Associate Director, Higher Education Partnership

Braven • Atlanta, GA

3d • $79,200 - $98,800 • Hybrid

About The Position

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares promising college students to secure a strong first opportunity after graduation through a career-accelerating program delivered with higher education and employer partners. The Associate Director, Higher Education Partnerships is part of the Higher Education Partnerships Department, on the Partnership Strategy & Success team, and reports to the Senior Director, Higher Education Partnerships. The role supports Braven’s ambition to serve 80,000–100,000 Fellows over the next decade by providing strategic thought partnership to Regional Senior Directors across a portfolio of 5–7 higher education partner sites. Rather than owning site-level relationship management, the Associate Director develops strategy, frameworks, partnership structures, agreements, portfolio analysis, and solutions to complex challenges, while Regional Senior Directors retain ownership of institutional relationships and site-level results.

The Associate Director leads one of Braven’s national strategic convening bodies for higher education leaders—the HEP Convening or the Faculty Council—and helps shape partnership structures, grant incentives, and MOU renewals in partnership with Legal and other teams. The role includes portfolio strategy and analysis, cross-functional planning, convening strategy and execution, agreement renewal coordination, and development of systems and reporting approaches. The position is full-time, regular, exempt, benefits-eligible, and performed at 100% capacity. Staff gather in the office Tuesday through Thursday and work remotely Monday and Friday; the role requires living within commuting distance of the Newark hub. Travel is roughly 2–3 times per quarter, with occasional meetings outside regular local working hours and virtual external meetings about 1–2 times per month. The start date is ASAP.

Requirements

• BA/BS degree or equivalent experience.
• At least 4 years of professional experience in higher education partnerships, program strategy, account/relationship management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated track record of making independent strategic decisions and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Ability to work in person in Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, or New York City; the location section specifically requires living within commuting distance of the Newark hub.
• Ability to travel roughly 2–3 times per quarter for team meetings, external convenings, and partner site visits.
• Ability to attend occasional meetings outside regular working hours for the relevant time zone.
• Ability to participate in virtual external meetings about 1–2 times per month on average.
• Access to reliable internet.
• Authorization to work in the U.S.; Braven does not offer employment visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to act as a skilled strategic thought partner who advances thinking, asks sharp questions, and helps senior leaders make better decisions without necessarily executing the work.
• Systems thinking and ability to build frameworks that make strategy consistent and executable at scale.
• Comfort navigating high-stakes senior-level relationships and influencing across lines of authority, including negotiating or coordinating complex partnership agreements.
• Fluency in gathering, interpreting, and synthesizing quantitative and qualitative information to identify patterns and inform strategy.
• Ability to build strong relationships with senior regional leaders, legal counsel, and higher education partners.
• Sound judgment and independent decision-making with directional guidance from a manager.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and competing priorities, determine when to act independently or involve others, and recognize when escalation is needed.
• Solutions-oriented approach focused on outcomes.
• Exemplifies Braven’s core values.
• Experiences that inform belief in Braven’s mission and prepare the candidate to work with or for Braven’s student Fellow population.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary strategic thought partner to Regional Senior Directors across a portfolio of 5–7 higher education partner sites, shaping strategy and helping navigate complex or high-stakes partner dynamics without taking ownership of direct site-level relationship management.
• Develop and steward frameworks and decision rules for partnership structures, including grant incentives and funding mechanisms, in partnership with the Senior Director and Finance/Development teams.
• Represent Higher Education Partnerships strategy in cross-functional and cross-regional planning conversations.
• Identify portfolio-wide patterns, emerging risks, and promising practices and translate them into recommendations, tools, or frameworks.
• Lead time-bound strategic projects requiring cross-site coordination, portfolio-level analysis, or shared approaches.
• Translate portfolio priorities and challenges into strategic recommendations, action plans, and measures of success while supporting Regional Senior Directors’ execution and accountability.
• Lead either the HEP Convening or the Faculty Council, setting its agenda, strategic content, and partner relationships.
• Develop the annual strategy, engagement arc, and success measures for the assigned convening body, using partner feedback and organizational priorities.
• Coordinate year-round planning and execution of the convening body, including milestones, contributors, communications, and cross-functional partners.
• Develop and refine engagement strategies, resources, and playbooks to strengthen participation and deepen relationships with higher education leaders.
• Translate convening insights and themes into broader HEP strategy, organizational learning, and partner engagement.
• Lead internal strategy, planning, and coordination of MOU renewals across the portfolio, partnering with Regional Senior Directors and Legal/OGC on terms, negotiations, and risk.
• Directly lead portions of agreement negotiations when appropriate and within limits set by the regional team and Legal; the Executive Director remains accountable for the broader institutional relationship.
• Maintain continuity on agreement terms, precedent, and risk; ensure consistency across sites and escalate high-stakes or non-standard terms appropriately.
• Identify patterns across agreements and renewals and recommend standards, decision rules, or improvements to agreement practices.
• Define and continuously improve strategic frameworks and decision-making infrastructure, including Salesforce, Asana, and related systems, acting as an architect rather than an administrator.
• Synthesize quantitative and qualitative partnership data to identify patterns, risks, opportunities, and portfolio-level recommendations.
• Establish consistent approaches to partnership health, stakeholder engagement, and portfolio reporting.
• Contribute to department-wide priorities, planning, team development, and time-bound initiatives; perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Unlimited vacation time, with a minimum of 20 days per year, in addition to organization-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and at the end of the calendar year.
• $25,000 in lifetime Carrot benefits for fertility, family-building, and hormonal health.
• 401(k) contribution match up to 5% of base annual salary, starting the first full month.
• Coverage of 85% of health insurance premiums for employees and dependents.
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
• One-month paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff.
• Competitive, comprehensive benefits, recognition, and career development.

What This Job Offers

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