Director, Operations and Systems Management

Job Title: Director, Operations and Systems Management

Team: External Affairs

Location: Hybrid in Chicago

Employment Type: 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 Director, Operations and Systems Management who will build top-notch planning and systems, create the foundations for effective internal cross team partnerships, and ideate through the arcs of impactful learning and development. You will be a critical player in building joy and efficacy as the External Affairs team works to achieve an ambitious three-year scale (serve ~10,000+ new Fellows over the next three years), revenue ($~130M over three years), partnership (~2-4 new university partnerships per year / 15-30 new employer partnerships per year), and brand (become the thought leader in the college to career space) goals. In this role, you will support the External Affairs team, creating efficiencies across streams.  You are a leader in your own right and, importantly, enjoy operational excellence and excelling in work mostly behind the scenes.

This role is on the External Affairs team and reports directly to the Chief External Affairs Officer.

What You’ll Do 

 External Affairs (EA) Team Operations (50%)

• Create processes for team planning from annual External Affairs goal setting, to quarterly goal setting, to weekly tacticals and ad hoc strategy calls
• Develop agendas for External Affairs team retreats as well as moments where EA presents significant content to other members of the Braven staff (i.e. all team retreats, EA-regional retreats, etc)
• In full partnership with People & Operations team, create a streamlined process and approach for External Affairs led Learning and & Development for regions, and new External Affairs hires (e.g. leading fundraising training for Executive Directors in regions) 
• Define how we partner effectively with regional teams from developing and revising our annual approach to stream-by-stream gameplans, regional / central EA meeting structure, service level agreements, change management associated with operating model shifts that impact our regional relationships
• Operate as the External Affairs team Salesforce project manager, creating an aligned strategy and the corresponding processes to ensure streamlined and accurate record keeping, and auditing Salesforce for quality control as needed

Cross-Functional Project Management (45%)

• Collaborate with the Coordinator, External Affairs Operations to manage processes for cross-functional campaigns such as 1) annual holiday mailings to supporters, 2) annual jobs and impact report printing, release, and personalized email campaign, 3) Giving Tuesday campaign, and 4) large stakeholder events like the annual summit 5) migration to Jira and other platforms as needed
• Build best-in-class resources for attending conferences such as creating a plan for cultivating relationships at each conference to ensure the External Affairs team is maximizing opportunities at and around conferences
• Develop, manage, and continually update a scope & sequence of conferences and convenings, identifying who should attend and/or present, supporting outreach to external stakeholders who attend, ensuring proposals for speaking opportunities are submitted on time, registration deadlines are met, and learnings are captured and implemented

Other (5%)

• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• BA or equivalent degree 
• Minimum 5  years experience managing complex projects across workstreams and teams with a proven track record of results
• Minimum 1 year of Salesforce or equivalent CRM experience

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experienced system builder and phenomenal collaborator in the areas of organizational operations, systems creation, and problem solving

• Strong strategic thinking skills, including a proven ability to bring clarity to ambiguous situations
• Takes initiative to solve challenges and tap into opportunities; makes complex tasks simple by applying clear processes to tasks
• Demonstrated attention to detail, known for checking and double checking your work
• Engaging, clear, and succinct verbal and written communication skills with the ability to adapt to fit the audience
• Ability to create and successfully execute project plans through effective planning, prioritization, project management, and follow through
• Experience building positive working relationships, including with people who have a range of identities, personalities, and ways of operating; fosters a joyful team culture
• Strong commitment to collaboration evidenced by seeking out opportunities to collaborate with and learn from others who complement the limits of our own experience
• 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) at least 3 days per week
• Travel ~3-4 times per quarter for Braven team meetings and/or external convenings

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 $83,000-$103,700. 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 Chicago. 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.