Director, Career Communities

Job Title: Director, Career Communities

Team: Product 

Location: In-Person in Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), Washington (DC), 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 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 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, 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 Director of Career Communities who will focus on supporting Fellows as they seek careers in STEM and Health & Wellness 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, you will own the strategic vision for the STEM and Health & Wellness Communities.  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 Vice President, Design.

What You’ll Do

Convene Programming (70%)

• Build a scope & sequence of career exposure, skill-building, and community events for students in the STEM and Health & Wellness 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 new day-long 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 Directors, Career Communities and cross-functionally across the organization to secure employer partner guests and design well-attended, best-in-class events 

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 

Lead Virtual Community (10%)

• Facilitate student engagement in each Career Community’s virtual community spaces (LinkedIn Groups and a Braven-specific platform called MyBraven)  

Manage Intern (10%)

• Hire and 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

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)
• Relevant industry experience in the STEM and Health & Wellness Career Communities, which include the following industry interests: technology, applied sciences, environment, energy, aerospace, architecture, clinical care, non-clinical health, psychology, and counseling.
• Knowledge of the hiring process, key timelines, qualifications needed, applying to grad school, and best practices for landing 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 enable 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
• 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.

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), Washington (DC) Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC) at least 3 days per week
• Ability to travel roughly six times per year for strategy meetings, team stepbacks, regional visits, etc.
• 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.
• 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
• 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 $78,900-$98,600 in Atlanta, $83,000-$103,700 in Chicago, Delaware, and Washington D.C, and $91,300-$114,100 in New York/Newark. This is a full-time regular, exempt, and benefits eligible position where you will be working at 100% capacity. 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

We gather in the office at least 3 days per week (on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) and often work remotely 2 days per week (although certain commitments might adjust that from time to time). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of one of our hubs: Atlanta, Chicago, Washington (DC),  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.

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.