Senior Director, Insights

Job Title: Senior Director,Insights

Team: Insights & Strategic Planning

Location: Hybrid in Chicago (IL) (strongly preferred), Atlanta (GA), or New York City (NY) 

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 a Senior Director, Insights who will lead a team of data professionals and be responsible for both advancing day-to-day operations and setting a bold vision for how Braven leverages data. What this looks like in your day-to-day life is that you will both be setting strategy in collaboration with other leaders and doing detailed, on-the-ground problem solving, building, and analysis alongside your team.

You will play a pivotal role in shaping Braven into a truly data-powered organization, helping us use data to make transformative strategic, programmatic, and operational decisions. The ideal candidate combines technical mastery with exceptional leadership, management, and organizational influence in their every day.

This role is on the Insights & Strategic Planning team and reports directly to the Head of Insights & Strategic Planning.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Data Leadership & Vision (35%)

• Develop and champion a comprehensive data strategy that will support Braven’s pursuit of growth, outcomes, and continuous improvement
• Ensure the integration of program and operational data into cohesive systems and determine the best path to leveraging complementary external data for insights
• Drive data democratization to get the right information in the hands of the users and stakeholders
• Create simplicity, transparency, and reliability in the way Braven consumes and uses data insights.
• Lead the development of dashboards, data pipelines, analysis tools, and models that support Braven’s programs and strategic planning
• In collaboration with Braven’s Systems team, design and oversee systems for data governance, privacy, and ethical use of data and AI tools

Team Leadership and Management (30%)

• Manage, coach, and develop a high performing team of data professionals
• Build a high-performance strong team culture grounded in learning, innovation, and excellence
• Drive professional development pathways and create opportunities for growth
• Define and monitor key performance indicators for the team

Technical Innovation (25%)

• Stay on the cutting edge of data and AI advancements, integrating new technologies responsibly and strategically into Braven’s data efforts
• Lead cross-functional efforts in AI experimentation, data automation, and advanced analytics with an eye toward impact, efficiency, and scalability

Organizational Leadership (10%)

• Serve as a key advisor to Braven’s executive team on the impact of data and emerging technologies (especially AI) on students, partners, organizational innovation
• Serve on priority-driven strategic councils, leadership bodies, and working groups as needed
• Other duties as assigned

Minimum Requirements 

• BA/BS in quantitative field or work experience that demonstrates expertise in quantitative analysis
• Experience working in mission-driven, nonprofit, education, or adjacent sectors
• Deep technical expertise in data science, data engineering, analytics, and AI/ML, with a demonstrated track record of delivering organizational data strategies and building data maturity from the ground up
• 3+ years managing large, high-performing technical teams. Proven ability to lead and scale cross-functional teams, develop talent, and manage senior individual contributors.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to translate technical insights into compelling strategic narratives.

Preferred Qualifications 

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in a quantitative or technical discipline (e.g., computer science, data science, statistics, economics)
• Experience working with or for higher education institutions or in other mission-aligned B2B contexts
• Success developing data-related products or services for external audiences
• Strong fluency in AI/ML trends, ethics, and practical applications in social impact contexts
• Familiarity with Google Suite, Slack, Confluence suite, Tableau, Salesforce
• Exemplification of Braven’s core values
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven’s mission and have 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), Atlanta (GA), or New York City (NY) 3 days per week
• Travel 4-6 times per year for in-person convenings

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
• Panel Interview with Key Partners
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• Reference Checks

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position, which depends on prior work experience and our assessment of your demonstrated fit for the role, will likely be between $127,600-$159,500 in Atlanta, $134,800-$168,500 in Chicago, and $148,400-$185,400 in New York City. This is a full-time regular, exempt, and benefits eligible position where you will be working at 100% capacity. 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. You will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the application process.

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)
• 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 teammates to live within commuting distance of one of our hubs: Atlanta, Chicago, or New York. 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.