Senior Director, Program Operations

Braven • Atlanta, GA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Braven is seeking a Senior Director of Program Operations to lead the operational excellence and strategic growth of post-accelerator programming for their Post-Accelerator Fellows (PAFs). This role is crucial for ensuring PAFs remain engaged and secure strong first opportunities within six months of graduation. The Director will manage a team to operationalize various programs, including the Professional Mentor Program, Career Communities, and the Ready to Launch Bootcamp, while also building the necessary operational systems and strategic vision for scalability. A key aspect of this role involves establishing and maintaining the operational infrastructure that supports consistent and excellent program execution by both central and regional teams. This position is part of the Product team and reports to the Head of Program Operations.

Requirements

• BA/BS Degree
• 8+ years of professional experience
• At least 5+ years in a people management or team leadership role.
• Demonstrated success leading operational functions at scale, ideally in a nonprofit, education, or EdTech context.
• Experience managing multi-program portfolios and leading teams of diverse functions and skill sets.
• Adaptable problem-solver, comfortable with ambiguity, and able to translate complexity into clear solutions
• Demonstrated ability to independently configure, troubleshoot, and optimize operational tools — such as Tableau or equivalent, Salesforce or equivalent, Airtable, and Jira Service Management or equivalent platforms — to streamline and scale program processes without requiring ongoing Systems or Tech team support
• Demonstrated ability to serve as an effective operational thought partner with technical teams, being able to translate program needs and workflow challenges into clear problem statements, engage in productive cross-functional dialogue, and contribute meaningfully to conversations about systems design and prioritization without requiring deep technical expertise.
• Strong ability to prioritize, delegate, collaborate cross-functionally, and drive results
• Demonstrated commitment to building strong and welcoming cultures that help to develop others.
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven’s mission and has prepared you to work with, or for, Braven’s student Fellow population.
• Ability to work in-person in Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), New York (NY), or Newark (NJ) 3 days per week
• Ability to travel approximately 6 times per year to other Braven locations
• Ability to travel to in-person Braven events, including some evening and weekend events as needed
• Authorized to work in the U.S.

Nice To Haves

• No one ever meets 100% of the preferred qualifications. If much of this describes you, we encourage you to apply.

Responsibilities

• Own the operational strategy, quality, and continuous improvement of Braven's full suite of post-accelerator programs, including the Professional Mentor Program, Career Communities events, and the Ready to Launch Bootcamp.
• Oversee the design and delivery of asynchronous programming — including Case Management, Referral Systems, Job Boards, and opportunity newsletters — ensuring these touchpoints are high-quality, timely, and effective at keeping PAFs engaged.
• Set clear operational standards and accountability structures across programs, ensuring Associate Directors and the Project Manager have the tools, clarity, and support they need to execute excellently.
• Monitor program performance through data; identify trends, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen outcomes and use insights to drive continuous improvement.
• Directly manage a team of 4+ staff, including Associate Directors of Post-Accelerator Operations and Fellow Engagement & Communications, and a Project Manager of Post-Accelerator Operations.
• Develop and coach direct reports, fostering a culture of high performance, learning, collaboration, and equity within the team.
• Lead team goal-setting, workload management, and professional development, ensuring each team member is set up to thrive and grow.
• Serve as the primary operational partner to the Post-Accelerator Design and Execution team, building and sustaining the infrastructure tools, workflows, documentation, and training that enable both central and regional staff to execute post-accelerator programming.
• Partner closely with Systems, Volunteer, and other Product sub-teams to drive alignment and collaborative problem-solving on initiatives that impact PAFs.
• Represent post-accelerator operations in organizational planning conversations, advocating for the resources, systems, and visibility this work requires to succeed.
• Develop and champion a multi-year operational vision for post-accelerator programming that anticipates growth and builds toward scale.
• Identify opportunities to streamline, systematize, and innovate across programs by designing smarter workflows, strengthening knowledge management infrastructure, and improving onboarding and training for the team.
• Proactively identify gaps in current systems, tools, processes, and automations that constrain the program's scalability, and bring those gaps to the Systems Team with sufficient operational context and prioritization rationale to enable effective scoping and solutioning.
• Leverage proficiency in operational tools such as Tableau or equivalent Data Visualization tools, Salesforce or equivalent CRMs, Airtable, and Jira Service Management or equivalent ticketing and workflow platforms to build, optimize, and automate program operations infrastructure without heavy reliance on the Systems or Technology team.
• Lead or contribute to cross-functional strategic projects that advance Braven's ability to serve PAFs at scale.
• Stay current on trends in career development, alumni engagement, and nonprofit program operations to bring fresh thinking and best practices to Braven's work.
• Partner with the Head of Program Operations and the Head of Post-Accelerator Execution on organizational and product strategy, contributing a post-accelerator operational lens to broader programmatic decisions and ensuring operations and program execution remain tightly aligned.

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)
• $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: Director