Braven Online Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant (Virtual), Fall 2021
If interested, please send your resume and cover letter to marthe@bebraven.org
Braven’s Mission
In America, we’ve promised that hard work and ambition will be met with equality of opportunity. The reality is that we have a quiet crisis on our hands. Despite 1.3 million low-income or first-generation students enrolling in college each year, only three in ten will attain a strong first job or enroll in graduate school upon graduating. In partnership with universities and employers, we believe Braven is a solution and we are on a mission to scale it, equalizing access to the American Dream.
We are looking for people passionate about ensuring all young people can put their education to work at this unique moment in time for our organization:
- In 8 short years, we have grown from 14 students in a pilot on one campus to a community of 3,300 strong across four sites.
- Both prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic, these young adults outpaced their peers by 22 percentage points in strong job attainment within six months of college graduation. 58% of Braven Fellows in the Class of 2020 secured a quality economic opportunity within six months, compared to 41% of all students nationally and 36% of peers. Braven Fellows outpace their peers in internship attainment, non-cognitive skill growth, and college persistence.
- Over the next 3 years, Braven will serve a total of 8,300+ new Fellows across our existing four sites and new sites and innovate on our core model.
The Role
In partnership with Braven’s college access and persistence partners, Braven is offering a rigorous 15-week career development experience open to select undergraduate students to learn leadership and career-readiness skills to accelerate their post-graduate career opportunities. As part of this program, participants will submit a variety of assignments that will contribute to their personal career trajectory and record of achievement.
Teaching Assistants (TAs) assist Braven staff and volunteers with various professional and technical duties associated with the BravenX and Braven Online programs. Once trained, TAs are each mapped to a cluster of approximately 20-30 Braven Online participants. The TA is responsible for evaluating the progress of those participants, providing feedback to enhance their learning, and supporting them to be successful in the Braven Online program. In this position, TAs enhance their skills in evaluation, teaching, and professionalism while gaining an understanding of how a successful non-profit organization functions and grows. All work for this position will be conducted virtually. Work ranges from an average of 5-20 hours per week depending on the grading cycle.
Responsibilities
Specific responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
- Assessing a variety of student work products, including print, digital, and social media artifacts (e.g.,resumes, cover letters, reflections, project plans) for mastery using aligned, research-based rubrics and assessment tools
- Providing feedback on student work
- Maintaining virtual office hours to provide direct individual feedback on projects and support participants with their career goals
- Clarifying course material or content for students
- Communicating with Braven staff and volunteers about the progress of each student
- Sharing in responsibility for the success of the Accelerator by preparing for and actively participating in weekly TA team meetings with Braven staff
- As needed: Virtually facilitate pre-designed lesson plans for Leadership Coaches in case of absences during Learning Labs
Training and Support
Braven will provide initial training to TAs to ensure they are effective in fulfilling the responsibilities above. In particular, our training and support model for TAs is based on helping individuals successfully recognize, practice, and grow in five priority skill-set areas: self-driven leading, problem solving, operating and managing, networking and communicating, and working in teams.
Education and Experience
This role is best suited for those with experience working in professional settings; teaching experience is ideal. The role is also suited for graduate students interested in education, leadership coaching, human resources, learning & development, etc.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Passionate about our mission to build a diverse coalition of future leaders
- Strong written communication skills and ability to give concrete and constructive feedback
- Ability to supervise, assist, and coach Braven Online participants
- Strong organizational and time management skills
- High level of initiative and personal responsibility
- Ability and willingness to facilitate groups of 5-10 students, on occasion
Commitment & Key Dates
Teaching Assistants will be paid competitively for their work with a start date of Thursday, August 19th and an approximate end date of December 31st. Work ranges from 5-20 hours each week depending on the grading cycle with peak weeks being the week of October 4th and November 1st. TAs hold weekly office hours (day and time TBD), join two Learning Lab (class) per month on Wednesdays or Thursdays from 5:00 - 7:00pm Central Time, and attend a weekly 1-hour check-in call with Braven staff on Tuesdays at the choice of 9am CT or 4:30pm CT. Major commitments are listed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14fti0zmbn3MA0kWlM8B62QeOLw3Wf086Ny5ldLtjOwg/edit?usp=sharing
Apply Now
Braven seeks individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to apply for the position. We are committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization, as we want to engage all those who can contribute to this effort. To express interest in serving as a Teaching Assistant, please send your resume to marthe@bebraven.org, along with a brief cover letter explaining your interest in the role.
More About Braven
Braven empowers promising young people on their path to college graduation, meaningful careers, and lives of impact. Alongside educational institutions, Braven provides a scalable model to discover, develop, and connect extraordinary, diverse, and driven young people to high-quality skill building, opportunities, and networks. From Braven will come a generation of leaders as diverse as our future demands.
Participation in Braven programs significantly increases students’ chances of graduating from college and securing gainful employment. Moreover, alumni of the program are more likely to pursue and succeed in high-impact careers, becoming leaders in their sectors and active contributors to a high-performing, diverse, national network of people.
Braven currently operates in Chicago, New Jersey, San Jose, and New York City. We aim to become the nation’s leading accelerator of diverse talent, putting 100,000 emerging leaders on the pathway to college completion and economic mobility.