Program Manager, Accelerator (NLU)

Job Title: Program Manager, Accelerator, National Louis University

Team: Innovation

Location: In-Person in Chicago (IL) 

Employment Type: Full-time

FLSA Classification:  Exempt 

Start Date: December 10, 2024

About Braven

Braven is a national nonprofit that prepares promising young people—many of whom are people of color, from low-income backgrounds, and the first in their families to attend college—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, we are helping to open up access to the American Promise, empowering a generation of leaders who mirror the diversity of our country.

To learn more, take a look at Braven’s Impact Report and 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 Program Manager, Accelerator, who will facilitate and fully lead the execution of Braven’s Leadership & Career Accelerator course (the Accelerator). As the Program Manager, you’ll be part of the engine behind our work with our university and nonprofit partners by facilitating and managing the experience of hundreds of college students (typically Sophomores) as they complete the Braven Accelerator. You’ll also support campus engagement efforts for your assigned schools to support students on their path to graduation and strong first jobs or graduate school after college. 

This role reports directly to the Managing Director for Northern Illinois University (NIU) and National Louis University (NLU). While the role will focus mainly on NLU for the initial six months, this will shift as assigned caseloads shift. 

What You’ll Do

Accelerator Facilitation and Program Management (75%)

• Fully manage the facilitation and execution of the Braven Accelerator course, including: Internalize and facilitate all Braven Accelerator curriculum components and ensuring weekly remote Learning Labs are logistically sound and high quality 
• Fully and independently facilitate weekly (2-3 nights per week) in-person or virtual programming sessions, each lasting 2 hours. Sessions typically take place between 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. CST and usually occur on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings. Availability during this time frame is a must. 
• Facilitating 2-3 virtual/in-person weekend and evening events (i.e. volunteer training, etc.) each semester, typically held in the evenings or on Saturdays
• Supporting a team of Graders who are university faculty members to measure student mastery and inform coach feedback, addressing areas of concern using data and user research/interviews to identify root causes 
• Heavily supporting the training and coaching of volunteer Leadership Coaches

• Ensuring a high-quality “customer” experience and high customer satisfaction for our Fellows, partners, volunteers, and stakeholders through strong and timely communication and anticipating customer needs

• Operating with complete ownership over Fellow outcomes; troubleshooting obstacles, asking for help, utilizing data reports, and quickly implementing solutions to maximize impact 

• Collaborating with other Program Managers from other teams to ensure an excellent and seamless program experience for Fellows

Leadership Coach and Coaching Partner Recruitment, Coaching, & Development Support (10%)

• Support the recruitment, coaching, and development of Leadership Coaches and Coaching Partners (working professional volunteers who coach and support Leadership Coaches) via strong project management in close collaboration with the Managing Director
• Observe and provide feedback to Braven volunteers weekly to support them to improve their own facilitation and coaching skill sets.

A Team/Management (10%)

• Participate in individual annual and quarterly planning
• Recruit, hire, onboard, and manage teaching assistants and part-time student interns 
• Collaborate with the Program Manager of Recruitment and Program Manager of Workforce Strategy to cultivate a strong Fellow experience, and lightly support the post-course experience.
• Collaborate with Braven’s central teams and their counterparts in other Braven regions to align on best practices for Accelerator execution.
• Attending team-specific offsites, org-wide retreats, conferences, etc. (2-4x/year) 
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