Associate Director, Talent Acquisition & Operations

Job Title: Associate Director, Talent Acquisitions and Operations

Team: People & Operations

Location: In-Person in Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), New York (NYC) or Newark (NJ)

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 is hiring an Associate Director, Talent Acquisition and Operations, who will be a critical individual contributor on the People Team. This role is responsible for ensuring a seamless, equitable, and high-quality employee experience across the full talent lifecycle. The Associate Director will leverage operational excellence, data-driven decision-making, and people-centered problem-solving to support hiring managers, candidates, and employees. In addition, this role will manage a small portfolio of searches, supporting the full-cycle recruitment process from sourcing through offer.

This role is on the People and Operations team and reports directly to the Director, Talent Acquisitions.

What You'll Do

Talent Operations & Employee Lifecycle Management (50%)

• Develop and maintain documentation, SOPs, and knowledge-sharing resources for consistent, scalable talent operations.
• Own the interview coordination process, ensuring speed, consistency, accuracy, and a world-class candidate experience.
• Support compliance efforts, audits, and reporting in partnership with People Operations, Finance, and Legal
• Collaborate cross-functionally to streamline processes and deliver operational excellence across the talent lifecycle.
• Identify gaps, inefficiencies, or risks in people processes and proactively propose solutions to the Director Talent Acquisitions while comfortable building from zero and energized by the absence of existing playbooks.

Systems, Data & Process Improvement (30%)

• Serve as the subject matter expert for the recruitment technology ecosystem (e.g., Workday and Workable) managing configurations, integrations, troubleshooting, and user support.
• Approach broken processes with curiosity while mapping, diagnosing, and fixing inefficiencies with a systems-thinking mindset.
• Drive innovation in recruitment technology by identifying opportunities to simplify workflows, integrate new tech and AI, and enhance overall efficiency.
• Build dashboards, analyze KPIs, and co-translate recruiting data into actionable recommendations that inform strategic decisions.

Talent Acquisition & Hiring Support (20%)

• Manage a small portfolio of searches, supporting end-to-end hiring processes including job setup, interview logistics, candidate communications, and offer coordination.
• Ensure data accuracy, process consistency, and timely movement of candidates within the Applicant Tracking System.
• Deliver an equitable, candidate-centered hiring experience that reflects Braven's values
• Co-lead enablement sessions on interview best practices and hiring processes, earning trust and building strong relationships with hiring managers across functions.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• At least 3 - 5 years of experience in talent operations, HR operations, recruiting operations, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience supporting hiring processes and partnering with hiring managers in a fast-paced or growing organization

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and operate effectively in ambiguity.
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills, with a strong focus on process improvement and operational excellence.
• Exceptional interpersonal and customer service skills, including the ability to communicate clearly and empathetically with candidates, employees, and leaders.
• High level of comfort using tools such as Google Suite, HRIS and ATS platforms (e.g., Workable, Workday), Slack, Jira, or similar systems.
• Proficiency in leveraging, implementing, and optimizing leading technology tools, including proven experience leading change management processes.
• Alignment with and exemplification of Braven’s core values and mission.

• Highly organized and able to manage multiple roles, recruiters, and workflows simultaneously without losing track of details.
• Demonstrated commitment to building strong and welcoming cultures that help to develop others.
• 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 Atlanta (GA), Chicago (IL), New York (NYC), or Newark (NJ) 3 days per week
• Travel for the team's annual planning meetings 3 -4 times a year

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

Benefits

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, by geographic market, for this role are set forth $59,500-$74,300 in Atlanta, $62,700-$78,300 in Chicago, and $69,000-$86,200 in New York City and Newark. This is based on a 50-hour work week. This is a full-time, regular, 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

Please note that Braven is firm in its compensation philosophy; therefore, only candidates who believe our total rewards package aligns with what they are looking for in their next opportunity are encouraged to apply.

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, New York, or Newark. 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.