Associate Director, Program Operations

About the Role

Lead central operations for programming outside of the Accelerator (40%)

Serve as a critical contributor to Braven projects (30%)

Support Post-Accelerator onboarding, training, and knowledge management (10%)

Manage 1-2 part-time student interns (15%)

Other duties as assigned (5%)

• Ad hoc team projects
• Supporting regions as needed

Minimum Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Experience: 4+ years in program, project, or operations management—ideally in education, nonprofit, or similar mission-driven environments
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing scalable operational systems
• Excellent organization, prioritization, and project management skills
• Strong collaboration and communication abilities, with comfort working cross-functionally

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building and leading complex operational or programmatic initiatives across multiple sites or stakeholder groups
• Experience designing and delivering training across distributed teams that supports operational excellence
• Proven ability to analyze, optimize, and scale systems while maintaining program fidelity and quality
• Background in one or more of the following domains: stakeholder management, academic operations, or event logistics
• Familiarity with CRM, project management, or workflow systems (e.g., Salesforce, Jira, Airtable, or similar platforms)
• 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.
• 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

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.
• Braven doesn’t offer employment visa sponsorship

Application & Interview Process

• While the interview process may vary slightly, the general process will be:
• Phone screen with Talent Team member
• Performance Task
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• Panel Interview with Key Partners
• Final Interview
• Reference Checks

Compensation and Benefits

• Braven offers opportunities for salary growth over time. We believe in compensating staff members fairly relative to one another, their qualifications, and their impact on the organization, and we take internal and external equity seriously. Given our commitment to equity, Braven does not negotiate salary offers; instead, each offer is carefully determined using external and internal benchmarks.
• The hiring range is determined by role scope, qualifications, and internal equity, with annual growth based on performance. Braven does not base compensation on individual candidate salary expectations and is committed to maintaining internal equity. The hiring ranges for this role by geographic market are set forth in Chicago at $62,700-$67,300, and New York City/Newark at $69,000-$74,100. This is based on a 50-hour work week. This is a full-time, regular, exempt, and benefits-eligible position where you will be working at 100% capacity.
• 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 week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the calendar year (this is a minimum of 20 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
• Please note that Braven is firm in its compensation philosophy; therefore, only candidates who believe our total rewards package aligns with what they are looking for in their next opportunity are encouraged to apply.

Location

• We gather in the office 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) and work remotely 2 days a week (Monday and Friday). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of one of our hubs: New York, Chicago, or Newark. 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.
• 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.