Associate Director, Learning Development & Culture

Braven • Chicago, IL

14h • Hybrid

About The Position

As Braven scales toward serving 80,000–100,000 Fellows, our People & Operations team must execute culture, learning, and engagement strategy with precision and consistency. The Associate Director, Learning, Development & Culture serves as a cross-functional execution partner across the Director of Learning & Development, Director of Learning & Culture, and the Head of People. This role operationalizes strategy, manages key initiatives, builds assets, and ensures that culture, learning, and engagement priorities are implemented effectively. This is a highly collaborative role that blends project management, facilitation, data analysis, and systems execution. The Associate Director will ensure that strategic priorities translate into high-quality experiences for staff across onboarding, learning, engagement, retention, and collective experiences. This role is on the People & Operations team and reports directly to the Head of People.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• 4–6 years of experience in learning & development, organizational culture, employee engagement, organizational effectiveness, or related field.
• Authorized to work in the U.S. Braven does not offer employment visa sponsorship.
• Ability to work in-person in Chicago (IL)
• Ability to travel 2–3 times per year for retreats or team gatherings.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working in nonprofit, education, or mission-driven environments.
• Experience with Culture Amp or similar engagement survey platforms.
• Experience managing onboarding or retention initiatives.
• Proficiency in Google Suite, Slack, Jira, LMS platforms, and learning tools.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects from planning through execution.
• Experience facilitating workshops or leading group learning experiences.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to synthesize qualitative and quantitative data into actionable insights.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across teams and support senior leaders in operationalizing strategy.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Exceptional written communication skills and strong design instincts.
• You exemplify Braven’s core values. Your experiences have informed your belief in Braven’s mission and prepared you to contribute meaningfully to our student Fellow population.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Director of Learning & Development to design, build, and facilitate workshops, toolkits, and learning experiences aligned to organizational priorities.
• Support manager capability-building efforts, including the development of materials tied to culture carrier expectations and values-based leadership.
• Manage onboarding programming logistics and delivery in partnership with People leads to ensure a high-quality new staff experience.
• Develop and maintain learning materials, resources, and facilitator guides.
• Evaluate learning effectiveness using qualitative and quantitative data and recommend improvements.
• Support the execution of the annual Culture Action Plan in partnership with the Director of Learning & Culture and Head of People.
• Administer Culture Amp surveys, support reporting processes, and assist in translating findings into team-level action planning.
• Gather and synthesize engagement, retention, and attrition data to identify themes and inform action steps.
• Support retention strategy implementation, including data tracking and follow-through on action items.
• Assist in codifying and reinforcing Braven’s values across rituals, communications, and staff-facing materials.
• Help steward onboarding and offboarding processes by organizing feedback data and tracking trends.
• Support planning and execution of Staff Retreat in partnership with the Director of Learning & Culture.
• Coordinate logistics, materials, vendor management, and communications for retreats and stepbacks.
• Support People & Culture and broader People & Operations (P&O) team retreats and planning sessions.
• Develop assets, session materials, and run-of-show documents to ensure seamless execution.
• Gather and analyze post-event feedback to inform continuous improvement
• Manage cross-functional project timelines and ensure deliverables across culture and learning initiatives remain on track.
• Maintain documentation, trackers, dashboards, and resource hubs related to culture, engagement, and learning efforts.
• Support vendor coordination and LMS or learning system administration.
• Troubleshoot learning and engagement system issues as needed.

Benefits

• 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

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level