Jewish Agency Managers Face a Changing Jewish World:
The Mandel Leadership Institute teams up with the Jewish Agency to train a professional leadership prepared for what the future will bring

Jewish organizations are realizing the need to constantly assess their changing environment if they wish to remain focused, relevant and cutting edge.  The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) is no exception, as it faces diminishing funds, dwindling sources of aliyah, and the proliferation of other Jewish organizations dealing with Jewish education, aliyah and Israel.  In an attempt to ensure that it continues to play an effective and central role for the Jewish people into the 21st century, the Jewish Agency has begun a process of strategic reassessment of the environment in which it operates, and implications for priorities, structure and the role it plays in the Jewish world and Israel. 

As part of JAFI’s commitment to improving the operational capacity of the organization, the Mandel Leadership Institute was asked to develop a program for a cadre of middle management designated to be the Jewish Agency’s reserve of new senior leaders for tomorrow. 

The initiative to start the program at the Mandel Leadership Institute came from the Jewish Agency, as Dr. Rimona Wiesel, Director of Training, Human Resources Unit, explained: "Once we defined our expectations from the future leaders, and decided that what we want to do in this program is to develop leadership, we came to the best in the field."

The Professional Development Program for Future JAFI Leaders, which began in January 2008, aims to examine the assumptions, basic concepts and perceptions shaping the work of the Agency, with an attempt to examine their suitability to the constantly shifting environment. Participants of the program, who hail from various departments of the Jewish Agency, were recognized as potential candidates for senior leadership positions in the future.

“We aspired to create a leadership program that can transcend departmental divisions within the Jewish Agency; enrich their knowledge of subjects at the heart of the Agency’s work, strengthen participants’ professional identity and enhance their understanding of the organization, thus enabling this next-generation of leaders to identify with and take responsibility for the bigger picture,” said Richard Juran, Director of Management Excellence Programs at MLI.

"In a uniquely ‘Mandel’ style, the program constantly examines the interplay between theory and practice,” continued Juran. “The training also focuses on professional identity and employs policy and management studies to teach about leading an organization through change – which is a grounding the Jewish Agency wants its leaders to have."

Modules in the program include ‘Building the Map’ – a look at Jewish sociology, demography, economics and philanthropy; ‘Community’ – which examines the concept, the models and specific communities in the Jewish world; ‘Professional Identity’ – in which participants explore the core values that inform their vision and guide their practice; ‘Organization in a Changing Environment’; and ‘Policy and Management’. During this last module, which occupies approximately one third of the 18 month program,  participants also research and write policy papers.

So far, the Professional Development Program has received impressive feedback from its participants, but can this course really make a difference to the future of Jewish Agency? Juran is optimistic:
“MLI can help the Jewish Agency cultivate better prepared, more capable, grounded, competent, professional leaders who will be better equipped to help the organization deal with the dramatic changes it faces.”

Mandel Excellence Programs are currently engaged with a variety of organizations, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, JCC Association, the World Confederation of JCCs and the Israel Association of Community Centers.