Associate Director, Development (Regional Portfolio)

Braven • Chicago, IL

77d • $76,000 - $94,900 • Hybrid

About The Position

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.

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring an Associate Director, Development (Regional Portfolio) who will drive the strategy for how the national team supports regions in their development goals, and be a key strategic partner and project manager to Braven’s regional teams. As a member of the External Affairs Development Team, you will be a key leader in helping the organization meet our org-wide target of raising approximately $200 million over the next three years. In this role, you will co-lead our regional development strategy by taking ownership of a dedicated portfolio of Braven’s regions, working in close partnership with an additional Associate Director of Regional Development who manages the parallel regional portfolio. Together, you will own the creation and standardization of systems and processes that enable the development team to manage the full donor pipeline with clarity, including driving the project management of our grant writing process to ensure it is streamlined, repeatable, and efficient while setting the strategy and creating the collateral necessary to achieve fundraising goals across both portfolios.

This role is on the External Affairs team and reports directly to the Senior Director, Development.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or equivalent degree
• 5-7 years of work experience
• Authorized to work in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• Thrives in ambiguity and finds joy in collaborating deeply with diverse teams in a rapidly growing organization.
• Demonstrated experience in leading complex projects with stakeholders from various teams (e.g., program, finance, data) that resulted in significant outcomes.
• Strong analytical skills; ability to research and synthesize complex data (outcomes, donor data) into a compelling story.
• Expertise in Salesforce or other CRM platforms like iWave, including a track record of building and managing effective systems.
• Highly motivated, self-directed, results-oriented, data-driven, and curious.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to craft compelling narratives and strategic documents.
• Highly-developed attention to detail and a strong customer-service orientation.
• Learns quickly and manages large volumes of feedback regularly.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Drive and own the strategy for your assigned regional portfolio over the next three years to raise ~$23M in philanthropic gifts annually. This includes creating cross-cutting strategies, defining required best practices, and leading annual planning processes. You'll partner with regional teams to develop and activate their annual revenue strategy.
• Deeply understand the regional donor ecosystem, the funding landscape, and serve as a strategic thought partner to the regional Executive Directors and External Affairs Directors.
• Strategize with regional teams on how to engage donors through the Moves Management stages and project-manage the execution of next steps.
• Partner with the Executive Director and External Affairs Directors to identify, vet, and cultivate new prospects in the region.
• Track regional revenue progress to goal and the overall weighted pipeline.
• In collaboration with the External Affairs Directors, you will project manage the implementation of quarterly action plans, adjusting as needed to ensure we are on track to achieve fundraising goals.
• Review grant applications and report drafts, providing critical feedback to regional teams and the grant writing team to ensure the timely submission of high-quality narratives and data.
• Attend weekly regional meetings to provide strategic guidance and ensure regions have the support they need to align with national fundraising goals.
• Partner with the counterpart Associate Director of Development to lead the creation of strong, standardized systems for donor stewardship to ensure regional teams are sharing the most compelling and up-to-date story with regional funders.
• Collaborate with Senior Director of Development and central teams (Data, Finance, Product, Systems) to ensure regional External Affairs Directors have timely and relevant inputs for grants and other donor communications.
• Craft and standardize annual regional donor narratives, aligned to Braven’s strategic direction and the strategic direction of each region.
• In collaboration with the Communications and Marketing Team, develop high-quality, standardized collateral, including funder decks, regional grants, and reports, for regional teams.
• Maintain efficient, effective systems by keeping activities, campaigns, opportunities, and account information up to date in Salesforce and other platforms, ensuring your portfolio of regional teams stays on track to achieve their fundraising goals.
• Implement stewardship strategies and processes to acknowledge donations in a timely and thoughtful manner.
• Serve as a leader in external relationships, engaging directly with funders and donors to build and sustain key partnerships in a role that is otherwise primarily internal-facing.
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• 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)
• $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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level