Associate Director, Higher Education Partnership

Braven • Newark, NJ

3d • $79,200 - $98,800 • Hybrid

About The Position

Braven is seeking an Associate Director, Higher Education Partnerships, to help the organization scale its higher education partnerships as it works toward 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, developing strategy, frameworks, partnership structures, and agreements that help regional teams deepen and scale their work. Regional Senior Directors retain ownership of institutional relationships and site-level results; the Associate Director provides portfolio-level analysis, pattern recognition, strategic recommendations, and support with complex problem-solving. The role exercises independent judgment over its areas of responsibility and partners with Executive Directors and other senior leaders as needed.

The Associate Director leads one of Braven’s two national strategic convening bodies for higher education leaders—the HEP Convening or the Faculty Council—and helps shape partnership structures, including grant incentives and MOU renewals, working closely with Legal on agreement terms. The position is part of the Higher Education Partnerships Department’s Partnership Strategy & Success team and reports to the Senior Director, Higher Education Partnerships.

The role is full-time, regular, exempt, and benefits eligible. The work arrangement is hybrid: employees work in the office Tuesday through Thursday and remotely Monday and Friday. The posting lists Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, and New York City, while its location section says teammates must live within commuting distance of the Newark hub. The role requires travel approximately 2–3 times per quarter, 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 offer 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; the location section specifies commuting distance from the Newark hub.
• Ability to travel approximately 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 employee’s time zone.
• Ability to participate in virtual external meetings approximately 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 incisive questions, and supports senior leaders’ 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 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 from a manager.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and competing priorities, deciding when to act independently, involve others, or escalate.
• Solutions-oriented approach focused on outcomes.
• Alignment with Braven’s core values.
• Belief in Braven’s mission and experience preparing 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 owning direct site-level relationship management.
• Develop and steward frameworks and decision rules for higher education 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 while supporting Regional Senior Directors’ execution and accountability.
• Lead either the HEP Convening or Faculty Council, setting its agenda, strategic content, and partner relationships.
• Develop the annual strategy, engagement arc, and measures of success for the national convening body, incorporating partner feedback and organizational priorities.
• Plan and execute the convening body throughout the year, coordinating milestones, contributors, communications, and cross-functional partners.
• Build and refine engagement strategies, resources, and playbooks to support participation and deepen relationships with higher education leaders.
• Translate insights and themes from the convening body 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; directly lead portions of negotiations when appropriate and within established limits.
• Maintain continuity on agreement terms, precedent, and risk, ensuring consistency across sites and escalating high-stakes or non-standard terms.
• Identify agreement and renewal patterns and recommend standards, decision rules, or improvements to Braven’s approach.
• Define and 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 in support of Braven’s mission and organizational priorities.

Benefits

• Unlimited vacation time, in addition to organization-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and at the end of the calendar year; the posting states this is 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, starting 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 four years on staff.
• Competitive, comprehensive benefits, recognition, and career development.

What This Job Offers

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