Associate Director, Fellow Engagement and Communications
BRAVEN, Atlanta, GA, United States
Associate Director, Fellow Engagement and Communications
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 achieve Braven's ambition of serving 80,000100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring an Associate Director, Fellow Engagement and Communications to lead a national strategy that meaningfully engages Fellows after they complete the Accelerator and through graduation. This role is responsible for designing and owning Braven's post-Accelerator Fellow engagement strategy, with a particular focus on leveraging communications and social media as tools for behavior change, learning, and outcomes, not just information delivery. The Director will ensure that engagement efforts drive Fellows toward Braven's north star outcomes: internship attainment, interview readiness, and securing a strong first opportunity after college. As a senior individual contributor within Program Operations, this role leads high-impact, cross-functional workstreams with significant organizational stakes. The Associate Director will set strategy, influence decision-making, and build scalable systems to increase Fellow participation in post-Accelerator programming, career pathways, and community engagement, especially through MyBraven and social platforms. This role reports to the Head of Program Operations and works closely with Design, Communications & Marketing, Systems & Data, and Regional teams. What You'll Do
Develop and Own the National Post-Accelerator Fellow Engagement Strategy (60%) Design and own Braven's national post-Accelerator Fellow engagement strategy, setting direction and standards for how we engage Fellows through graduation using scalable, data-informed approaches. Shift Braven's Fellow communications from primarily informational to engagement-driven, ensuring messaging and content drive participation in high-impact behaviors tied to career outcomes. Partner closely with Career Communities Directors to ensure communications drive Fellow participation in industry-specific and pathway-specific programming, including graduate school and service year pathways. Own the Fellow engagement strategy for the MyBraven platform, driving adoption, usage, and sustained participation while contributing insights to platform optimization decisions. Establish and monitor engagement metrics that are explicitly connected to Fellow outcomes (e.g., internship attainment, interview readiness, strong first opportunity), ensuring strategy drives resultsnot just activity. Lead cross-functional alignment and decision-making across Program Operations, Product, Systems, and Marketing to ensure engagement efforts operate as a cohesive national system. Determine the most effective channels and formats (e.g., platform content, social media, email, text) for engaging post-Accelerator Fellows based on data and Fellow behavior. Build feedback loops and continuous improvement mechanisms to refine engagement strategies based on performance, Fellow input, and outcomes data. Lead Social Media as a Core Engagement and Learning Channel for Fellows (30%) Design and lead Braven's social media engagement strategy for post-Accelerator Fellows, positioning social platforms as a key channel for education, skill-building, and motivationnot just brand awareness. Partner with Communications & Marketing to align Fellow-facing social content with Braven's broader brand strategy while clearly differentiating goals, audiences, and success metrics. Define and evolve national vs. regional social media strategies to ensure consistency, relevance, and scalability across markets. Research, test, and implement best practices from high-engagement, student-centered and early-career social accounts to increase reach, participation, and impact. Use social media as an extension of Braven's career education modelreinforcing key mindsets, skills, deadlines, and opportunities that support Fellows' progress toward internships and strong first opportunities. Establish clear metrics for social engagement that connect to downstream behaviors and outcomes, and iterate strategy accordingly. Lateral Leadership and Organizational Influence (10%) Lead significant cross-functional initiatives and change management efforts, influencing stakeholders without direct authority to drive adoption of new engagement strategies and systems. Serve as a thought partner and advisor to senior leaders on post-Accelerator Fellow engagement, participation trends, and risks to outcomes. Lead and laterally manage regional staff, contractors, and student ambassadors, contributing to Fellow engagement and social content execution. Prepare to take on direct people management responsibilities (e.g., interns or future FTEs) as the function scales. Represent Braven internally and externally as a leader in postsecondary student engagement and career-focused community building.
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 achieve Braven's ambition of serving 80,000100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven is hiring an Associate Director, Fellow Engagement and Communications to lead a national strategy that meaningfully engages Fellows after they complete the Accelerator and through graduation. This role is responsible for designing and owning Braven's post-Accelerator Fellow engagement strategy, with a particular focus on leveraging communications and social media as tools for behavior change, learning, and outcomes, not just information delivery. The Director will ensure that engagement efforts drive Fellows toward Braven's north star outcomes: internship attainment, interview readiness, and securing a strong first opportunity after college. As a senior individual contributor within Program Operations, this role leads high-impact, cross-functional workstreams with significant organizational stakes. The Associate Director will set strategy, influence decision-making, and build scalable systems to increase Fellow participation in post-Accelerator programming, career pathways, and community engagement, especially through MyBraven and social platforms. This role reports to the Head of Program Operations and works closely with Design, Communications & Marketing, Systems & Data, and Regional teams. What You'll Do
Develop and Own the National Post-Accelerator Fellow Engagement Strategy (60%) Design and own Braven's national post-Accelerator Fellow engagement strategy, setting direction and standards for how we engage Fellows through graduation using scalable, data-informed approaches. Shift Braven's Fellow communications from primarily informational to engagement-driven, ensuring messaging and content drive participation in high-impact behaviors tied to career outcomes. Partner closely with Career Communities Directors to ensure communications drive Fellow participation in industry-specific and pathway-specific programming, including graduate school and service year pathways. Own the Fellow engagement strategy for the MyBraven platform, driving adoption, usage, and sustained participation while contributing insights to platform optimization decisions. Establish and monitor engagement metrics that are explicitly connected to Fellow outcomes (e.g., internship attainment, interview readiness, strong first opportunity), ensuring strategy drives resultsnot just activity. Lead cross-functional alignment and decision-making across Program Operations, Product, Systems, and Marketing to ensure engagement efforts operate as a cohesive national system. Determine the most effective channels and formats (e.g., platform content, social media, email, text) for engaging post-Accelerator Fellows based on data and Fellow behavior. Build feedback loops and continuous improvement mechanisms to refine engagement strategies based on performance, Fellow input, and outcomes data. Lead Social Media as a Core Engagement and Learning Channel for Fellows (30%) Design and lead Braven's social media engagement strategy for post-Accelerator Fellows, positioning social platforms as a key channel for education, skill-building, and motivationnot just brand awareness. Partner with Communications & Marketing to align Fellow-facing social content with Braven's broader brand strategy while clearly differentiating goals, audiences, and success metrics. Define and evolve national vs. regional social media strategies to ensure consistency, relevance, and scalability across markets. Research, test, and implement best practices from high-engagement, student-centered and early-career social accounts to increase reach, participation, and impact. Use social media as an extension of Braven's career education modelreinforcing key mindsets, skills, deadlines, and opportunities that support Fellows' progress toward internships and strong first opportunities. Establish clear metrics for social engagement that connect to downstream behaviors and outcomes, and iterate strategy accordingly. Lateral Leadership and Organizational Influence (10%) Lead significant cross-functional initiatives and change management efforts, influencing stakeholders without direct authority to drive adoption of new engagement strategies and systems. Serve as a thought partner and advisor to senior leaders on post-Accelerator Fellow engagement, participation trends, and risks to outcomes. Lead and laterally manage regional staff, contractors, and student ambassadors, contributing to Fellow engagement and social content execution. Prepare to take on direct people management responsibilities (e.g., interns or future FTEs) as the function scales. Represent Braven internally and externally as a leader in postsecondary student engagement and career-focused community building.