Manager, Development & Stewardship

Job Title: Manager, Development & Stewardship

Team: External Affairs

Location: In-Person in Chicago (IL) or Wilmington (DE) preferred, Atlanta (GA), Washington (DC), Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC) 

Employment Type: Full-time

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, Development and Stewardship who will play a key role in helping the organization raise ~$100M over the next three years, serving as a data-driven storyteller and project manager. As a member of the development team, you will be responsible for writing grant proposals/reports, researching potential donors, and managing effective stewardship operations and processes to support a portfolio of regions to achieve our fundraising goals. 

Your work will directly contribute to Braven’s ability to collaboratively build a deeper understanding of the philanthropic communities in which Braven works, crafting Braven’s story to inspire action within those communities, and creating and managing effective stewardship operations and processes that fuel ongoing commitment among our donors.  You’ll be a fit for the role if you love crafting the right narrative to drive action, are a strategic thinker, enjoy making complex tasks simple, and operate with a strong customer service orientation. If you have career aspirations to lead a development team or take on other leadership roles where fundraising is a key skill, this position will be a great opportunity to learn and build your muscle in grants management, donor stewardship, and fundraising strategy, while cross-collaborating to meet ambitious goals.

This role is on the External Affairs team and reports directly to the Vice President, Development.

What You’ll Do

In partnership with Braven’s Vice President, Development and regional Executive Directors / External Affairs Directors as we seek to raise ~$30M annually, you’ll have the following responsibilities: 

Tell the Braven story through writing inspiring grant proposals, grant reports, and external collateral (50%)

• Research and synthesize donor data using a variety of sources to develop excellent donor briefs and proposals. 
• Synthesize program outcomes data in a clear and compelling way. 
• Deeply understand local donor ecosystem and serve as thought partner to regional teams

Collaborate with Executive Directors and the Data, Finance, and External Affairs teams to ensure all grant applications and reports for regions in your portfolio are submitted on-time, without error, and with compelling narrative (50%)

• Provide excellent customer service by troubleshooting grant and donor needs as they arise. 
• Strong project management of timelines and teammates to gather data and key information required in grant proposals and reports. 
• Manage efficient and smart systems through maintaining up to date activities, campaigns, opportunities and account information in Salesforce and other platforms to ensure we’re on track to achieve fundraising goals in your portfolio regions. 
• Implement stewardship strategies and processes to acknowledge donations in a timely and thoughtful manner, as well as support holiday and Giving Tuesday campaigns that increase giving and build loyalty to Braven.
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s or equivalent degree
• 2+ years of work experience

Preferred Qualifications 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with proven storytelling ability
• Highly-developed attention to detail and customer-service orientation
• Learns quickly and manages large volumes of feedback on a regular basis
• Thrives in ambiguity and finds joy in collaborating deeply with others and being a part of a rapidly growing organization
• Strong analytical skills; ability to research and synthesize outcomes data or donor data in a compelling way
• Experience with complex project management including stakeholders from various teams (e.g., program, finance, data) that led to results
• Highly motivated, self-directed, results-oriented, data-driven, and curious
• Experience with Salesforce a plus
• 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 Chicago, IL or Wilmington, DE (preferred); or Atlanta, Washington (DC), Newark, or New York City at least 3 days per week
• Ability to travel 4-8 times annually out of state for team events
• Non-traditional hours (e.g. evenings or weekends) occasionally to meet grant/fundraising deadlines

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 $53,900-$67,300 in Atlanta, $56,600-$70,800 in Chicago, Wilmington DE, & Washington D.C, and $62,400-$77,900 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: Chicago, IL or Wilmington, DE (preferred); or Atlanta, 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.