Associate Director, Volunteer Selection & Placement

Job Title: Associate Director, Volunteer Selection & Placement

Team: External Affairs

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

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 an Associate Director of Volunteer Selection & Placement who will lead the complex logistics of screening, interviewing, and placement of 3,000+ volunteers across dozens of programs over the next two years. As the leader of the Volunteer Selection & Placement Team, you will ensure that volunteers are well-matched to their assignments, have the skills and qualifications needed to succeed, and are prepared to make a meaningful contribution to the organization. You will also manage a team of Selection Specialists, who are part-time staff members responsible for reviewing volunteers’ applications and interview responses.

This role is on the External Affairs team and reports directly to the Head of Volunteer Experience.

What You’ll Do

• Volunteer Selection (60%)

• Develop, implement, and manage a comprehensive strategy for selecting volunteer Leadership Coaches and Professional Mentors that is equitable and sustainable at a scale of thousands per year, in close collaboration with the Director of Volunteer Experience and others.
• Develop and implement operational plans and tactics to achieve selection goals and improve the effectiveness of the selection process.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the Selection Team, including application screening, interviews, acceptance decisions, and customer service.
• Develop a robust data cycle of learning, connecting volunteer performance to selection questions and rubrics; evaluate the overall effectiveness of the selection process, track key metrics, and make data-driven recommendations for improvement.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, and manage 2-5 part-time Volunteer Selection Specialists.
• Ensure proactive and responsive communication and problem-solving with internal stakeholders, especially Braven's regional teams, to address their volunteer needs and ensure program success.
• Identify trends, needs, and opportunities within the selection process, and recommend adjustments or new initiatives to the Director of Volunteer Experience and the Head of Volunteer Experience.
• Maintain accurate volunteer records and ensure compliance with all relevant laws and regulations related to volunteer screening and placement.

Volunteer Placement (40%)

• Oversee the complex process of assigning volunteers to programs, considering factors such as volunteer preferences, availability, and interests; optimize placement algorithms and processes to maximize volunteer satisfaction and program effectiveness.
• Make detail-intensive decisions based on rapidly changing data about the supply and demand for volunteers across dozens of different programs, even including making adjustments to your original recommendations.
• Build flexible infrastructure that can accommodate scale, regional variation, and product evolution without compromising consistency or quality.
• Promote a positive and welcoming volunteer experience throughout the placement process, navigating complex situations with care with stakeholders both internal and external.

Minimum Requirements

• 5-7 years of professional experience, including 3+ years managing innovative, asynchronous selection processes with consistent learning cycles 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Demonstrated success designing and executing high-volume, detail-intensive processes involving thousands of participants or applicants with technology as a key enabler of scale and quality
• A builder’s mindset, bringing energy and creativity to building systems from the ground up, pressure testing them, and iterating to improve efficiency and impact
• Thrives in ambiguity and finds joy in collaborating deeply with others and being part of a rapidly growing organization
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills; confident making data-informed choices and adjusting strategies based on real-time inputs
• Experience hiring, onboarding, and managing a distributed team, including part-time or seasonal staff
• Exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to manage shifting timelines, data inputs, and competing priorities with precision
• Customer- or volunteer-focused mindset, with a commitment to delivering a positive and supportive experience
• Clear, professional communicator with strong writing and interpersonal skills
• Highly proficient in using technology platforms to manage workflows (e.g., Salesforce, Jira, Google Suite, scheduling tools), and excited to learn new tools quickly
• Able to translate operational needs into tech-enabled processes and collaborate effectively with product, engineering, or data teams
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with internal teams to troubleshoot challenges and meet shared goals
• Demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.

• Exemplification of Braven’s core values.
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven’s mission and have 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), Newark (NJ) at least 3 days per week
• Travel: 4-8 times annually out of state for team events.
• Occasional evening hours for work events and/or to ensure we hit key campaign deadlines.

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

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 $79,200-$99,000 in Atlanta, $83,600-$104,400 in Chicago, and $92,000-$$114,900 in Newark. 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: Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, 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.