Director, Learning Lab Success

Job Title: Director, Learning Lab Success

Team: Innovation Team

Location: Hybrid in Chicago, IL or Newark, NJ

Employment Type: Full-time

Start Date: June 2025

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 Director, Learning Lab Success a key architect of instructional excellence across our programming. This role offers a unique opportunity for a seasoned instructional leader to bring their expertise in adult learning, facilitation coaching, and training design to a rapidly growing postsecondary context.

What You’ll Do

Team Leadership & Coaching (40%)

• Lead and develop a high-performing national team of up to 10 Program Facilitators, providing targeted coaching, ongoing support, and actionable feedback to support their professional development and instructional excellence.
• Observe facilitation across both Zoom and in-person formats, leveraging data and qualitative insights to identify strengths and coaching opportunities that enhance Fellow/learner engagement and outcomes. 
• Design and deliver skill-building trainings on facilitation techniques, including giving instructions, group management, presence, engagement strategies, and checks for understanding.
• Implement individualized coaching plans grounded in observation, feedback, and performance trends to accelerate facilitator growth and instructional impact. 
• Develop and implement systems for norming facilitation quality across a distributed team.
• Facilitate team-wide reflection and continuous improvement cycles tied to key performance metrics

Instructional Development & Quality (30%)

• Collaborate with the Design and Regional Success Teams to define and assess proficiency benchmarks for key facilitation competencies.
• Ensure facilitators demonstrate strong preparation by internalizing the curriculum, adapting it thoughtfully to meet regional needs, and delivering instruction with intention and rigor.
• Monitor class execution for fidelity and innovation, surfacing best practices across sites to inform cross-site learning and program improvement.

Program Strategy & Collaboration (20%)

• Partner with cross-functional teams to refine facilitator tools, support systems, and performance indicators.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner in shaping the future of the facilitator role and instructional model as Braven expands its national footprint.
• Contribute to organization-wide initiatives that advance curriculum design, enhance the Fellow experience, and elevate facilitator development across all delivery models.
• Provide excellent customer service and deliver proactive, solutions-oriented support to regional leaders by sharing timely insights and updates on course implementation, quality, and team performance.
• Shape and implement the evolving Accelerator content facilitation strategy for the Centralized Accelerator, including national norms and differentiated support structures across sites based on context.

Additional Duties (10%)

• Lead or support special projects aligned with Braven’s strategic priorities.
• Participate in hiring, onboarding, and training of new facilitators.
• Support organizational learning by documenting insights and building scalable resources.
  

Minimum Requirements

• 5–7 years of professional experience in program delivery, instructional leadership, learning & development, or a related field, with at least 2 years of experience coaching or managing facilitators, educators, or instructors.
• 2 years of direct management experience.
• Strong coaching and performance management skills with a track record of supporting adult learners or staff to meet ambitious instructional benchmarks.
• Ability to analyze qualitative and quantitative data to identify trends, drive instructional improvements, and inform strategic decisions.
• Experience with both in-person and virtual instruction, with the ability to support high-quality facilitation on Zoom.
• Expertise in andragogical best practices and experience designing or delivering adult learning.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to give and receive feedback across lines of difference.
• Deep belief in Braven’s mission and the potential of all young people.
• Flexible, solutions-oriented, and comfortable operating in ambiguous, fast-paced environments where innovation, adaptability, and leading others through the aforementioned are essential.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in postsecondary, nonprofit, or ed-tech environments.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to lead multiple workstreams simultaneously.
• Expertise in classroom or group management techniques, adult learning principles, and training design.
• Experience managing remote or hybrid instructional teams.
• 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 3 days per week in one of Braven’s hub cities (Chicago or Newark).

• Availability up to 3 evenings/week to support facilitator training and live programming.
• Travel for site visits and organizational events 6-10 times/semester.
• Braven doesn’t offer employment visa sponsorship

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 $75,400-$94,300 in Chicago or $83,100-$103,800 in Newark, NJ. 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: Chicago, 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.