Employee Handbook Development

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Overview

Role: 
Advisor & Project Lead
Estimated Time: 
More than 20 hours
Start Date: 
To be determined
Collaboration style: 
Set own schedule. Volunteer remotely. Work closely with professional staff.
Wilderness Torah
www.wildernesstorah.org

Scope & Deliverables

Wilderness Torah is an eight-year-old organization that is thriving and growing rapidly. We have a budget of $600,000, a seven-person staff, and serve more than 1,500 participants each year with programs that meaningfully reconnect Jewish traditions and education to nature.

We have operated as a start-up with passionate, committed employees who have all come through our programs. We have informal policies and do not currently have an employee handbook. As we grow to a more mature organizational stage, we need to clarify policies and document them for our wonderful staff.

Discrete tasks and deliverables:

1. Identify specific topics that should be included in a handbook (using handbooks from similar organizations as a model, which WT can provide)

2. Collect information from WT as to current policies/practices for each of these areas

3. Review the information and flag:

a) Whether you feel further development of a particular policy/practice is needed

b) Any questions the policy/practice brings up for you

c) If you have recommendations for a different policy or practice, based on best practices, legality, etc.

4. Once have final policies from WT, collate information into a cohesive draft handbook (Word document)

Deliverables:

1. Topics to be included in a handbook (written document)

2. Review, assessment and recommendations for WT's policies (written document)

3. Draft employee handbook with finalized policies (written document)

Project Results

This engagement will greatly assist Wilderness Torah in growing to our next organizational stage. After eight years of significant growth, sold-out programs, and demand for expansion and replication, we are poised to expand regionally and launch a national training initiative.

As part of supporting that growth, we seek to strengthen our operations, particularly HR. To continue to grow, we need to ensure we are attracting and retaining the highest-caliber staff, and appropriately supporting staff with clear policies and procedures.

Organization Description

Wilderness Torah, located in Berkeley, reconnects Jewish traditions to nature. Since 2007, we have served more than 6,000 participants with multi-generational holiday festivals; K-7 outdoor Jewish education; and custom programs for Jewish institutions. Named one of the nation's most innovative Jewish nonprofits four years running, Wilderness Torah's programs consistently sell out and have remarkable impact, especially in connecting young adults and the disengaged enthusiastically back to Judaism.

Areas of Expertise Being Sought

Human Resources. Legal.