Associate Director, Development

Associate Director, Development (Regional Portfolio)

Team : External Affairs

Location : Hybrid in Chicago (IL)

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.

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, Development (Regional Portfolio) who will drive the strategy for how the national team supports regions in their development goals, and be a key strategic partner and project manager to Braven's regional teams. As a member of the External Affairs Development Team, you will be a key leader in helping the organization raise approximately $100 million over the next three years. You will also own the creation and standardization of systems and processes that enable the development team to manage the full donor pipeline with clarity, including driving the project management of our grant writing process to ensure it is streamlined, repeatable, and efficient while setting the strategy and creating the collateral necessary to achieve fundraising goals.

This role is on the External Affairs team and reports directly to the Senior Director, Development.

What You'll Do

You will own the strategy and execution of supporting Braven's regional teams to meet their annual fundraising goals. This role includes the following responsibilities :

Regional Fundraising Strategy & Execution (65%)

• Drive and own the strategy for regional fundraising over the next three years to raise ~$20M in philanthropic gifts annually. This includes creating cross-cutting strategies, defining required best practices, and leading annual planning processes. You'll partner with regional teams to develop and activate their annual revenue strategy.
• Deeply understand the regional donor ecosystem, the funding landscape, and serve as a strategic thought partner to the regional Executive Directors and External Affairs Directors.
• Strategize with regional teams on how to engage donors through the Moves Management stages and project-manage the execution of next steps.
• Partner with the Executive Director and External Affairs Directors to identify, vet, and cultivate new prospects in the region.
• Track regional revenue progress to goal and the overall weighted pipeline.
• In collaboration with the External Affairs Directors, you will project manage the implementation of quarterly action plans, adjusting as needed to ensure we are on track to achieve fundraising goals.
• Review grant applications and report drafts, providing critical feedback to regional teams and the grant writing team to ensure the timely submission of high-quality narratives and data.
• Attend weekly regional meetings to provide strategic guidance and ensure regions have the support they need to align with national fundraising goals.

Regional Development Operations & Donor Stewardship (30%)

Strategic External Stakeholder Management (5%)