Academic Director Jobs in Decatur, GA (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: Director, Academic Success
Team: Central Accelerator Team
Location: Hybrid in Atlanta, GA
Employment Type: Full-time
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Start Date: August 2026
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, Academic Success, who will lead a team responsible for ensuring college students enrolled in our course not only stay on track but thrive.
You will oversee a team of 5-7 Associate Directors of Program Success (ADPSs) who are responsible for grader management, academic interventions, and supporting volunteers across multiple higher education partners. You'll coach your team to analyze student data, implement targeted supports, and ensure every Fellow receives the feedback and scaffolding they need to succeed. You'll also collaborate with peers to build the systems, tools, and learning experiences that enable consistent, high-quality execution across campuses, all while collaborating with cross-functional teams to elevate academic integrity and student achievement. This is an ideal role for someone who thrives at the intersection of instructional leadership, operational execution, and team management, and who is eager to shape the future of a growing national program.
This role is on the Central Accelerator Team and reports directly to the Head of Central Accelerator Delivery.
What You'll Do
Team Culture and Empowerment (30%)

• Manage, develop, coach, and empower Associate Directors of Program Success across 5-7 higher education partnership sites
• Cultivate a culture of belonging, results orientation, curiosity, continuous improvement, and collaboration to drive program outcomes and a strong staff experience in line with Braven's core values and core competencies
• Ensure your teammates have the right mindsets, collaboration structures, data review protocols, and student intervention strategies to drive outcomes with fidelity

Program Oversight, Data Monitoring, Continuous Improvement (30%)

• Be accountable for student grades, mastery of content, and course outcomes
• Develop processes to monitor student outcomes and grader management across sites, and support teammates to curate the right strategies and tactics to meet goals and sustain relationships with critical stakeholders
• Deeply understand the idiosyncrasies, policies, norms, and preferences of the campuses and regional teams' Professor of Record appointed to the course
• Problem-solve issues that arise at each site, balancing student outcomes, customer service orientation, and the needs and interests of our regional teams on whose behalf we deliver the course
• In collaboration with the Product and Tech teams, build the requisite tools, processes, and systems to ensure quality execution of student intervention at scale across campuses
• Lead regular student performance reviews with ADPSs, analyzing trends and developing intervention plans for students at risk of disengagement or not completing the course successfully

Learning and Development for Grader Management and Data Fluency (30%)

• Build reusable Learning and Development for ADPSs to introduce, reinforce, and develop the right mindsets, skills, competencies, and practices to drive strong student outcomes
• Establish a knowledge-sharing system for ADPSs to document and exchange effective practices, case studies, and lessons learned.

Program Delivery Collaboration (10%)

• Collaborate with other same-role peers to ensure the Head of Central Accelerator Delivery and the Product Leadership are equipped with org-wide trends, bright spots, and red flags in the world of Accelerator outcomes
• Advocate for and collaborate with other central teams to improve the entire program delivery apparatus and enable sustained success at scale through collaboration
• Internalize the functions and goals of other teams and proactively communicate across teams to ensure you are equipping them to succeed
• Work with peers and the Head of Central Accelerator Delivery to assess overall program outcomes and make decisions that optimize program quality, drive participant impact, and enable fidelity to achieve organizational outcomes

• Other duties as assigned

Requirements
Minimum Requirements

• Bachelors Degree
• 5+ years of relevant work experience, including at least 2 years of staff management experience
• Skilled in quantitative analysis (reporting, forecasting), planning, and project management
• Exceptional communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, and the ability to establish and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with a wide range of people and personality types

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven leadership in multi-site or remote team management, with an ability to lead a distributed team across different universities and Braven hub offices
• Previous experience coaching and/or managing professionals in an educational setting
• Experience in higher education or working with university faculty and staff, ensuring alignment with institutional policies
• Experience implementing systems and ability to proactively identify needs, think through options, and intervene when necessary
• Ability to operate within a defined system or model, yet demonstrate appropriate problem-solving skills and creativity
• Demonstrated commitment to building strong, collaborative relationships and welcoming cultures that help to develop others
• Experience that has informed your belief in Braven's mission and has prepared you to work with Braven's student Fellow population.
• Exemplification of Braven's core values.

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 in Atlanta, (GA) at least 3 days per week
• Travel up to 3-4 times a semester
• Availability up to 3 evenings/week to support live programming

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

Benefits
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.
Starting salary within the range is determined by role scope and qualifications, with new hires starting at the lower end to allow for growth with performance. Braven does not base compensation on individual candidate salary expectations and is committed to maintaining internal equity. The salary ranges, by geographic market, for this role are set forth as $87,200-$108,900 in Atlanta. This is based on a 50-hour work week at an hourly rate. This is a full-time, regular, 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 our total rewards package aligns with what they are looking for in their next opportunity are encouraged to apply.
Location
We gather in the office 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) and work remotely 2 days a week (Monday and Friday). Therefore, this role requires teammates to live within commuting distance of our Atlanta office. 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.