Chief Higher Education Partnerships

Job Title: Chief Higher Education Partnerships

Team: Higher Education Partnerships 

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

Employment Type:  Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt 

Start Date: ASAP

About Braven

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares promising college students 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, our ambition is to help rebuild the middle class and revitalize the American Dream.

About the Role

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring a Chief, Higher Education Partnerships, who will set the vision for how the organization cultivates new partnerships and strengthens existing ones.  As the most senior leader of the Higher Education Partnerships team at Braven, you will report to the Chief Executive Officer and lead a team of 3-6 that executes directly in specialized areas, create systems and tools that foster efficiencies, and empower Braven’s regions to steward complex higher education relationships with excellence. The ideal candidate will be an experienced leader with a deep understanding of higher education, a strategic thinker with strong relationship-building skills, and a deep passion for student success.

This role is on the Higher Education Partners team and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

What You’ll Do

Strategic Planning (40%)

• Create the vision for and oversee the execution of the organization’s higher education partnership strategy, working alongside Braven’s Strategy and Finance team and other relevant teams as needed, to ensure alignment that drives Braven toward partnership growth and success.
• Create the vision for, and oversee the execution of, the organization’s recruitment strategy to ensure Braven meets its ambitious growth goals.
• Develop strategies to engage potential new partners, demonstrating the value of our service to university leadership.
• Create a vision and operational plan for partnership excellence, working with regional EDs and other internal teams as needed, to develop robust metrics and continuous improvement processes to strengthen relationships and drive outcomes and accountability.
• Responsible for higher education market intelligence, understanding the current and future landscape, understanding trends in higher education and career services to provide valuable insights and guidance to Braven and our partners.

Higher Education Partnership Cultivation (40%)

• Determine and execute against key cultivation priorities with high-stakes higher education partners,  including building and maintaining strong relationships and pipelines.
• Build and strengthen authentic, mutually beneficial relationships with Presidents, Provosts, Deans, faculty, and staff to successfully steward current higher education partnerships, while cultivating dozens more, listening to and understanding their needs and priorities.
• Partner with the Chief, External Affairs, to determine which conference Braven should attend, present at, and/or sponsor, attending conferences as needed to represent Braven at industry conferences, events, and meetings to build brand awareness and foster new relationships.
• Set the vision and manage the execution of special events to cultivate current and potential higher education partnerships and supporters.

Leadership and Team Management (20%)

• Provide leadership and coaching to the Higher Education Partnership (HEP) team, including the new sites team, HEP team, and the student recruitment team, inspiring and motivating them to take action and meet ambitious goals as they create the visions, strategies, systems, tools, and training for university partnerships and student recruitment.
• Partner with the External Affairs team and the Regional Success teams to ensure strong student recruitment across university sites, specifically where structural enrollments are not in place
• Collaborate with Braven’s regional teams and other internal teams as needed to build the skills and mindsets needed to have strong relationships with our higher education partners.
• Serve on the Alignment Team (Braven’s leadership team) to set the vision and strategy for the organization. 

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Education: BS/BA, Ph.D  

Work Experience: 

• 10+ years of experience working in the higher education system, as a Dean, Provost, or above 
• 10+ years of successful management experience leading midsize teams of 10-20 people. 
• Experience working at a non-profit preferred
• Your experiences have informed your belief in Braven’s mission and have prepared you to work with or for Braven’s student Fellow population.

Technical Skills and Knowledge: Proficiency in Google Suite, Slack, Jira, and Salesforce preferred

Preferred Qualifications 

• Exemplifies Braven’s core values
• Knowledge: Deep understanding of university structures, processes, and challenges, particularly related to student success and career development.
• Strong Network in Higher Education: Has built a strong network in the higher education space and is known for its credibility and strong relationships with faculty. Strong relationships with a diverse set of higher ed institutions, e.g., HBCUs, large state schools, etc. Enthusiasm for meeting and engaging with people. Relates to and empathizes with the communities we serve, our higher education partners, and fellows. 
• Strong Team Manager: Brings a clear vision and recognizes the value of divergent perspectives. Able to set and achieve ambitious goals for yourself and your team. Results-oriented. 
• Critical Thinking: Quickly grasps the subtleties of complex issues and identifies patterns in challenges. Comes up with insightful, pragmatic, equitable, and sustainable ways to tackle common challenges and produce positive change.
• Visionary: Adapts to the evolving needs of the organization and thinks 3 (or 30) steps ahead to develop solutions that achieve goals in their realm. Creates strong, aspirational strategic plans, gets people excited about them, and manages toward outcomes.
• Resilient: Plans ahead and finds alternative paths, when needed, to get to the finish line. Holds a high bar even when things are hectic.
• Emotional intelligence: Able to reflect on and describe the impact of one’s own identities—and those of others—in a given situation, decision, or process. Demonstrates awareness of growing edges and seeks and engages well with feedback.
• Communicator: Uses storytelling skills to connect with stakeholders and convey complex ideas concisely and compellingly to a range of external audiences. Able to make and communicate difficult decisions in the best interest of the organization. Respond to people in a timely manner. Takes pride in providing clear, helpful information.
• Demonstrated commitment to building strong and welcoming cultures that help to develop others.
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.

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), New York (NYC), or Newark (NJ) at least 3 days per week

Additional Requirements

• Travel 1-2 times per month 
• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Braven doesn’t offer employment visa sponsorship

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

Note on Hiring Practice:
Out of respect for our active higher education partners (HEP), we strive not to hire directly from our current partner organizations. We value these relationships and the impact they create, and we kindly request that applicants disclose any current employment with one of our partners during the application process.

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits

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.

New hires can expect a starting salary at the lower end of the range, as Braven compensates based on the requirements and scope of the role rather than years of experience or prior salary, allowing for growth with performance and maintaining internal equity. The salary ranges, by geographic market, for this role are set forth $187,100-$233,800 in Atlanta, $197,600-$246,900 in Chicago, $217,300-$271,600 in New York, NY and Newark, NJ. This is a full-time, regular, exempt, and benefits eligible position where you will be working at 100% capacity.  

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)
• Braven supports your path to parenthood and beyond with $25,000 in lifetime Carrot benefits for fertility, family-building, and hormonal health
• 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

Please note that Braven is firm in its compensation philosophy; therefore, only candidates who believe that our total rewards package matches what they are looking for in their next opportunity are encouraged to apply. 

Location

We gather in the office 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) and work remotely 2 days a week (Monday and Friday). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of one of our hubs: Atlanta, Chicago, New York, or Newark. 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.

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.