Head of Governance

Braven • Newark, NJ

1d • $116,000 - $168,500 • Hybrid

About The Position

To achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven must develop and maintain strong boards of directors, nationally and regionally, as well as develop its growing councils as it continues to lead in shaping the field in the college-to-career space. In that effort, Braven is hiring a Head of Governance who will lead the strategy and implementation behind Braven’s board management and engagement, as well as its growing body of councils to ensure Braven has the external expertise, champions, and influence needed to reach its ambition. Specifically, in this next phase, Braven is developing and strengthening its body of councils to build external expertise and influence in key areas that reflect our shared value partnerships and core and secondary customers, and to help us shape the college-to-career field.
As a member of the External Affairs team, you will report to the Chief External Affairs Officer as well as work closely with the CEO and regional Executive Directors and certain Central Team Leads to cultivate, develop, and maintain strong board engagement and effective councils to ensure good corporate governance, diverse and sustainable revenue streams, national influence, and a strong source of external expertise and strategic advice. Over the next 2-3 years, you will build and manage a small but mighty team to support our growing governance work.

Requirements

• BS/BA or relevant experience
• Work Experience: 10+ years of relevant experience
• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Braven doesn’t offer employment visa sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

• You bring exceptional political acumen and relationship intelligence — having demonstrated an ability to map stakeholder ecosystems, identify key influencers, and cultivate trust across varied networks to open doors and advance organizational priorities.
• You have demonstrated professional experience working with executives, board members, and high-profile individuals, and managing high-stakes relationships with success
• You have a deep understanding of local and national ecosystems and networks, and how to maneuver successfully within
• You have 5+ years of project management experience and leading high stakes meetings
• You have 5+ years of experience managing complex relationships with individual stakeholders and are able to exercise direction, diplomacy, and handle confidential information
• You have a demonstrated ability to work effectively with and quickly gain the respect and support of various key constituencies, including the board of directors, champions, partners, and prospects
• A successful track record of personally identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major champions
• You have exceptional management, leadership, presentation, and written and interpersonal communication skills
• You manage vertically and horizontally within internal and external settings
• You have excellent written and oral communication skills
• You have a customer first, hospitality orientation with excellent stakeholder management skills and attention to detail
• You are strategic, analytical, and have a strong EQ when it comes to managing external relationships
• You pursue ambitious, measurable goals with joy, an action-oriented mindset, and perseverance
• You’re extremely detail-oriented and sweat the small stuff, while also not losing sight of the big picture
• You build strong external and internal relationships with a variety of stakeholders and have significant experience tailoring your approach to others' beliefs, motivations, and contexts
• You are a voracious reader and devour everything from the Wall Street Journal to Page Six
• You are a constant learner who continually reflects to improve and actively creates space for upward feedback from individual contributors and managers
• You exemplify Braven’s core values

Responsibilities

• Set the vision, goals, and annual strategic plan for our National Board of Directors from the group to the individual level to ensure we continue to have an incredible board that catalyzes the organization's work
• Set the vision, goals, and template strategic plan that Executive Directors customize to build and manage best-in-class regional boards
• Provide support, alignment, and thought partnership to a growing portfolio of 6-10 regional Executive Directors and their boards over the next five years
• Develop board and council member profiles tied to strategic needs
• Drive the creation of strategic materials (memos, decks) that support all board moments from meetings, strategy calls, 1:1 engagement plans, etc
• Set the vision, goals, strategic plan, and create the materials and systems for Braven’s growing body of advisory councils (including Employer Partner, Faculty, Higher Ed Presidents, Technology, etc)
• Manage the prospecting, cultivation, and stewardship of the National Board members in collaboration with the CEO, including bi-weekly or monthly check-ins with all board members
• You are responsible for $3-4M in direct national board and council giving; additionally, we work to build boards and councils that provide networks, accounting for 35% of our overall revenue annually
• Support the prospecting, cultivation, and stewardship of the regional board members in collaboration with Executive Directors
• Manage the prospecting, cultivation, and ongoing stewardship for members of certain high-profile councils
• Set the guidelines and best practices for board and council group and individual stewardship nationally and regionally
• Create systems and tools for research, stewardship, communications, and board and council building at the national and regional levels
• Manage and analyze accurate data collection of materials and information related to national and regional board members, as well as council members
• Create learning and development opportunities to ensure excellent board and council management across Braven.
• Project manage national board meetings, strategy sessions, and the annual joint board convening, and provide the systems and processes to manage council and regional board meetings
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Unlimited vacation time in addition to org-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the calendar year (this is a minimum of 19 days per year)
• Braven supports your path to parenthood and beyond with $25,000 in lifetime Carrot benefits for fertility, family-building, and hormonal health
• Match of your 401K contribution up to 5% of your base annual salary, starting your first full month
• Coverage of 85% of health insurance premium for employee and dependents
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• A one-month paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees