Job Title: Director, External Affairs - NYC

Team: New York City

Location: In-Person in New York City (NYC)

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Start Date: ASAP

About Braven

We believe that the next generation of leaders will emerge from everywhere. We empower promising college students with the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks necessary to transition from college to strong first jobs, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact.

Learn more about Braven’s impact:

https://impactreport.bebraven.org/

https://jobsreport.bebraven.org/

About the Role

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring a Director of External Affairs - NYC, who will play a key role in New York City’s regional development efforts, raising $8.6M in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 through philanthropic, individual donor and employer partnerships. You will also manage internal and external communications and heavily support brand-building, thought-leadership, and state and local policy. As a member of the New York City team, you will support the cultivation and stewardship of strong partnerships with employer, foundation, individual donor and community partners who are inspired by Braven’s story and its Fellows, and advance Braven’s brand in the region.

This role will report to the Executive Director, NYC and manage one part-time intern.

What You’ll Do

Stakeholder Management (60%)

• Develop and leverage strong communication and thoughtful cultivation strategies to influence and motivate a portfolio of new and existing individual supporters, local employer partners, and philanthropic partners (create briefs and presentations, write effective emails, etc.)
• Manage a portfolio of shared-value relationships with local employer partners, delivering a meaningful return on investment to partners, and continued growth of Braven’s outcomes, growth, sustainability, and brand
• Design and execute all external events such as lunch and learns, site visits, gatherings for prospective and current supporters, impact/jobs reports
• Support the Executive Director in strategic local board prospecting, cultivation, and stewardship
• Build local policy agendas in conjunction with the Executive Director and Director of Policy
• Attend external meetings with the Executive Director, or independently

Executive Director and Regional Team Strategic Support (25%)

• Create and manage efficient and smart systems, infrastructure, and tools (tracking our partnership pipeline, creating prospect research, etc.)

• Set strategy alongside the Executive Director for her priorities, ensure her time is aligned with the priorities, and extending her capacity by jumping in to execute more straight-forward tasks
• Collaborate with the central external affairs team on various initiatives
• Partner and collaborate with other New York City team members for execution of regional priorities and goals
• Manage and develop one part-time intern
• Other duties as assigned

Regional Brand Awareness & Advocacy (15%)

• Raise Braven New York City’s brand awareness through sourcing of thought-leadership, media, public speaking, and event opportunities
• Develop and manage the Executive Director’s social media strategy to inspire partners, stakeholders, potential champions, and to elevate the Braven brand

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 5-7 years experience

Preferred Qualifications

• You have experience in development, corporate partnerships, and stewarding high stakes relationships
• You have experience setting the vision for and managing complex projects with multiple internal and external stakeholders
• You have a track record of successfully meeting or exceeding ambitious goals
• You are a strong relationship builder that collaborates well across lines of difference to get things done
• You are a strategic thinker who is able to make decisions and solve problems with rigor
• You are comfortable operating in a high stakes, high growth, start-up environment
• Proficiency in Google Suite, Slack, Asana, Salesforce

• You have a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion
• You exemplify Braven’s core values
• Your experiences have informed your belief in Braven’s mission and have prepared you to work with, or for, Braven’s student Fellow population

Please know that no one ever meets 100% of the preferred qualifications. If much of this describes you, we encourage you to apply.

Work Demands

• Ability to work in-person in New York City (NYC)
• Ability to work some evenings for special and programmatic events

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Must be fully vaccinated and have received the Booster vaccination against COVID-19 and provide proof of such by the date of hire. Individuals may claim exemption from the vaccine requirement for medical or religious reasons. Exempted individuals will be subject to weekly testing if they engage in any in-person work activities.

Application & Interview Process

While the interview process may vary slightly, the general process will be:

• Phone screen with Talent Team member
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• Performance Task
• Panel Interview with Key Partners
• Reference Checks

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position, which depends on prior work experience and our assessment of your demonstrated fit for the role, will likely be between $89,600-$112,000. Braven offers competitive base salaries based on the midpoint of the market among not-for-profit organizations of similar size, with opportunities for salary growth over time. We believe in compensating staff members fairly in relation to each other, their qualifications, and their impact on behalf of the organization, and take internal and external equity seriously. Given our commitment to equity, Braven does not negotiate salary offers; instead each salary offer is determined carefully using external and internal benchmarking. You will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the application process.

Braven also provides competitive, comprehensive benefits, recognition, and career development. While Braven reserves the right to change benefits at any time, current benefits include:

• Unlimited vacation time in addition to org-wide holidays and three team-wide, week-long shutdowns in Spring, Summer, and Winter (this is a minimum of 24 days per year)
• 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
• A one-month paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff

Location

We gather in the office two to three days a week. Therefore, we require teammates to live within commuting distance of New York City. Each teammate can use at least two flex days per week of their choosing to work remotely. We believe in the magic, connection, and collaboration that happens when people work together face-to-face and we believe in giving people flexibility to focus, balance personal priorities, and save themselves two commutes per week.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Braven, we are committed to attracting, engaging, developing, and retaining a diverse team. Braven operates in the context of our American culture, against the backdrop of systemic racism and oppression of marginalized people since our country’s founding. We are committed to assembling leaders at our organization who have emerged from everywhere, with a particular emphasis on those who share the racial and income backgrounds of our Fellows, and creating an inclusive culture that allows all teammates, of all experiences and identities, to thrive.

Braven is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor. We encourage talented individuals of all backgrounds to apply.