Associate Director, Higher Education Partnership

Braven • New York, NY

3d • $79,200 - $98,800 • Hybrid

About The Position

Braven is seeking an Associate Director, Higher Education Partnerships to help advance its goal of serving 80,000–100,000 Fellows over the next decade. The role is a strategic thought partner to Regional Senior Directors leading higher education partnerships across a portfolio of 5–7 sites. Rather than managing site-level relationships directly, the Associate Director develops strategies, frameworks, partnership structures, and agreements that help regional teams deepen and scale their partnerships. 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 Higher Education Convening or the Faculty Council—and helps shape partnership structures, including grant incentives and MOU renewals. The role works closely with Legal on agreement terms and partners with senior leaders and cross-functional teams on portfolio strategy, analysis, and complex problem-solving. It is part of the Higher Education Partnerships Department’s Partnership Strategy & Success team and reports to the Senior Director, Higher Education Partnerships.

This is a full-time, regular, exempt, benefits-eligible position. The role follows a hybrid schedule: in the office Tuesday through Thursday and remotely Monday and Friday. The posting lists Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, and New York City as locations, while the location section says the role requires living within commuting distance of a hub and identifies Newark. Travel is roughly 2–3 times per quarter, with occasional meetings outside regular working hours and virtual external meetings about 1–2 times per month. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S.; Braven does not provide employment visa sponsorship.

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, as specified in the work demands.
• 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.; employment visa sponsorship is not offered.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to act as a strategic thought partner who advances thinking, asks incisive questions, and helps senior leaders make decisions.
• Systems thinking and ability to build frameworks that make strategy consistent and executable at scale.
• Comfort navigating high-stakes senior relationships and influencing across lines of authority, including negotiating or coordinating complex partnership agreements.
• Ability to gather, interpret, and synthesize quantitative and qualitative information to identify patterns and inform strategy.
• Ability to build strong relationships with regional leaders, legal counsel, and higher education partners.
• Sound judgment and independent decision-making with directional guidance.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and competing priorities, determine when to act independently, and recognize when to seek input or escalate.
• Solutions-oriented approach focused on outcomes.
• Alignment with Braven’s core values.
• Belief in Braven’s mission and experiences that 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 5–7 higher education partner sites, shaping strategy and helping navigate complex or high-stakes partner dynamics.
• Develop and steward frameworks and decision rules for partnership structures, including grant incentives and related 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.
• Lead either the Higher Education Convening or Faculty Council, setting its agenda, strategic content, and partner relationships.
• Develop the annual strategy, engagement arc, and success measures for the convening body, informed by partner feedback and organizational priorities.
• Plan and execute the convening body year-round, coordinating milestones, contributors, communications, and cross-functional partners.
• Develop engagement strategies, resources, and playbooks to strengthen participation and relationships with higher education leaders.
• Translate convening insights and emerging themes into broader HEP strategy, organizational learning, and partner engagement.
• Lead internal strategy, planning, and coordination for MOU renewals across the portfolio, partnering with Regional Senior Directors and Legal/OGC.
• Potentially lead portions of agreement negotiations when appropriate and within limits set by the regional team and Legal; escalate high-stakes or non-standard terms appropriately.
• Maintain continuity on agreement terms, precedent, and risk, and recommend standards or improvements based on patterns across agreements and renewals.
• Define and improve strategic frameworks and decision-making infrastructure, including Salesforce, Asana, and related systems used by regional and site-level teams.
• Synthesize quantitative and qualitative partnership data to identify patterns, risks, opportunities, and 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, in addition to organization-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and at the end of the calendar year; the posting describes this as a minimum of 20 days per 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, beginning the first full month.
• Coverage of 85% of health insurance premiums for the employee 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: Mid Level