Associate Director, Talent Acquisition & Operations

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.