The Center for Jewish History is home to five partners—American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The partner collections total more than five miles of archival material and span nearly a thousand years of history. When the Center opened its doors as the new "Library of Congress of the Jewish people," it made a commitment to preserve the treasures that live within its walls and make them accessible to scholars, students, and diverse audiences. The Center relies on philanthropic support to do this work.
The Center is currently looking to fill the following position/s:
The Maintenance Staff Team Member will report to the Operations Manager. The successful candidate will work closely with department members in Maintenance, Engineering, and Operations to ensure that maintenance of the Center’s buildings and infrastructure. The position is permanent and full-time.
Maintenance staff’s primary responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Prior experience on a maintenance team, either in offices or cultural organizations, is required. Proven capacity to work well with other maintenance team members.
Experience with simple plumbing and/or carpentry tasks.
Review of applications will begin immediately. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Please send your cover letter, resume, and contact information for two references to Natalie Frenkel, Operations Manager, at to nfrenkel@cjh.org, or phone Natalie at 212-294-8331.
A tour consists of a visit to the exhibitions of the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (Yeshiva University Museum has a separate docent program) and the public areas of the Center (usually the Leo & Julie Forchheimer Auditorium, the Paul S. & Sylvia Steinberg Great Hall, Lillian Goldman Reading Room, Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute, and the Shelby White & Leon Levy Collection Management and Conservation Wing). Guides who lead these tours are knowledgeable about the facilities and the mission and scope of activities of the Center for Jewish History, and they are able to describe the exhibitions in the Partner’s exhibition cases. Tour guides give approximately 1 -2 tours each month and attend periodic training sessions on new exhibitions.
Ushers work at special events held at the Center. They take tickets and give out programs and may perform other tasks, as needed. The usher is welcome to stay and view the performance. Most events requiring ushers are held weekday evenings or on Sundays. Each usher is responsible for being available 45 minutes before the event to several minutes after the event begins. They may occasionally be asked to stay after the program to help with a reception or book sales.
Office assistants work in various offices throughout the Center. Tasks may include coordinating mailings, addressing and stuffing envelopes, filing, answering phones and making phone calls, handling RSVPs to events, data entry and related office tasks. Some offices are seeking researchers and assistants for special projects. The Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute needs volunteers who are experienced with family history research to assist patrons. Librarians may need volunteers to catalog books and related tasks. Required hours are worked out with the individual departments.
The Center maintains a list of translators who are willing to help Reading Room and Genealogy Institute patrons translate documents. Staff members give the name of the patron to the translator, who then reaches out to the patron to make arrangements. Translations may be done at the Center or remotely. Translators are needed in almost any language, but the most commonly requested translations are from Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian and German.
If you are interested in volunteering at the Center, please contact Julie Kaplan, Volunteer Coordinator, at cjhvolunteer@cjh.org or call (917) 606-8226.