Associate Director, Workforce Strategy

Job Title: Associate Director, Workforce Strategy

Team: New York Regional

Location: In-Person in New York

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Start Date: June 2026

About Braven

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares promising college students - called Fellows - to secure a strong first opportunity after college graduation through a career-accelerating program.

We work with higher education and employer partners to offer a life-changing experience that begins with a semester-long course for college students, followed by support that lasts through graduation.  

Together, our ambition is to help rebuild the middle class and revitalize the American Dream.

To learn more, take a look at Braven’s Jobs Report.

About the Role

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring an Associate Director, Workforce Strategy, who will support students towards strong post-college career outcomes. As a member of the New York regional team, you will serve as a strategic career coach to Fellows at our Higher Education Partner, the University of Mount Saint Vincent (UMSV), beginning during the Braven Career and Leadership Accelerator Course (the Accelerator) and continuing beyond the course. This role has the opportunity to accelerate Braven’s regional and national impact.

This role is part of the New York regional team and reports directly to the Senior Director.

What You’ll Do

Strategy and Career Coaching (55%)

• Develop and execute the vision and strategy to support Fellows in securing internships and strong post-college career outcomes 
• Manage progress-to-goals tracking for internship and job attainment, including monthly dashboard reporting and the annual survey collection process
• Manage and analyze student-level and program data, including engagement metrics within centralized systems, to determine and implement student support interventions
• Lead the annual Jobs Campaign to ensure graduates secure strong post-college career opportunities
• Provide strategic 1:1 career coaching for Fellows, including goal setting, career exploration, and job search strategy
• Develop and maintain relationships across the UMSV campus ecosystem to enable collaboration, co-host programming, expand visibility, and connect students to relevant opportunities and resources
• Steward relationships with existing Employer Partners to stay informed on hiring needs, strengthen partnership engagement, and connect students to internship and career opportunities

Student Programming and Engagement (35%)

• Develop and implement a strategy to build and cultivate a strong regional Fellow community
• Design and execute events that support community building, networking, and engagement
• Collaborate with the Career Communities team to promote ongoing career exploration and skills development, including the implementation of in-person workshops in New York
• Collaborate with Employer Partners to deliver skill building and networking opportunities/events
• Attend Learning Labs to initiate early engagement and relationship-building with Fellows

A+ Team (5%)

• Lead the Braven Student Ambassador program at UMSV, including recruitment and selection, training, ongoing development, and program design and refinement to strengthen student engagement, leadership development, and campus impact
• Support in the selection of Fellows to participate in Braven publications and events
• Participate in annual and quarterly planning processes and team-wide events, contributing to goal setting, strategy execution, and team effectiveness
• Other duties as assigned

Brand / Sustainability (5%)

• Collaborate cross-functionally to strengthen and promote the Braven brand  
• Represent Braven externally as needed at events and meetings

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree
• At least 5 years of experience supporting, coaching, or advising college students

Preferred Qualifications 

• 5+ years of experience in a managerial or leadership role
• Proven success in managing complex relationships and cross-functional projects
• Strong proficiency in early career coaching and student support
• Experience in higher education, workforce strategy, or related fields
• Ability to develop inspiring visions and strategies that motivate others to take action 
• High detail-orientation while maintaining focus of the big picture 
• Demonstrated skill in building external and internal relationships, tailoring approaches based on stakeholders’ beliefs, motivations, and contexts
• Experience bringing together multiple perspectives to strengthen decisions and initiatives
• Commitment to reflection and continuous improvement, including actively seeking upward feedback
• 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

• Work in-person in New York on the designated 3 days per week, with frequent visits to the UMSV campus
• Travel 2-3 times per year for Braven-wide trainings and convenings 
• Occasional nights and weekends required to support Learning Labs, campus events, and Braven programming; schedules may vary by semester
• Ability to move, lift, and transport items for events, including  banners, tables, and other materials

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 a Talent Team member
• Performance Task
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• 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 $92,000 - $114,000  in New York City. This is a full-time, regular, exempt, and benefits-eligible position where you will be working at 100% capacity. 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 in your first full month
• Coverage of 85% of the health insurance premium for employees 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 Tuesday through Thursday and work remotely on Monday and Friday.  Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within the New York City, NY region. 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.