Director, Learning & Development

Job Title: Director, Learning & Development

Braven Team: People & Culture

Location: In person in Chicago (IL)

Employment Type: Full-time

Ideal 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 a Director, Learning & Development who, in partnership with the Head of People, will chart the learning and development strategy to support the general development of staff in Braven’s org-wide strategy, co-define goals, and execute programming aimed at helping Braven achieve it yearly org-wide priorities toward the 2032 ambition of reaching 25,000 fellows. The Director, Learning and Development will have a major impact creating learning experiences for staff that span a range of needs such as developing the people management and leadership skills for groups of staff, helping staff upskill their application of evolving AI and tech tools, and supporting change initiatives by providing solutions to close learning gaps. In collaboration with other members of the People and Culture team and subject matter experts across Braven (such as Systems, Regional Success, etc), you will recommend and execute strategy.  As a member of the People & Culture Team, you will have a significant impact on all staff at Braven through the capacity building of people managers. Your work will have an impact on staff reporting positive experiences and support from their manager. Your ability to develop manager capacity in coaching and developing their teams will result in staff members' time at Braven being an accelerator to their professional growth. 

This role is on the People & Culture Team and reports directly to the Head of People.

What You’ll Do 

Program Design and Delivery (40%) 

• Plan and implement the design, development, and delivery of learning programs, including asynchronous sessions staff can access in an LMS, along with in-person and virtual instructor-led training, workshops, and blended learning solutions aimed at upskilling Braven’s extraordinary staff.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project documentation, including detailed project plans, task lists, timelines, and progress reports, to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient project tracking across the lifecycle.
• Define critical project paths, set clear milestones, and establish delivery dates, ensuring that stakeholder deliverables meet the need.

• Support organizational development efforts by designing programs and tools that promote performance management, culture change, leadership development, and staff member engagement via people managers.
• Conduct and facilitate learning experiences, presentations, workshops, and training.
• In partnership with the Head of People and the rest of the L&D team, determine sources to meet L&D needs in alignment with Braven’s L&D philosophy which includes a build, borrow, buy, bot strategy.
• Ensure that training programs are engaging, effective, and tailored to meet the diverse needs of staff, with a focus on people managers and staff interested in developing people management experience, in all regions.
• Develop standards for quality, innovative adult learning. Support subject matter experts, such as the Regional Success team, in ensuring trainings align with standards for quality adult learning. 
• Incorporate the latest learning technologies and methodologies to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of training programs.
• Serve department leaders across the organization by helping them meet functional L&D needs. 
• Manage and oversee the work of contractors, ensuring products and services meet the Braven standard of learning & development.

Learning and Development Strategy  (30%) 

• In partnership with the Head of People and Learning & Development (L&D) team, recommend a comprehensive L&D strategy to meet the organization’s evolving strategic needs (current priorities include people manager development and AI upskilling for staff). 
• Collaborate with People team leads, people managers, and Executive members to assess various data points (focus group, listening tour summaries, performance review trends, culture survey data, etc) and identify learning needs.
• Utilize data points to develop customized solutions by creating a scope and sequence of learning priorities leading to behavioral shifts toward high-impact leadership behaviors. 
• Support organizational strategic priorities and change management initiatives related to training and development, ensuring smooth implementation and adoption. 
• This includes, but is not limited to, developing communication strategies and artifacts such as decks and memos with the goal of bringing people along and developing capacity for changes related to leadership and management practices.
• Communicate the value and impact of L&D initiatives to stakeholders, ensuring alignment and support. Tell the story of learning and development of Braven’s talent through data and strategies.
• Create the first iteration of Braven’s people leader philosophy, including developing data-informed priority areas and goals for people managers, and determining the optimal way to resource learning objectives in alignment with the L&D philosophy. 

Change Management Support (20%)

• Partner with the Head of People, project owners, and leadership to develop and execute change management strategies for major organizational initiatives (including Enterprise Resource Planning implementation, structural changes, and process improvements)
• Collaborate with the Head of People to develop communication strategies and artifacts to support buy-in and excitement across the organization of the new L&D offerings you will lead in developing.
• Design and deliver training programs to support the adoption of new systems, processes, and ways of working
• Assess change readiness and create learning pathways to address capability gaps.
• Monitor change adoption and effectiveness, adjusting support strategies as needed.

Assessment and Evaluation (5%)

• Implement metrics and evaluation methods to assess the effectiveness and impact of L&D implementation.
• Analyze feedback and data to continuously improve training content and delivery.

Budget and Resource Management (5%)

• Make recommendations for the L&D budget, ensuring efficient use of resources and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Identify and secure external training providers, consultants, and technology vendors as needed.
• Negotiate contracts and manage relationships with external vendors to ensure high-quality training services.
• Manage L&D related platforms such as Lattice, Rise 360
• Other duties, as assigned

Minimum Requirements 

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Organizational Development, Human Resources or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in learning and development, with at least 2 years formally and successfully leading and managing others

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experienced with designing and implementing learning and development programs at scale at a high-growth organization, including building project plans and communication strategies, gaining stakeholder buy-in, and creating program materials
• Strong knowledge and experience with instructional design principles, adult learning theories, and training technologies
• Enthusiastically integrates the latest research, technology, and best practices into adult learning experiences
• Proficient in managing several projects with multiple deliverables, timelines, and cross-functional partners
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and build relationships at all levels
• Analytical mindset with the ability to measure and report on the impact of L&D initiatives to stakeholders

• Demonstrated experience with key technologies such as Jira, Reach 360, Slack, or equivalent.
• Successful track record of building, implementing, and improving operational processes; familiarity with continuous process improvement methodologies.
• Skilled at facilitating learning experiences and trainings for small and large groups, in-person and remotely

• An engaged collaborator who is passionate about connecting with people
• A team player who’s able to communicate well—clearly, kindly, often—within the team and across the organization
• 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 from Braven’s Chicago office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays with the flexibility to work remotely on Mondays and Fridays. 
• Ability to travel about 3-5 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

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.

New hires can expect a starting salary at the beginning of the range to allow room for growth with performance and so that Braven maintains internal equity. The salary ranges, by geographic market, for this role are set forth $92,000-$114,900 in Chicago. This is a full-time, 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 that our total rewards package matches 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 from our office in Chicago (IL). 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.