Executive Director

Job Title: Executive Director - North Carolina 

Team: Higher Education- North Carolina

Location: In-Person in either Fayetteville or Raleigh, NC

Employment Type: Temporary, Full-time

FLSA Classification:  Exempt

Start Date: January 5, 2027

About Braven

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.

About the Role

In order to achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring an Executive Director (ED) in North Carolina (NC). This person will lead our efforts to launch and oversee Braven’s potential new NC region, including its first potential new higher education partner within NC. The ED will also work with the Central External Affairs team and the future NC External Affairs Director to raise roughly $9M for the first three years of programming before the launch of the new school site, among other external priorities. 

Should a partnership with a higher education institution in the NC solidify, this temporary position would become a permanent full-time regional role, leading the NC team as the region’s most senior-level executive and the face of Braven. They will be responsible for all major outcomes in the region and set the vision and direction for how Braven comes alive successfully in their region. They build and lead the regional program team and a regional advisory board, guide expansion decisions alongside their regional board, manage their External Affairs Director and lead their External Affairs strategy in close collaboration with the central External Affairs team, serve as a Braven organizational leader on the Alignment Team (AT) and ensure they and Braven are the primary thought leaders in the college-to-career space in their region.

The ED will initially report to the Chief of Regional Success and Innovation and ultimately transition to report to the Founder & CEO and be part of Braven’s Alignment Team (AT), the organization’s leadership body. 

What You’ll Do

Regional Strategy and Operations (20%)

• Implementing a comprehensive multi-year strategic plan to reach our vision for scale and excellent outcomes with our prospective partner and future NC region, higher education partners.
• With the Regional Senior Director, ensuring strong program execution resulting in both positive experiences and outcomes for Fellows, volunteers, and partners
• Building, managing, and expanding a regional advisory board that will help maximize the NC region’s impact, narrative, and sustainability

Stakeholder Management and Awareness Building (30%)

• Ensuring the health of key stakeholder relationships at both university and employer partners, including university and corporate executives
• Raising Braven’s brand awareness through thought-leadership, awards, public speaking, social media, and press pieces
• Explore the local political landscape and engage in critical policy efforts when relevant

Regional Fundraising and Sustainability (30%)

• Raising roughly $9M prior to the launch of the new school, among other external priorities.
• Deepening our political capital and thought leadership to ensure that our region maintains its meaningful position in the educational fabric of the community
• Focusing on significantly growing and diversifying a sustainable funding base that will include gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government 

Team Leadership and Management (20%)

• Attracting, hiring, and developing a team of diverse and talented staff members
• Directly manage and develop the Regional Senior Director and Director, External Affairs
• Coaching and developing regional staff members to exhibit strong cultural leadership skills and orientations
• Serving as the model and leader of Braven culture within the hub 
• Serving on the organization’s Alignment Team to influence organization-wide impact, growth, and sustainability

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• BS/BA 
• 7-10 years leadership experience as an Executive, leading a department, or similar, with a verifiable track record of achieving successful outcomes while maintaining an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable team culture.

Preferred Qualifications 

• 1-3 years in non-profit, higher education, economic or workforce development, or a chamber of commerce
• Proficiency in Google Suite, Slack, Asana, Salesforce, Jira, Confluence
• You have a demonstrated commitment to and understanding of the experiences of first-generation college students and students from low income backgrounds.
• 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
• Motivation and drive to fundraise and ensure the financial sustainability of the region; an ability to mobilize people and to create champions of an organizational mission
• Experience building and working in partnership with partner organizations, funders, a Board of Directors, and other key constituents
• Strong presence, communication skills, relationship-building skills, and maturity that engender respect and facilitate a strong partnership with very senior-level staff and Faculty, high-profile community stakeholders and civic leaders, Braven staff, Fellows, and Leadership Coaches
• High level of personal responsibility, professional maturity and humility, commitment to personal growth, and self-awareness of one’s own leadership style and its impact on others
• Ability to make strong data-informed decisions because you excel at drawing actionable insights from analyses and translating for yourself and others how these insights further your strategy
• 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 Fayetteville or Raleigh 3 days per week, depending on where the regional office is ultimately situated
• Ability to travel in the NC region, especially Fayetteville, Raleigh, and Charlotte, regularly
• Ability to travel to Braven hub cities across the country, and especially in Chicago, for meetings and events at least once a month

Additional Requirements

• Authorized to work in the U.S.

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 Senior Braven Staff 
• In-Person Interview  with Founder/CEO, Chief External Affairs Officer, and Chief Higher Ed Officer
• Reference Checks
• Panel Interviews with Braven Board members and regional stakeholders

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits

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.

Starting salary within the range is determined by role scope and qualifications, with new hires starting at the lower end to allow for growth with performance. Braven does not base compensation on individual candidate salary expectations and is committed to maintaining internal equity.  The salary ranges are set by geographic market. The salary range for this role is $179,600-$224,400 with new hires starting at the beginning of the range to allow for room for growth. 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 a comprehensive total rewards package, 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)
• 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

Location

We gather in the office at least 3 days per week (on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and often work remotely 2 days per week (although certain commitments might adjust that from time to time). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within the NC area. 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.