About Braven
What is 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." Its mission is "to equip promising college students with the skills, networks, confidence, and experience necessary to transition from college to strong economic opportunities, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact."
The program begins with a semester-long course, credit-bearing at partner universities, followed by support through graduation. Braven's site reports "Over 15,000 Fellows", an uplift in strong-job attainment of 14-22 percentage points over peers within six months of graduation, and a mean salary "+$9.1K" above recent college graduates aged 23-24 for its 2024 graduates. Aimée Eubanks Davis, a former sixth-grade teacher from Chicago's South Side, started the organization in 2013 as Beyond Z, with a first college pilot of 17 students at San José State University. Current postings describe an ambition of serving 80,000-100,000 Fellows over the next decade.
Where will I work?
In a hub city, on a hybrid schedule. Postings say "We gather in the office 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) and work remotely 2 days a week (Monday and Friday)", and that teammates must live within commuting distance of a hub: Chicago, Newark, New York or Atlanta, depending on the role. Executive Director roles are based in Alabama and North Carolina. The site lists local programs in Atlanta, the Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Delaware, Greater Boston, New Jersey and New York, plus BravenX, the online version of the course. Roles ask for travel 3-6 times a year for quarterly team meetings.
What is the Braven team like?
The About page names five values: Prove the Possible, Embrace the journey, Find a way, Go together, go further, and Live your legacy. It lists a leadership team of founder and CEO Aimée Eubanks Davis, a chief technology officer, a chief product officer, a chief of staff and executive directors for each region. Open roles span program operations, fellow recruitment and campus engagement, employer partnerships, finance, people strategy, social media, technical project management and software engineering. Postings describe a hiring process of a phone screen, a performance task and interview with the hiring manager, a panel interview with key partners and reference checks.
Work-Life Balance
Postings pair a published time-off floor with a long-hours basis, so read both. Time off is "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)"; some postings still say "Unlimited vacation time in addition to org-wide holidays and week-long shutdowns in July and the end of the year." Every full-time posting also states that its salary range "is based on a 50-hour work week" for a position "working at 100% capacity". The benefits cover family-building and parental leave, and add a paid sabbatical after four years.
Perks and Benefits
- Discretionary time off, with a minimum of 19 days a year, plus org-wide holidays and two week-long shutdowns (July and December)
- 12 weeks of paid parental leave
- $25,000 in lifetime Carrot benefits for fertility, family-building and hormonal health
- Match of 401(k) contributions up to 5% of base salary, from the first full month
- Coverage of 85% of the health insurance premium for the employee and dependents
- 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