Manager, Accelerator Operations

Job Title: Manager, Accelerator Operations

Team: Product

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

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 Manager, Accelerator Operations who will ensure the smooth launch and execution of the Accelerator, our leadership and development course, for Braven Fellows across the country. As a member of Braven’s Product Team, this role will support regional teams to ensure seamless program operations, be a thought partner to regional colleagues, and effectively scale our program operations.

This role is on the Product team and reports directly to the Managing Director, Program Operations.

What You’ll Do

• Lead Central Accelerator operations (40%)
• Design and project manage virtual and in-person Learning Lab operations across sites, ensuring excellence in delivery
• Develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) for program activities
• Support regional execution of the Accelerator, serving as an implementation coach, thought partner, and problem solver
• Design and lead onboarding processes across sites for Fellows and Graders
• Design and project manage centralized training operations for Graders
• Manage internal communications for the Accelerator
• Maintain the Program Operations Calendar
• Observe programming weekly to provide feedback
• Analyze weekly Accelerator data to identify program strengths and improvement opportunities
• Serve as a critical contributor to Braven projects (25%)

• Serve as a project contributor and consultant on Braven’s relevant cross-functional project teams, iterating on deliverables cycle-over-cycle including:
• Automated onboarding communications for Fellows, Graders, and Volunteers
• Key standard operating procedures and systems including, but not limited to, Fellow attendance management, substitute management, flagged student tracking, and grade auditing
• Other deliverables to support smooth Accelerator launch, execution, and closeout semester-over-semester as assigned

• Direct and coordinate standardized program delivery responsibilities for Program Operations Coordinators across sites - 20%
• Support Accelerator onboarding, training, and knowledge management (10%)
• Onboard new teammates with significant Accelerator touchpoints (including regional program managers and central staff) to the Accelerator
• Design and deliver internal training sessions to support smooth Accelerator execution
• Update and maintain program operations documentation and resources
• Create and iterate on central resources to make Accelerator execution easier
• Update and maintain the Accelerator portion of Braven’s internal wiki
• Hire, supervise, and train part-time Leadership Coach substitutes - 5%

Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• At least 3 years of work experience managing programs, projects, or events

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree
• At least 5 years of experience managing programs, projects, or events
• Go Together, Go Further: Collaborate intentionally, seek others’ perspectives to complement the limits of our own experience, and welcome new ideas and healthy debate
• Find a Way: Adapt nimbly, innovate, and make decisions with rigor, grounded in data and lived experience
• Manage Projects and Performance: Get things done through effective planning, prioritization, project/team management, and follow through
• Commitment to continuous learning and improvement, and comfort seeking out, receiving, and implementing constructive feedback without ego
• Strong ability to collaborate effectively and cross-functionally with teammates in a complex and fast-paced environment
• Unwavering customer service orientation with the ability to stay committed to finding solutions when challenges arise
• Strong communication and facilitation skills with the ability to present ideas in a concise, clear, engaging way, and adapt the approach to meet the needs of a variety of audiences
• Natural problem solver at the systems level with the ability to thrive in the gray, while being excited about and able to convert that gray into black and white
• 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, D.C., Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC)
• Travel 3-4 times per year
• Ability to support programming on average two nights per week for about 22 weeks per year as well as four to six Saturdays per year

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 $59,300-$74,100 in Atlanta, $62,300-$77,900 in Chicago or Washington D.C, and $68,600-$85,700 in Newark or New York City. 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
• 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, D.C, 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.