Director, External Affairs

Job Title: Director, External Affairs 

Team: Alabama Region

Location: Hybrid in either Montgomery or Birmingham, AL

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt 

Start Date: February or March 2027

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares promising college students 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.

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring a Director, External Affairs. This role is critical to meeting the Alabama Region’s $9M fundraising goal in the first year. It involves cultivating and managing philanthropic and employer partnerships, supporting volunteer recruitment, engaging and helping to build the Alabama Regional Board, and advancing Braven’s brand. This role is on the Alabama Region team and reports directly to the Executive Director, Alabama Region.

Development  (35%)

• Support the Executive Director (ED) to establish the Alabama region’s fundraising strategy, and work with the ED and Braven’s development team to complete the Alabama region’s annual revenue game plan.
• Track the Alabama region’s revenue progress to goal and overall weighted pipeline; project-manage implementation of the Alabama region’s quarterly action plans and adjust as needed based on lessons learned.
• Support the ED in stewarding donor relationships with excellence; lead prep/follow-up, join most regional meetings, and own a portfolio of relationships.
• Partner with the ED and Braven’s development team to identify, vet, and cultivate new prospects; conduct research on priority prospects and create individualized cultivation plans.
• Strategize with the ED to secure and prepare for donor meetings by leading meeting prep and follow-up (e.g., drafting emails, creating agendas, and customizing meeting collateral).
• Strategize with the ED on how to engage donors through the funder pipeline stages and project manage the execution of next steps, from making an ask to securing a commitment and stewarding relationships effectively to win a renewal.
• Review grant application and report drafts, and support the central development team in submitting high-quality narratives/data on time.

Employer Partnerships (EP) & Volunteer Recruitment (15%)

• Partner with the ED to create the Alabama region’s  Employer Partnership (EP) strategy for revenue, volunteer, and program opportunities - identifying EP prospects, building a pipeline, researching and creating engagement plans.
• Serve as a conduit of information about the Alabama region’s program needs, deeply understanding nuances and priorities, and advocating for shared-value solutions for Fellows and EPs.
• Manage a portfolio of ~5-10 Alabama region local EPs, recruiting volunteers, preparing meetings, sourcing opportunities, and (co-)hosting events.
• Collaborate with the central EP team on local contacts for EPs in the national portfolio, joining the ED or taking the lead with the central EP director in meetings.
• Support in-person events at EPs for Fellows.
• Support volunteer recruitment through in-person info sessions, tabling, and personal outreach with national and local partners.

Board Management (15%)

• Support the ED in the recruitment of Alabama board members, including identifying and vetting board prospects, partnering with the central team on briefs, and developing cultivation and engagement plans.
• Prepare the ED for their 1:1 meetings/engagements - customize meeting collateral, lead meeting prep, and follow-up.
• Project manage all board meetings. Collaborate and coordinate across teams on the draft of the management memo, run of show, deck, pre- and post-follow-up emails, and note-taking during meetings.

Operations (15%)

• Create action plans for the quarter, month, and week to achieve goals across workstreams, adapting and adjusting when we’re not hitting shared goals. 
• Ensure systems are accurate with external stakeholder information (e.g., Salesforce, Asana/Jira, Confluence).
• Ensure strong preparation and follow-up for all internal meetings.
• Attend key program events (e.g., Learning Lab 1, Mock Interviews, Capstone Challenge Kickoff, Capstone Challenge Presentations) and ensure a strong flow of information with Alabama’s program team and between the external affairs team.

Steward Regional Relationships  (10%)

• Support ED in setting local strategy and project managing the ongoing cultivation and stewardship of all Alabama region stakeholders except schools.
• Project manage and execute national cultivation cross-functional campaigns (e.g., jobs report, impact report, holiday campaign).
• (Co)-Plan and execute external affairs-focused events such as site visits, lunch and learns, treks, and jobs/impact report events.
• Support the ED in stewarding and owning a portfolio of community influencers.
• Develop relationships with champion Fellows / Post Accelerator Fellows and volunteers, and prepare/train them to represent Braven to external audiences.
• Monitor higher education partner and new site updates to understand the high-level strategy, Fellow recruitment, Memorandum of Understanding renewal context, and key relationships.

Marketing & Communications (5%)

• Partner with the central communications team to conduct research on and secure opportunities for the region to build brand visibility and awareness, including speaking opportunities, awards, and media.
• Collaborate with the ED and the central communications team on social media strategy and write/review drafts of content to post weekly.
• Partner with the central communications team on the Jobs Report and Impact Report processes - review draft content, project manage photo shoots with Fellows, prepare stakeholder list and draft notes for personalized outreach.
• Support efforts for the ED to attend/speak at, prepare for, and follow up from conferences.

Policy (5%)

• Support the building of a local policy agenda and cultivation plans in conjunction with the ED and the Managing Director of Policy. 
• Assist with meeting prep and follow-up for the ED.
• Assist with applications for public funding.

Other duties as assigned

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 5 - 7 years of related work experience

Preferred Qualifications 

• Experience in development, corporate partnerships, and/or high-stakes relationship management.
• Proven ability to strategically identify, build, and develop relationships, with a strong aptitude for influencing others.
• Experience in project management with strong strategic planning, prioritization, organization, and attention to detail skills, with a proven ability to collaborate effectively across lines of difference
• Demonstrated ability to adapt and innovate to solve problems, with a strong commitment to finding solutions in the face of challenges.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Track record of successfully meeting or exceeding ambitious goals.

• Proficiency in Google Suite and Salesforce.

• 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

• Ability to work in-person in either Montgomery or Birmingham (office location is still to be finalized) at least 3 days per week
• Ability to travel in the AL region, especially Montgomery, Birmingham, and Huntsville
• Ability to travel to other Braven regions for team meetings about 1-2 times per year
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends about 1-2 times per month, with more during peak event seasons to attend regional cultivation events 
• Travel once a year to Braven’s All Team Retreat 
• Access to internet 

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
• Reference Checks

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

• Discretionary time off in addition to org-wide holidays and 2 week-long shutdowns in July and December. There is an additional week-long shutdown for Regional Staff in the Spring. (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
• Monthly $75 reimbursement for cell phone or internet
• Access to funding for continued career development 

Compensation

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 as $87,200-$93,700 in Alabama. 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.  

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 Montgomery or Birmingham, AL

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.