Associate Director, Digital Communications – Fellow Engagement

Responsibilities

• Design and own Braven’s national post‑Accelerator Fellow engagement strategy, setting direction and standards for how we engage Fellows through graduation using scalable, data-informed approaches.
• Shift Braven’s Fellow communications from primarily informational to engagement-driven, ensuring messaging and content drive participation in high-impact behaviors tied to career outcomes.
• Partner closely with Career Communities Directors to ensure communications drive Fellow participation in industry-specific and pathway-specific programming, including graduate school and service year pathways.
• Own the Fellow engagement strategy for the MyBraven platform, driving adoption, usage, and sustained participation while contributing insights to platform optimization decisions.
• Establish and monitor engagement metrics that are explicitly connected to Fellow outcomes (e.g., internship attainment, interview readiness, strong first opportunity), ensuring strategy drives results—not just activity.
• Lead cross‑functional alignment and decision-making across Program Operations, Product, Systems, and Marketing to ensure engagement efforts operate as a cohesive national system.
• Determine the most effective channels and formats (e.g., platform content, social media, email, text) for engaging post‑Accelerator Fellows based on data and Fellow behavior.
• Build feedback loops and continuous improvement mechanisms to refine engagement strategies based on performance, Fellow input, and outcomes data.
• Design and lead Braven’s social media engagement strategy for post‑Accelerator Fellows, positioning social platforms as a key channel for education, skill-building, and motivation—not just brand awareness.
• Partner with Communications & Marketing to align Fellow-facing social content with Braven’s broader brand strategy while clearly differentiating goals, audiences, and success metrics.
• Define and evolve national vs. regional social media strategies to ensure consistency, relevance, and scalability across markets.
• Research, test, and implement best practices from high-engagement, student-centered, and early-career social accounts to increase reach, participation, and impact.
• Use social media as an extension of Braven’s career education model—reinforcing key mindsets, skills, deadlines, and opportunities that support Fellows’ progress toward internships and strong first opportunities.
• Establish clear metrics for social engagement that connect to downstream behaviors and outcomes, and iterate strategy accordingly.
• Lead significant cross‑functional initiatives and change management efforts, influencing stakeholders without direct authority to drive adoption of new engagement strategies and systems.
• Serve as a thought partner and advisor to senior leaders on post‑Accelerator Fellow engagement, participation trends, and risks to outcomes.
• Lead and laterally manage regional staff, contractors, and student ambassadors, contributing to Fellow engagement and social content execution.
• Prepare to take on direct people management responsibilities (e.g., interns or future FTEs) as the function scales.
• Represent Braven internally and externally as a leader in postsecondary student engagement and career-focused community building.

• 5-7 years of progressive experience in engagement strategy, communications, or related fields, including leading complex, cross‑functional work streams.
• Demonstrated experience developing digital engagement strategies that drive measurable behavior change, not just message delivery.
• Strong systems‑thinking skills, with the ability to design, execute, and iterate on engagement models that operate at a national scale.
• Experience using data and insights to connect engagement efforts to outcomes and inform strategic decision‑making.
• Experience designing engagement strategies for postsecondary students, alumni, or early‑career professionals, particularly in workforce development or higher education contexts.
• Deep understanding of social media and digital engagement trends among Gen Z and emerging Gen Alpha audiences.
• Experience leveraging platforms such as Salesforce, CRM tools, or digital community platforms to drive participation and learning.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive alignment across national and regional teams.
• Strong analytical orientation with comfort defining success metrics, interpreting data, and making strategic tradeoffs.
• Proven ability to thrive in ambiguity, lead through change, and translate complexity into clear direction.