Head of Board and Council Engagement

Head of Board and Council Engagement

Braven · Chicago, United States (Hybrid) · Full-time · Posted 2026-04-08

Workplace: hybrid

Department: External Affairs

Description

Job Title: Head of Board and Council Engagement

Team: External Affairs 

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

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

To achieve its ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade, Braven must develop and maintain strong boards of directors, nationally and regionally, as well as develop its growing councils as it continues to lead in shaping the field in the college-to-career space. In that effort, Braven is hiring a Head of Board and Council Engagement who will lead the strategy and implementation behind Braven’s board management and engagement, as well as its growing body of councils to ensure Braven has the external expertise, champions, and influence needed to reach its ambition. Specifically, in this next phase, Braven is developing and strengthening its body of councils to build external expertise and influence in key areas that reflect our shared value partnerships and core and secondary customers, and to help us shape the college-to-career field. 

As a member of the External Affairs team, you will report to the Chief External Affairs Officer as well as work closely with the CEO and regional Executive Directors and certain Central Team Leads to cultivate, develop, and maintain strong board engagement and effective councils to ensure good corporate governance, diverse and sustainable revenue streams, national influence, and a strong source of external expertise and strategic advice. Over the next 2-3 years, you will build and manage a small but mighty team to support our growing governance work. 

What You’ll Do

Strategy (50%) 

• Set the vision, goals, and annual strategic plan for our National Board of Directors from the group to the individual level to ensure we continue to have an incredible board that catalyzes the organization's work
• Set the vision, goals, and template strategic plan that Executive Directors customize to build and manage best-in-class regional boards
• Provide support, alignment, and thought partnership to a growing portfolio of 6-10 regional Executive Directors and their boards over the next five years
• Develop board and council member profiles tied to strategic needs
• Drive the creation of strategic materials (memos, decks) that support all board moments from meetings, strategy calls, 1:1 engagement plans, etc
• Set the vision, goals, strategic plan, and create the materials and systems for Braven’s growing body of advisory councils (including Employer Partner, Faculty, Higher Ed Presidents, Technology, etc)

High-Stakes Stakeholder Management and Governance Operations (50%) 

• Manage the prospecting, cultivation, and stewardship of the National Board members in collaboration with the CEO, including bi-weekly or monthly check-ins with all board members
• You are responsible for $3-4M in direct national board and council giving; additionally, we work to build boards and councils that provide networks, accounting for 35% of our overall revenue annually
• Support the prospecting, cultivation, and stewardship of the regional board members in collaboration with Executive Directors
• Manage the prospecting, cultivation, and ongoing stewardship for members of certain high-profile councils
• Set the guidelines and best practices for board and council group and individual stewardship nationally and regionally
• Create systems and tools for research, stewardship, communications, and board and council building at the national and regional levels
• Manage and analyze accurate data collection of materials and information related to national and regional board members, as well as council members 
• Create learning and development opportunities to ensure excellent board and council management across Braven. 
• Project manage national board meetings, strategy sessions, and the annual joint board convening, and provide the systems and processes to manage council and regional board meetings 

Other duties as assigned

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• BS/BA or relevant experience 

• Work Experience: 10+ years of relevant experience 

Preferred Qualifications

• You bring exceptional political acumen and relationship intelligence — having demonstrated an ability to map stakeholder ecosystems, identify key influencers, and cultivate trust across varied networks to open doors and advance organizational priorities. 
• You have demonstrated professional experience working with executives, board members, and high-profile individuals, and managing high-stakes relationships with success 
• You have a deep understanding of local and national ecosystems and networks, and how to maneuver successfully within  
• You have 5+ years of project management experience and leading high stakes meetings
• You have 5+ years of experience managing complex relationships with individual stakeholders and are able to exercise direction, diplomacy, and handle confidential information 
• You have a demonstrated ability to work effectively with and quickly gain the respect and support of various key constituencies, including the board of directors, champions, partners, and prospects
• A successful track record of personally identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major champions
• You have exceptional management, leadership, presentation, and written and interpersonal communication skills
• You manage vertically and horizontally within internal and external settings
• You have excellent written and oral communication skills 
• You have a customer first, hospitality orientation with excellent stakeholder management skills and attention to detail 
• You are strategic, analytical, and have a strong EQ when it comes to managing external relationships
• You pursue ambitious, measurable goals with joy, an action-oriented mindset, and perseverance
• You’re extremely detail-oriented and sweat the small stuff, while also not losing sight of the big picture
• You build strong external and internal relationships with a variety of stakeholders and have significant experience tailoring your approach to others' beliefs, motivations, and contexts
• You are a voracious reader and devour everything from the Wall Street Journal to Page Six
• You are a constant learner who continually reflects to improve and actively creates space for upward feedback from individual contributors and managers
• You exemplify Braven’s core values

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), Newark (NJ), or New York City (NYC)
• Travel: Ability to travel at least 1x per month for 2-3 days at a time. 

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 a Talent Team member
• Performance Task
• Interview with Hiring Manager
• Panel Interview with Key Partners
• Interview with CEO
• Reference Checks

Benefits

Total Rewards

Braven provides competitive, comprehensive benefits, recognition, and career development. While Braven reserves the right to change benefits at any time, current benefits include: 

• Discretionary time off in addition to org-wide holidays and 2 week-long shutdowns in July and December  (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
• Monthly $75 reimbursement for cell phone or internet
• Access to funding for continued career development 

Compensation

Braven offers opportunities for salary growth over time. We believe in compensating staff members fairly relative to one another, their qualifications, and their impact on the organization, and we take internal and external equity seriously. Given our commitment to equity, Braven does not negotiate salary offers; instead, each offer is carefully determined using external and internal benchmarks.

The hiring range is determined by role scope, qualifications, and internal equity, with annual growth based on performance. Braven does not base compensation on individual candidate salary expectations and is committed to maintaining internal equity. The hiring ranges for this role by geographic market are set forth in $116,000-$145,000 in Atlanta, $122,500-$153,100 in Chicago, and $134,800-$168,500 in New York and Newark, NJ.. 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.  

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 at least 3 days per week (on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) and often work remotely 2 days per week (although certain commitments might adjust that from time to time). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of one of our hubs: Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, or New York City. 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.

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