not expect that you have any knowledge or expertise in the experiential education field.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & EXPECTATIONS

The JENE fellows will participate in weekly group learning sessions. They will share responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day management of the farm and animal care. The fellows will facilitate experiential education programming for guests, culminating in the development and implementation of their own experiential education program.

WEEKLY LEARNING

• Attend and participate in weekly beit midrashim (text study). We use the term “text” to include written, spoken, or visual media, and accommodations will be made for folks who request them.
• Participate in weekly chavruta-partnered discussion of a chosen text.
• Independently conduct the necessary research for the development of your own program.

ANIMAL CARE

• Learn the care routines for the animals we share our campus with. Currently we have chickens, goats, an iguana, a bearded dragon, a turtle, and several aquariums. The animals we care for are subject to change based on community members donating new animals or current animals passing on.
• Weekly perform assigned animal care tasks like feeding, watering, and cleaning enclosures

FACILITATION OF PROGRAMING

• This is a direct service aspect of the role; work directly with guest groups to facilitate the experiences they request.
• Common experiences include hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, interacting with the animals, swimming, outdoor and indoor cooking, team building, archery, and axe throwing. You will be trained in all of these activities before being asked to facilitate any of them.
• Fellows are expected to develop at least one of their own programs during the course of the fellowship, and offer that program at on of our “Sunday in the Park” gatherings, or at an alternate time to be negotiated with the experiential education manager and the director of programing

THIS JOB IS FOR YOU IF

• You currently feel motivated by growth and development
• You are excited about hand on, project based learning
• You want to pursue professional development in the outdoor/experiential education and recreation worlds
• Are comfortable exchanging the value of your learning and working for housing, food, professional certifications, and a weekly stipend

HOURS

Generally available to work around 30 hours a week, divided up into animal care, program space management, direct service with guest groups, and independent and/or partnered learning. Because you will be living on campus, the lines can become blurred between what is work time and what is not. We are very open to working with you to make sure your off-work time is protected.

IDENTITY & OUR WORKPLACE

At Brandeis-Bardin our full-time staff comprise a spectrum of racial, gender, sexual, national, and ethnic identities. We are a multilingual campus and often conduct work in Spanish, Hebrew, and English. Farsi and other Arabic dialects are also often heard around campus. It is not required for you to be proficient in these languages (but can be an opportunity to learn).

Black, Indigenous, Asian Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern/North African, women, LGBTQI2S (i.e.lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, Two Spirit), and disabled people are strongly encouraged to apply.

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