Associate Director, Program Operations

Job Title : Associate Director, Program Operations - Post-Accelerator

Team : Program Operations

Location : In-Person in Chicago (IL), Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC) 

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 an Associate Director, Program Operations – Post Accelerator, to lead the design, documentation, and execution of high-quality operational systems that enable Fellows to successfully secure strong first opportunities after graduation.

As a member of the Program Operations team, you will own and continuously improve the operational systems that enable high-quality programming after students complete the Accelerator, our credit-bearing course. You will lead the planning, execution, and iteration of Post-Accelerator workstreams, ensuring programs and products are delivered consistently, efficiently, and at scale. In close partnership with regional and central teams, you will clarify tools, processes, roles, and timelines so that stakeholders are well-equipped to deliver strong outcomes for Fellows across a wide range of Post-Accelerator experiences.

This role blends strategic ownership with hands-on execution, serving as a connective tissue across Product, Systems, and Regional teams to ensure Post-Accelerator operations are clear, timely, scalable, and effective.

This role is on the Program Operations team and reports directly to the Head of Program Operations.

What You’ll Do

Lead central operations for programming outside of the Accelerator (40%)

• Lead planning and execution of national programs, including one or more of the following programs:
• Designing and leading onboarding processes for Fellows to join Braven’s Career Communities, an initiative that provides industry-specific support to Fellows
• Designing and project managing in-person and virtual event operations for Braven’s Career Communities, Ready to Launch Bootcamps, and other Post-Accelerator events
• Leading operations for Braven’s Professional Mentor Program, ensuring operational excellence in mentee recruitment, matching, and program execution
• Leading operations for Braven’s Job Opportunity and Talent Referral initiatives
• Implement new Post-Accelerator strategies nationwide, collaborating with regions to secure strong first opportunities for Fellows.
• Laterally coordinate and provide accountability for regional and national team members who support program execution outside of the Accelerator
• Manage and improve how we track and display program metrics so that cross-functional and cross-regional teams can track progress-to-goals
• Analyze weekly Post-Accelerator data to identify program strengths and improvement opportunities
• Observe programming on a biweekly basis to provide feedback

Serve as a critical contributor to Braven projects (35%)

• Serve as a project contributor and consultant on Braven’s relevant cross-functional project teams, building out new operational systems to support scale and delivering on business-as-usual work, including:

• Developing and improving key standard operating procedures and systems, including, but not limited to, case management, mentor/mentee matching, attendance management, and event management
• Designing and sending targeted communications in alignment with the Post-Accelerator communications strategies
• Other deliverables to support smooth program launch and execution, as assigned

Support Post-Accelerator onboarding, training, and knowledge management (10%)

• Onboard new teammates with significant Post-Accelerator touchpoints (including regional program managers and central staff) to Post-Accelerator strategies and initiatives
• Design and deliver internal training sessions to support smooth Post-Accelerator execution
• Update and maintain program operations documentation and resources
• Create and iterate on central resources to make Post-Accelerator execution easier
• Update and maintain the Post-Accelerator portion of Braven’s internal wiki

Manage 1-2 part-time student interns (15%)

• Onboard and set clear expectations for intern work streams
• Provide support and feedback for successful integration into the team and completion of work

• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Experience: 4+ years in program, project, or operations management—ideally in education, nonprofit, or similar mission-driven environments
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing scalable operational systems
• Excellent organization, prioritization, and project management skills
• Strong collaboration and communication abilities, with comfort working cross-functionally

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building and leading complex operational or programmatic initiatives across multiple sites or stakeholder groups
• Experience designing and delivering training across distributed teams that supports operational excellence
• Proven ability to analyze, optimize, and scale systems while maintaining program fidelity and quality
• Background in one or more of the following domains: stakeholder management, academic operations, or event logistics
• Familiarity with CRM, project management, or workflow systems (e.g., Salesforce, Jira, Airtable, or similar platforms)
• Demonstrated commitment to building strong and welcoming cultures that help to develop others.
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven’s mission and has 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), New York City (NYC), or Newark (NJ) at least 3 days per week
• Occasional evening or weekend program support (6-8 times per year)
• Limited travel (no more than 3–4 weeks per year)

Additional Requirements

• 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
• Final Interview
• Reference Checks

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.

Starting salary within the range is determined by role scope and qualifications, with new hires starting at the lower end to allow for growth with performance. Braven does not base compensation on individual candidate salary expectations and is committed to maintaining internal equity.The salary ranges, by geographic market, for this role are set forth $62,700-$78,300 in Chicago, $69,000-$86,200 in New York or Newark, NJ . This is a full-time, 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

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: Chicago, 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.

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.