Associate Director, Career Communities at Braven

Description

Job Title: Associate Director, Career Communities

Team: Product 

Location: Hybrid in Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC) 

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Start Date: ASAP

About Braven

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares promising college students to secure a strong first opportunity after college graduation through a career-accelerating program.

We work with higher education and employer partners to offer a life-changing experience that begins with a semester-long course for college students, followed by support that lasts through graduation.  

Together, our ambition is to help rebuild the middle class and revitalize the American Dream.

About the Role

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring a Director of Career Communities who will focus on supporting Fellows as they pursue careers in Business and Arts & Media-related fields. This individual will lead the strategy and execution of a program to better connect our Fellows with their industry interests, ultimately launching them on their path to securing a strong postgraduate outcome. As a member of the Design Team, which sits on the Product Team, your focus areas include convening programming to build career clarity and navigation confidence, along with connecting Fellows to opportunities, resources, and networks that lead to success.

This role is on the Product team and reports directly to the Head of Program Design.

What You’ll Do

Convene Programming (60%)

• Build a scope & sequence of career exposure, skill-building, and community events for students in the Business and Arts & Media Communities based on research-backed insights
• Design and execute events, often in partnership with employers, that lead to strong student outcomes and engagement
• Co-lead the Ready to Launch Bootcamp, a program for graduating seniors, to increase their self-confidence and efficacy in their job search
• Improve programming throughout the year by leveraging insights from quantitative data and conducting student focus groups and interviews 
• Collaborate with other Associate Directors, Career Communities, and cross-functionally across the organization to secure employer partner guests and design well-attended, best-in-class events 

Set Vision & Direction for Career Communities (15%)

• Determine the best strategies in support of strong student outcomes and experiences through conducting and synthesizing user research, observations, labor market trends, and feedback 
• Lead collaborative and cross-functional proposal and prioritization processes to determine how Career Communities need to evolve to remain relevant and resonant 
• Internalize Braven’s research base and logic model and ensure all designs align, adjusting course due to new research insights as needed 

Communicate Opportunities to Fellows  (10%)

• Create a bi-weekly newsletter for students in your communities, which directs them to relevant internships and jobs, events, and resources 
• Collaborate cross-functionally on student recruitment efforts to ensure high attendance at planned events and work strategically to increase engagement  

Lead Virtual Community (10%)

• Facilitate student engagement in each Career Community’s virtual community spaces

Manage Intern (5%)

• Manage a student intern to support the virtual communities and the bi-weekly newsletter 
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree 
• 5+ years of work experience in the related field 

Preferred Qualifications 

• An entrepreneurial, strategic, and results-driven approach to program design and execution.
• Ability to create, own, and execute a strategic plan that connects ideas to outcomes in program design, implementation, and ongoing iteration
• Experience using stakeholder data to uncover insights, recommend solutions, and test new ideas
• A ‘roll up the sleeves’ attitude, ability, and interest in managing the myriad details associated with external event programming
• Confidence and competence in public speaking and presentations
• Anticipate problems and collaboratively propose and tackle solutions 
• Experience working with young adults and/or college students.
• 5+ years of experience in one or more of the following areas: group facilitation, instruction, or advising (e.g., student services or young adult development)
• Knowledge of entry-level hiring processes and best practices for landing strong postgraduate jobs. 
• Exemplary verbal and written communication skills as well as deep listening ability.
• Organization-wide project management with complex workstreams, managing complex decision making processes, including stakeholders with diverse needs and interests, and laterally managing team leads. 
• Exceptional relationship building skills, enabling you to build trust quickly and collaborate across management levels, internal and external relationships as well as across dimensions of identity
• Balanced perspective that enables one to effectively prioritize levels of urgency and regulate emotions, along with helping others do the same when required
• Experience leading and managing in complex environments during times of growth and employing change management skills, including but not limited to:
• Experience making decisions with speed, agility, and common sense, while identifying and engaging key stakeholders appropriately
• Strong organization skills, tracking, and managing big picture ideas as well as key details
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven’s mission and has prepared you to work with, or for, Braven’s student Fellow population.

Please know that no one ever meets 100% of the preferred qualifications. If much of this describes you, we encourage you to apply.

Work Demands

• Ability to work in-person in Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC) at least 3 days per week
• Ability to travel roughly four times per year for programming and meetings
• Occasional evening or weekend work events to execute programming for students (1-2 times per month)

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Braven doesn’t offer employment visa sponsorship

Application & Interview Process

While the interview process may vary slightly, the general process will be:

• Phone screen with Talent Team member
• Performance Task
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• Panel Interview with Key Partners
• Reference Checks

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits

Braven offers competitive base salaries based on the midpoint of the market among not-for-profit organizations of similar size, with opportunities for salary growth over time. We believe in compensating staff members fairly in relation to each other, their qualifications, and their impact on behalf of the organization, and take internal and external equity seriously. Given our commitment to equity, Braven does not negotiate salary offers; instead, each salary offer is determined carefully using external and internal benchmarking.

New hires can expect a starting salary at the lower end of the range, as Braven compensates based on the requirements and scope of the role rather than years of experience or prior salary, allowing for growth with performance and maintaining internal equity. The salary ranges, by geographic market, for this role are set forth $79,200-$99,000 in Atlanta,$83,600-$104,400 in Chicago, $92,000-$114,900 in New York, NY, and Newark, NJ. This is a full-time, regular, exempt, and benefits eligible position where you will be working at 100% capacity.  

Braven also provides competitive, comprehensive benefits, recognition, and career development. While Braven reserves the right to change benefits at any time, current benefits include: 

• Unlimited vacation time in addition to org-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the calendar year (this is a minimum of 19 days per year)
• Braven supports your path to parenthood and beyond with $25,000 in lifetime Carrot benefits for fertility, family-building, and hormonal health
• Match of your 401K contribution up to 5% of your base annual salary, starting your first full month
• Coverage of 85% of health insurance premium for employee and dependents
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• A one-month paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff

Please note that Braven is firm in its compensation philosophy; therefore, only candidates who believe our total rewards package aligns with what they are looking for in their next opportunity are encouraged to apply. 

Location

We gather in the office 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) and work remotely 2 days a week (Monday and Friday). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of one of our hubs: Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, or New York City. We believe in the magic, connection, and collaboration that happens when people work together face-to-face, and we believe in giving people flexibility to focus, balance personal priorities, and save themselves two commutes per week.

Braven is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor.  We encourage talented individuals of all backgrounds to apply.