Director, External Affairs

Braven • Montgomery, AL

13h • $87,200 - $93,700 • 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. The Director, External Affairs is part of the Alabama Region team and helps advance the organization’s goal of serving 80,000–100,000 Fellows over the next decade. The role is critical to meeting the Alabama Region’s $9 million fundraising goal in the first year and reports directly to the Executive Director, Alabama Region.

The Director cultivates and manages philanthropic and employer partnerships, supports volunteer recruitment, helps build and engage the Alabama Regional Board, advances Braven’s brand, and stewards regional relationships. The role also supports policy work, regional strategy, and coordination with central teams. The position is hybrid, with in-office work three days per week in Montgomery or Birmingham, Alabama, and remote work two days per week. It is a full-time, regular, exempt, benefits-eligible position based on a 50-hour work week. The anticipated start date is February or March 2027.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• 5–7 years of related work experience.
• Authorized to work in the United States; Braven does not offer employment visa sponsorship.
• Ability to work in person in Montgomery or Birmingham at least three days per week.
• Ability to travel within Alabama, especially to Montgomery, Birmingham, and Huntsville.
• Ability to travel to other Braven regions for team meetings approximately 1–2 times per year and to Braven’s All Team Retreat once a year.
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends approximately 1–2 times per month, with more during peak event seasons.
• Access to the internet.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in development, corporate partnerships, and/or high-stakes relationship management.
• Ability to strategically identify, build, and develop relationships, with a strong aptitude for influencing others.
• Project management experience and strong strategic planning, prioritization, organization, and attention to detail, with the ability to collaborate effectively across lines of difference.
• Ability to adapt and innovate to solve problems and a strong commitment to finding solutions in the face of challenges.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• A track record of successfully meeting or exceeding ambitious goals.
• Proficiency in Google Suite and Salesforce.
• Commitment to building strong and welcoming cultures that help develop others.
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.
• Experience that has informed a belief in Braven’s mission and prepared the candidate to work with, or for, Braven’s student Fellow population.

Responsibilities

• Support the Executive Director in establishing the Alabama Region fundraising strategy and completing the annual revenue game plan with the central development team.
• Track regional revenue progress and the weighted pipeline; project-manage quarterly action plans and adjust them based on lessons learned.
• Steward donor relationships, lead meeting preparation and follow-up, attend most regional meetings, and manage a portfolio of relationships.
• Identify, vet, research, and cultivate prospects; develop individualized cultivation plans and coordinate donor meeting preparation and follow-up.
• Support the donor pipeline from initial asks through commitments, renewals, and ongoing stewardship.
• Review grant applications and reports and help ensure high-quality narratives and data are submitted on time.
• Develop the Alabama Region Employer Partnership strategy, identify prospects, build a pipeline, and create engagement plans for revenue, volunteer, and program opportunities.
• Represent regional program needs and advocate for shared-value solutions for Fellows and employer partners.
• Manage approximately 5–10 local employer partnerships, including volunteer recruitment, meeting preparation, opportunity sourcing, and event co-hosting.
• Coordinate with the central Employer Partnerships team on local contacts for national portfolio partners and participate in or lead meetings.
• Support employer-hosted events for Fellows and recruit volunteers through information sessions, tabling, and outreach.
• Support recruitment and engagement of Alabama board members, including prospect identification and vetting, briefs, and cultivation plans.
• Prepare the Executive Director for board and stakeholder meetings and project-manage board meetings, materials, coordination, and follow-up.
• Create and adapt quarterly, monthly, and weekly action plans across workstreams to achieve goals.
• Maintain accurate external stakeholder information in systems such as Salesforce, Asana/Jira, and Confluence, and ensure preparation and follow-up for internal meetings.
• Attend key program events and maintain strong information flow with the Alabama program team and the external affairs team.
• Support local stakeholder strategy and project-manage cultivation and stewardship of Alabama Region stakeholders other than schools.
• Project-manage and execute national cross-functional cultivation campaigns, such as the Jobs Report, Impact Report, and holiday campaign.
• Co-plan and execute external affairs events, including site visits, lunch-and-learns, treks, and report-related events.
• Steward community influencers and develop champion Fellows, Post Accelerator Fellows, and volunteers to represent Braven to external audiences.
• Monitor higher education partner and new-site updates to understand strategy, Fellow recruitment, memorandum of understanding renewals, and key relationships.
• Research and secure regional brand visibility opportunities, including speaking engagements, awards, and media opportunities.
• Collaborate on social media strategy and draft or review weekly content.
• Support Jobs Report and Impact Report processes, including content review, Fellow photo shoots, stakeholder lists, and personalized outreach notes.
• Prepare the Executive Director for conferences and support attendance, speaking engagements, and follow-up.
• Support development of a local policy agenda and cultivation plans with the Executive Director and Managing Director of Policy.
• Assist with meeting preparation and follow-up for the Executive Director and with applications for public funding.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Discretionary time off in addition to organization-wide holidays and two week-long shutdowns in July and December; Regional Staff receive an additional week-long spring shutdown (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 the health insurance premium for employees and dependents.
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave.
• A one-month paid sabbatical after four years on staff.
• Monthly $75 reimbursement for cell phone or internet.
• Access to funding for continued career development.

What This Job Offers

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