Associate Director, Strategic Operations

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, Strategic Operations, who will serve as the operational engine for the Insights & Strategy team and lead the process to report on priorities and goals at the organizational level. This role will own the Braven-wide rhythm and content of how we communicate progress on our goals to staff, leaders, and our national and regional boards; play a key role in the Insights & Strategy team's work to strengthen cross-functional coordination and partnership; and drive the internal operational rhythm of the Insights & Strategy team. You will be a designer of process, an expert on our priorities, and a trusted voice on our progress. This is a role for someone who excels at communication and writing, creating and owning high-quality operations and processes, and collaborating cross-functionally. You read context well, operate comfortably in ambiguity, demonstrate utmost discretion, and know how and when to take the next step without waiting to be asked. This role is on the Insights & Strategy team and reports directly to the Head of Insights & Strategy.

Responsibilities

• Organizational Progress Monitoring & Reporting (40%): Design, own, and continuously improve the infrastructure to prepare progress updates for stakeholders. Regular deliverables include but are not limited to: project managing and packaging quarterly progress-to-goal (PTG) memos for Braven's national board, leadership, and staff; drafting region-specific progress updates on priorities for regional board meetings; preparing regular updates to Braven leadership and staff on organizational priorities and goals; pulling, analyzing, and/or visualizing data independently to support progress monitoring; building relationships with relevant partners (e.g., executive owners of priorities); establishing expertise and serving as a thought partner on questions and situations related to org-wide progress monitoring.
• Cross-Functional Partnership & Coordination (30%): Act as trusted liaison to the leaders of the Product, Systems, and External Affairs teams in changing the operating model for how they work together; design and help execute a regular central team regional team feedback structure at the Alignment Team level (Braven's leadership team); support the Head of Insights & Strategy to lead two internal councils (Data Governance Council and AI Advisory Council) and one external council (Labor Market & Economic Advisory Council).
• Insights & Strategy Team Operations and Coordination (30%): Own the coordinated operational rhythm of the two halves of the team (Insights and Strategy), including annual planning and goal-setting, quarterly alignment, and weekly coordination; design and plan team stepbacks and other meetings in support of the Head of Insights & Strategy and the Senior Director of Insights, from creating the agenda through post-meeting follow-up; own knowledge management for the Strategy half of the team, maintaining shared and organized documentation and ensuring process clarity; lead or support capacity-building and systems/process-building projects for primarily the Strategy half of the team; use AI in responsible, smart, and human-valuing ways to continuously improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your work.

Requirements

• Minimum Requirements: BA/BS in a quantitative field or work experience that demonstrates expertise in quantitative analysis; at least 3 years of relevant experience; extensive experience writing and presenting compelling data-driven narratives for internal and external audiences; proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets and SQL.
• Preferred Qualifications: Demonstrated experience using AI effectively and responsibly to make an actual impact on outcomes; proficiency in SQL; experience designing and building dashboards and visualizations (Tableau preferred); strong strategic thinking skills, including a proven ability to bring clarity to ambiguous solutions; ability to take initiative to solve challenges and tap into opportunities; ability to make complex tasks simple by applying clear logic and processes to component steps; excellent time management and prioritization skills; demonstrated attention to detail; learner's mindset; strong collaboration skills; proficiency in Google Suite, Slack, and Jira; proficiency in Salesforce; proficiency in Python or R; experiences that inform belief in Braven's mission and preparedness to work with or for Braven's student Fellow population.
• Work Demands: Ability to work in-person in Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC); travel roughly 5 times per year for team convenings and to visit regions in your portfolio.
• Additional Requirements: Authorized to work in the U.S.; Braven does not offer employment visa sponsorship.

Benefits

• Unlimited vacation time in addition to org-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the calendar year (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.
• One-month paid sabbatical after 4 years