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Braven

Associate Director, Research

Braven, New York, New York, us, 10261

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Job Title: Associate Director, Research Team : Product

Location : Hybrid in Chicago (IL), Atlanta (GA), or New York City (NYC)

Employment Type : Full-time

Start Date : ASAP

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 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, Research who will lead a robust portfolio of continuous improvement and thought-leadership projects from Braven's Research Agenda. This role is for an experienced researcher with expertise in program evaluation, a strong grounding in applied methods (qualitative and quantitative methodology), and a passion for using evidence to drive strategic decision-making. As part of the Research team within Braven's broader Product function, you will design and lead learning agendas, run pilots to answer key questions about program effectiveness, and translate findings into actionable insights that inform the evolution of Braven's program model. You will also steward external research partnerships and qualitative research with our key stakeholders (students, higher education, and employers) to help shape Braven's public voice through literature reviews and support for thought-leadership efforts. This role is on the Product team and reports directly to the Head of Research.

What You'll Do

Thought leadership research and data collection (70%). Lead qualitative research process from front to end (e.g., from designing interview/focus group protocols and facilitating sessions to analyzing data and surfacing actionable insights).

Own content creation of thought leadership papers, including outlining, drafting sections, and coordinating with external designers for final publication.

Support managing external research partnerships by synthesizing insights from both Braven's data and external research to create a compelling, unified narrative.

Continuous improvement research and data collection to strengthen our program model (25%). Own a subset of continuous improvement priorities from Braven's Research Agenda; define and prioritize learning questions; design and run pilots in partnership with Product and regional team colleagues; translate findings into strategy; synthesize findings in clear reports, presentations, dashboards, etc.; lead analyses for special/ad hoc data analysis for Braven teams.

Cross-functional projects (5%). Be a member of Braven's cross-functional project teams; other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

BA/BS in a quantitative field or work experience that demonstrates expertise in quantitative and qualitative analysis

5+ years of experience in a program evaluation or other analytical/learning role

Proficiency in at least one statistical programming language (e.g., Stata or R)

Preferred Qualifications

Master's Degree Preferred

You are committed to continuous learning and improvement and, as such, are comfortable seeking out, receiving, and implementing constructive feedback

You have a researcher\'s mindset and enjoy designing pilots and experiments to test hypotheses

You enjoy telling stories with data and pair that with excellent verbal and written communication skills

You have experience leading qualitative research from top to bottom, resulting in compelling case studies or narratives

You have experience conducting quantitative analysis with different tools and statistical packages while working with others to make use of findings, preferably in the non-profit field

You love collaboration and are good at it

You excel at daily operations, paying close attention to detail and communicating well with stakeholders

You have the following technical skills and knowledge:

Proficiency in Google Suite, Slack, Jira; proficiency in at least one statistical programming language (e.g., Stata or R)

Proficiency in 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 Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), or New York City (NYC)

Travel roughly 4 times per year for team stepbacks or staff retreats

Additional Requirements

Authorized to work in the U.S.

Braven doesn't offer employment visa sponsorship

Application & Interview Process

Phone screen with Talent Team member

Performance Task

Interview with Hiring Manager

Panel Interview with Key Partners

Reference Checks

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. Salaries are determined with equity and benchmarking considerations. The salary ranges by geographic market for this role are approximately: Atlanta 65,500-81,800; Chicago 69,000-86,200; New York 76,000-94,900. This is a full-time, regular, exempt, and benefits-eligible position at 100% capacity.

Unlimited vacation time in addition to org-wide holidays

$25,000 in lifetime Carrot benefits for fertility, family-building, and hormonal health

Match of 401K contribution up to 5%

Coverage of 85% of health insurance premium for employee and dependents

A one-month paid sabbatical after 4 years on staff

Location

We gather in the office 3 days a week (Tue-Thu) and work remotely 2 days a week. The role requires living within commuting distance of Atlanta, Chicago, or New York. Braven is an equal opportunity employer and invites applicants from all backgrounds.

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