Associate Director, Knowledge

Job Title: Associate Director, Knowledge

Team: People

Location: In-Person in Chicago (IL)

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification: Exempt

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 must ensure our teammates have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to thrive as leaders. In that effort, Braven is hiring an Associate Director, Knowledge to play a crucial role in developing and implementing knowledge management strategies to enhance productivity, facilitate decision-making, and foster collaboration. 

In the Associate Director, Knowledge role, you will own the day-to-day operation of our knowledge systems while also designing and facilitating staff learning experiences. You will not simply maintain a knowledge base; you will bring it to life through facilitation, peer-to-peer culture building, and the kind of relationship-centered practice that makes people feel like contributors rather than consumers. You will help establish the parameters for how Braven knowledge is created, organized, accessed, shared, and updated. And you will translate that foundation into living learning moments: workshops, onboarding sessions, async modules, team-specific trainings, and AI upskilling experiences that meet staff where they are and build real capability over time.You will work cross-functionally to surface learning needs, co-develop programming, and help build a shared vision where every team member, at every level, is a capable and confident knowledge owner.

What You’ll Do

Knowledge Systems Enablement (30%)

• Manage the virtual help desk in Slack, guiding staff to existing resources, facilitating peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, and flagging content gaps for creation or update
• Run monthly new hire onboarding sessions on knowledge management best practices, including how to create, access, share, and update content in Braven's knowledge base
• Partner with the Director, Learning and Culture, to design and deliver instructor-led trainings, async modules, and team-specific sessions on emerging technologies and knowledge codification practices
• Evangelize a culture of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing where every team member is enabled to contribute as a subject-matter knowledge owner
• Create content as needs arise, such as how-to pages and process guides, particularly when a subject-matter expert is not available
• Identify and support internal knowledge captains who can craft and maintain documentation within the knowledge base
• Partner with managers to surface team-specific knowledge gaps and co-develop documentation to address them

Learning and Development Facilitation and AI Upskilling (30%)

• Co-facilitate staff-facing learning experiences in partnership with the Director, Learning and Culture, with particular focus on practical AI adoption and digital fluency
• Design and deliver on content ( i.e.  AI upskilling) in formats that meet staff where they are, including live workshops, Slack-based micro-learning, and recorded async modules
• Support the development of onboarding programming that integrates knowledge management and learning culture from day one
• Build relationships with team members across levels to assess learning needs and translate them into actionable programming
• Contribute to facilitating team culture moments and professional development touchpoints that reinforce organizational values

Knowledge Strategy Execution (20%)

• Conduct knowledge audits to identify gaps and develop prioritized game plans to address them, sharing findings with the Head of People and Learning & Development leads
• Work with the Head of People and Learning & Development leads to identify and prioritize cross-functional knowledge management projects and stakeholders
• Track and report on KPIs for Braven's knowledge management efforts, including system usage, content quality, and staff engagement
• Support the rollout of org-wide Knowledge Management practices, ensuring staff understand and apply best practices consistently
• Present knowledge strategy progress and updates to relevant audiences, including team leads and senior leadership, as directed

Systems Administration and Governance (20%)

• Serve as Confluence Admin: set and enforce norms around permissioning, archiving, deletion, and own the org-wide Confluence homepage in partnership with Internal Communications and the People Team
• Serve as Google Drive Storage Admin: govern document hierarchy, record retention policies, and best practices in coordination with IT and Legal
• Troubleshoot user issues in Confluence and Google Drive and escalate to vendors as needed
• Monitor Atlassian and Google Workspace product releases and translate relevant updates into guidance and action for the team
• Identify and help implement enhancements to knowledge systems, including help desk features, chatbot integrations, community forums, and Slack workflows
• Partner with and manage relationships with external vendors, including knowledge management software providers

Minimum Requirements 

• Bachelor’s Degree
• At least 3 years of experience where a core responsibility was capturing, organizing, or codifying knowledge, processes, or workflows so that others could access and use them effectively
• At least 3 years experience designing and facilitating learning and/or professional development experiences for a diverse set of stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications 

• 2-3 years of experience creating and curating content in traditional knowledge bases or knowledge management systems (e.g., Zendesk, Confluence, Bloomfire, Guru, Notion, and others).
• You have experience in identifying and assessing knowledge gaps and opportunities for improvement, including authoring strong technical and functional documentation.
• Have relevant full lifecycle project management/leadership experience—planning, prioritization, project/team management, and delivery.
• You have a proven track record of implementing and maintaining knowledge management or archival/information repository systems and processes.
• Ability to build trust-based relationships, influence effectively, communicate clearly, and work in cross-functional team structures.
• 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 Chicago (IL)
• Ability to travel out-of-town 2-3 times/year for quarterly team meetings and other gatherings 

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

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, set by geographic market, for this role are $92,000-$114,900 in Chicago and $101,200-$126,400 in New York City and Newark. This is based on a 50-hour work week at an hourly rate. This is a full-time, regular, non-exempt, and benefits-eligible position where you will be working at 100% capacity.  

Braven also provides competitive, comprehensive benefits, 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 week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the calendar year (this is a minimum of 19 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 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) and work remotely 2 days a week (Monday and Friday). Therefore, this role requires candidates to live within commuting distance of our Chicago hub office. 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.