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

Requirements

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 tec