Braven, Inc

Job Title: Executive Director, New Jersey region

Location: Newark, NJ  

Employment Type: Full-time

Start Date: ASAP 

To Apply: Submit your application here. Send any questions to jobs@bebraven.org (applications submitted via email will not be accepted).

About Braven

We believe that the next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere. We empower promising college students with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact.  Learn more about Braven’s impact: 

https://impactreport.bebraven.org/

https://jobsreport.bebraven.org/

Braven was named one of America’s Best Startup Employers 2022 by Forbes! We’re proud to be a nonprofit organization that values its employees and has always been committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace that mirrors our country.

About the Role

The Executive Director (ED) will oversee Braven’s New Jersey region, including its Rutgers University-Newark site and Braven’s eventual expansion to new New Jersey university partners. This requires hiring and leading a team to oversee the execution and growth of Braven’s programming with our university partner(s), building shared-value partnerships with employers, overseeing all development efforts, and ensuring a sustainable funding pipeline, building and managing a local board, elevating Braven’s local brand and thought-leadership, and advocating for aligned public policy.

The Team
The ED will report to the Founder & CEO and will be part of Braven’s Alignment Team, the organization’s leadership body, along with the other regional Executive Directors. The ED will manage a full-time program team of ~5 at Rutgers University-Newark and manage the expansion to future university partners in New Jersey over time. The ED will also work with their External Affairs Manager and central External Affairs team to raise ~$12.6 million over the next three years for the region, among other external priorities. Additionally, the ED and program team will oversee the recruitment and engagement efforts around a large unit of 300-400 volunteers plus part-time staff and interns annually. 

Braven is a nimble yet disciplined, fast-paced, startup environment where the work evolves quickly and no day is the same as the day before. This should excite you!

What You’ll Do: Regional Strategy and Operations (20%)

• Managing regional team members: Managing Director and External Affairs Manager
• Implementing a comprehensive multi-year strategic plan to reach our vision for scale and excellent outcomes with Rutgers University-Newark and future New Jersey sites.
• With Managing Director, ensuring strong program execution resulting in both positive experiences and outcomes for Fellows, volunteers, and partners
• Managing and expanding a regional advisory board that will help maximize the New Jersey region’s impact, narrative, and sustainability

Stakeholder Management and Awareness Building (30%)

• Ensuring health of key stakeholder relationships at both university and employer partners, including university and corporate executives
• Raising Braven’s brand awareness through thought-leadership, awards, public speaking, social media, and press pieces
• Explore local political landscape and engage in critical policy efforts when relevant
  
  

Regional Fundraising and Sustainability (30%)

• Raising ~$12.6 million over the next three years for the region, among other external priorities.
• Deepening our political capital and thought leadership to ensure that our New Jersey  region maintains its meaningful position in the educational fabric of the community
• Focusing on significantly growing and diversifying a sustainable funding base that will include gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government 

Team Leadership and Management (20%)

• Attracting, hiring, and developing a team of diverse and talented staff members
• Coaching and developing regional staff members to exhibit strong cultural leadership skills and orientations
• Serving on organization’s Alignment Team to influence organization-wide impact, growth, and sustainability

Qualifications & Skills: Braven is looking for a dynamic facilitator, who is keen on developing strong relationships and quick to solve problems as they arise. You are bringing experiences and strengths like these:

Required:

• 7-10 years leadership experience as an Executive, leading a Department, or similar, with a verifiable track record of achieving successful outcomes while maintaining an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable team culture. This includes:
• vision setting and strategic planning
• leading others to reach goals
• defining and leading others towards a strong culture
• achieving success in change management
• Strong alignment with, passion for, and commitment to the mission and values of Braven
• Motivation and drive to fundraise and ensure financial sustainability of the region; an ability to mobilize people and to create champions of an organizational mission
• Experience building and working in partnership with a Board of Directors, partner organizations, funders, and other key constituents
• Strong gravitas, communication skills, relationship-building skills, presence, and maturity that engender respect and facilitate a strong partnership with very senior-level staff and Faculty, high-profile community stakeholders and civic leaders, Braven staff, Fellows, and Leadership Coaches
• Uncommon level of personal responsibility, professional maturity and humility, commitment to personal growth, and understanding of one’s own leadership style and its impact on others
• Ability to make strong data-informed decisions because you excel at drawing actionable insights from analyses and translating for yourself and others how these insights further your strategy

Preferred:

• Deep roots and networks in New Jersey
• Experience in an early-stage environment

Please know that no one ever meets 100% of the qualifications. If much of this describes you, we encourage you to apply.

Additional Requirements

• • Ability to work in-person in Newark (NJ) 
  • Ability to travel to other parts of NJ, including Camden, New Brunswick, and Montclair
  • Authorized to work in the U.S.

• Must be fully vaccinated and have received the Booster vaccination against COVID-19 if eligible and provide proof of such by the date of hire. Individuals may request accommodation for medical or religious reasons. Exempted individuals may be subject to weekly testing if they engage in any in-person work activities.

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 $144,400 - $180,500. 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, week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the calendar year 
• $1 match of every $1 you contribute to your 401K account up to 5% of your base annual salary, starting after your first full month of employment
• Coverage of 85% of health insurance premium 
• A one month paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff

Location

When social distancing is not in place, we gather in the office three days a week. Therefore, we require teammates to live within commuting distance of Newark, NJ, where our NJ hub is. Each teammate can use two flex days of their choosing per week to work remotely. 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.