Program Manager, Accelerator (NLU)

Job Title: Program Manager, Accelerator, National Louis University

Team: Innovation

Location: In-Person in Chicago (IL) 

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification:  Exempt 

Start Date: December 10, 2024

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 Program Manager, Accelerator, who will facilitate and fully lead the execution of Braven’s Leadership & Career Accelerator course (the Accelerator). As the Program Manager, you’ll be part of the engine behind our work with our university and nonprofit partners by facilitating and managing the experience of hundreds of college students (typically Sophomores) as they complete the Braven Accelerator. You’ll also support campus engagement efforts for your assigned schools to support students on their path to graduation and strong first jobs or graduate school after college. 

This role reports directly to the Managing Director for Northern Illinois University (NIU) and National Louis University (NLU). While the role will focus mainly on NLU for the initial six months, this will shift as assigned caseloads shift. 

What You’ll Do

Accelerator Facilitation and Program Management (75%)

• Fully manage the facilitation and execution of the Braven Accelerator course, including: Internalize and facilitate all Braven Accelerator curriculum components and ensuring weekly remote Learning Labs are logistically sound and high quality 
• Fully and independently facilitate weekly (2-3 nights per week) in-person or virtual programming sessions, each lasting 2 hours. Sessions typically take place between 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. CST and usually occur on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings. Availability during this time frame is a must. 
• Facilitating 2-3 virtual/in-person weekend and evening events (i.e. volunteer training, etc.) each semester, typically held in the evenings or on Saturdays
• Supporting a team of Graders who are university faculty members to measure student mastery and inform coach feedback, addressing areas of concern using data and user research/interviews to identify root causes 
• Heavily supporting the training and coaching of volunteer Leadership Coaches

• Ensuring a high-quality “customer” experience and high customer satisfaction for our Fellows, partners, volunteers, and stakeholders through strong and timely communication and anticipating customer needs

• Operating with complete ownership over Fellow outcomes; troubleshooting obstacles, asking for help, utilizing data reports, and quickly implementing solutions to maximize impact 

• Collaborating with other Program Managers from other teams to ensure an excellent and seamless program experience for Fellows

Leadership Coach and Coaching Partner Recruitment, Coaching, & Development Support (10%)

• Support the recruitment, coaching, and development of Leadership Coaches and Coaching Partners (working professional volunteers who coach and support Leadership Coaches) via strong project management in close collaboration with the Managing Director
• Observe and provide feedback to Braven volunteers weekly to support them to improve their own facilitation and coaching skill sets.

A Team/Management (10%)

• Participate in individual annual and quarterly planning
• Recruit, hire, onboard, and manage teaching assistants and part-time student interns 
• Collaborate with the Program Manager of Recruitment and Program Manager of Workforce Strategy to cultivate a strong Fellow experience, and lightly support the post-course experience.
• Collaborate with Braven’s central teams and their counterparts in other Braven regions to align on best practices for Accelerator execution.
• Attending team-specific offsites, org-wide retreats, conferences, etc. (2-4x/year) 

Brand / Sustainability (5%)

• Help build Braven’s brand by sharing compelling stories with the External Affairs team
• Represent Braven externally as needed

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 1 years of experience, ideally in teaching or in workforce development. 

Preferred Qualifications

• 1-4 years of experience, ideally in teaching or program management. 
• Extreme comfort and experience with public speaking and facilitation 

• Ability to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data to make decisions and track progress to goals 
• Strong customer service ethic with ability to proactively anticipate questions and concerns
• Strong critical thinking, written, and interpersonal communication skills necessary
• Ability to manage multiple projects concurrently and independently
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), G-Suite (Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Sheets and Gmail)
• Experience in Salesforce, Canva, Asana, Zoom, Expensify
• 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 at least 3 days per week
• Ability to travel nationally and locally as needed (~1x month) and nationally as needed (~ 4x year)
• Ability to work up to three evenings weekly Tuesday-Thursday from 4-8PM CST (September-April). 

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.

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 $51,500-$64,400.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 three team-wide, week-long shutdowns in Spring, Summer, and Winter (this is a minimum of 24 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.