Managing Director, Arkansas Partnerships

Job Title: Managing Director, Arkansas Partnerships 

Team: External Affairs

Location: Arkansas

Employment Type: Grant-Funded, Temporary, Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Start Date: ASAP

About Braven

Braven is a career-accelerating program that prepares promising young people—many of whom are people of color, from low income backgrounds, and the first in their families to attend college—to secure a strong first opportunity after college graduation. 

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, we are helping to open up access to the American Promise, empowering a generation of leaders who mirror the diversity of our country.

To learn more, take a look at Braven’s Impact Report and Jobs Report.

About the Role

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring a Managing Director, Arkansas Partnerships who will lead our efforts to develop a new higher education partnership in Arkansas. 

As a member of the External Affairs Team, you will build a strong coalition of corporate, philanthropic, and nonprofit partners in Arkansas that ideally will lead to Braven’s potential new Arkansas region. As the MD, Arkansas Partnerships, you will build prospective partnership(s) with an HBCU and/or public institution of higher education that meets Braven’s new site criteria, develop shared value partnerships with employers, oversee all development efforts to build a path to raising approximately $6.2M for a new school expansion, ensure a sustainable funding pipeline, lay the groundwork for or start a launch committee, engage with influential policymakers, and elevate Braven’s local brand and thought leadership.

The MD will report to and work collaboratively with the VP, New Sites through the launch of the initial higher education partnership. If a partnership with a higher education institution in Arkansas moves forward, there is potential for this to become a permanent full-time regional leadership role.

This position is a grant-funded, temporary, full time role through at least January 2025 with the potential to transition to permanent full-time status upon the launch of Braven in the Arkansas region.

What You’ll Do

• Higher Ed Partnership (HEP) Cultivation & Program Operations (35%) 
• Cultivate, steward and manage key relationships at institutions of higher education - including the President or Chancellor, Provost, executive cabinet (as appropriate), Point Person, the Professor of Record, and other faculty/staff as needed.
• Leverage campus insights and relationships to effectively partner with the Central External Affairs Team to develop brand integration strategies to build awareness and investment for Braven among students and key higher education champions.  
• Regional Fundraising and Local Partnership and Awareness Building (40%)
• Cultivating, partnering and ensuring the health of key stakeholder relationships at local employer partners and key donors and foundations, including researching potential partners and scheduling and preparing for meetings with potential partners
• Building a fundraising pipeline toward the goal of $6.2M raised for the first three years of program by launch of the higher education partnership 
• Focusing on growing and diversifying a sustainable funding base that will include gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government 
• Raising Braven’s brand awareness through thought-leadership, public speaking, social media, and press pieces
• Exploring local political and policy landscape 
• Regional Strategy and Operations (20%)
• Development and beginning to implement a comprehensive multi-year strategic plan to reach our vision for scale and excellent outcomes in Arkansas
• Building and managing a launch committee that will help maximize the Arkansas region’s impact, narrative, and sustainability
• Other duties as assigned (5%)

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree
• At least 7 years of leadership experience with a track record of building strong partnerships, meeting fundraising targets, setting vision, strategic planning and leading others to reach goals
• Established professional network in higher education, education, philanthropy, business and/or non-profit organizations and with individuals in Arkansas

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education and/or an early-stage start-up nonprofit environment 
• Motivation, drive and ability to fundraise and ensure financial sustainability of the region
• Ability to mobilize people and create champions of an organizational mission
• Experience building and working in partnership with a Board of Directors, partner organizations, funders, and other key constituents
• Strong communication skills, relationship-building skills, presence, and maturity that leads to strong partnerships with very senior-level staff and Faculty, high-profile community leaders and Braven staff, Fellows, and Leadership Coaches
• High level of personal responsibility, professional maturity and humility, commitment to personal growth, and understanding of one’s own leadership style and its impact on others
• Strong ability to remain flexible and adaptable to changing conditions externally, as well as internally, as Braven continues to evolve and grow
• Tendency and ability to make strong data-informed decisions and ask insightful questions to draw actionable insights from analyses and translate to others how these insights further strategy
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven’s mission and have prepared you to work with, or for, Braven’s student Fellow population.
• University of Arkansas Pine Bluff alumni are strongly encouraged to apply

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 remotely in Arkansas with regular travel for in-person meetings across Arkansas, especially in Pine Bluff, Little Rock, and the NW corner of the state
• Ability to travel occasionally to other Braven regions for team meetings
• Ability to occasionally work non-traditional hours in order to attend Arkansas cultivation events 

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of such by the date of hire. Individuals may claim exemption from the vaccine requirement for medical or religious reasons.

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
• Finalist interview with Chief External Affairs Officer
• Reference Checks

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position, which depends on prior work experience and our assessment of your demonstrated fit for the role, will likely be between $105,000-$131,200. 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. You will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the application process.

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)
• 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

Location

While this role will not work from a set office in Arkansas and will be mostly remote, the team member is required to be located in Arkansas and within commuting distance of Pine Bluff and Little Rock or the NW corner of the state.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

At Braven, we are committed to attracting, engaging, developing, and retaining a diverse team. Braven operates in the context of our American culture, against the backdrop of systemic racism and oppression of marginalized people since our country’s founding. We are committed to assembling leaders at our organization who have emerged from everywhere, with a particular emphasis on those who share the racial and income backgrounds of our Fellows, and creating an inclusive culture that allows all teammates, of all experiences and identities, to thrive.  

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.