Director, External Affairs

Braven • Montgomery, AL

19h • 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 a member of the Alabama Region team and helps advance the region’s fundraising, employer partnerships, volunteer recruitment, board engagement, stakeholder relationships, brand visibility, and policy work. The position is critical to supporting the region’s first-year $9 million fundraising goal and Braven’s ambition to serve 80,000–100,000 Fellows over the next decade. The Director reports directly to the Executive Director, Alabama Region.

The role is based in Montgomery or Birmingham, Alabama, with office attendance Tuesday through Thursday and remote work Monday and Friday. The employee must live within commuting distance of either city, travel throughout Alabama and occasionally to other Braven regions, and work some evenings and weekends, particularly during peak event seasons. The role is full-time, regular, exempt, and benefits-eligible, with a stated 50-hour work week. The anticipated start date is February or March 2027.

The Director supports fundraising strategy and implementation, manages donor and employer-partner relationships, and coordinates board recruitment and meetings. The role also manages regional action plans and stakeholder information systems; supports events, volunteer recruitment, and communications; and assists with local policy planning and public-funding applications. Braven offers a hiring range of $87,200–$93,700 in Alabama, along with benefits and career development support.

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 and live within commuting distance of one of those cities.
• Ability to travel within Alabama, especially to Montgomery, Birmingham, and Huntsville; travel to other Braven regions approximately 1–2 times per year; and attend Braven’s annual All Team Retreat.
• 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 skills, with an ability to collaborate across lines of difference.
• Ability to adapt and innovate to solve problems and a commitment to finding solutions in the face of challenges.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Track record of successfully meeting or exceeding ambitious goals.
• Proficiency in Google Suite and Salesforce.
• Demonstrated commitment to building strong, welcoming cultures that help develop others.
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.
• Experience informing a belief in Braven’s mission and preparing the candidate to work with or for Braven’s student Fellow population.

Responsibilities

• Support the Executive Director in establishing the Alabama region’s fundraising strategy and completing the annual revenue game plan with the central development team.
• Track revenue progress and the weighted pipeline; project-manage quarterly action plans and adjust them based on results and lessons learned.
• Support donor stewardship, lead meeting preparation and follow-up, participate in most regional meetings, and manage a portfolio of relationships.
• Identify, research, vet, and cultivate prospective donors; create individualized cultivation plans and coordinate donor next steps, asks, commitments, and renewals.
• Review grant applications and reports and support timely submission of high-quality narratives and data.
• Partner with the Executive Director to develop the regional Employer Partnership strategy, identify prospects, build a pipeline, and create engagement plans.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 5–10 local employer partners; recruit volunteers, prepare meetings, source opportunities, and co-host events.
• Coordinate with the central Employer Partnerships team on local contacts for national partners and support or lead partner meetings and in-person events for Fellows.
• Support volunteer recruitment through information sessions, tabling, and outreach to national and local partners.
• Support recruitment and cultivation of Alabama board members, including prospect identification, vetting, briefing, and engagement planning.
• Prepare the Executive Director for board-member meetings and project-manage board meetings, materials, coordination, and follow-up.
• Create quarterly, monthly, and weekly action plans across workstreams and adapt plans as needed to meet shared 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 stewardship, excluding schools; project-manage national cultivation campaigns and co-plan and execute external affairs events.
• Cultivate community influencers, Fellows, Post Accelerator Fellows, and volunteers, and prepare them to represent Braven to external audiences.
• Monitor higher education partner and new site updates relevant to strategy, Fellow recruitment, memorandum-of-understanding renewals, and key relationships.
• Partner with the central communications team to pursue regional brand visibility, including speaking opportunities, awards, and media.
• Collaborate on social media strategy and draft or review weekly content; support Jobs Report and Impact Report processes, including content review, photo shoots, stakeholder lists, and personalized outreach.
• Support the Executive Director’s conference participation, preparation, 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, follow-up, and public-funding applications.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Discretionary time off, organization-wide holidays, two week-long shutdowns in July and December, and an additional week-long spring shutdown for regional staff; at least 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 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