Director, Special Projects

Director, Special Projects 

College Board - CRA 

Location: This is a remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office). All CB employees are required to occasionally travel to meet in person for business purposes. 

Role Type: This is a full-time position 

About the Team  

The College Readiness Assessments ("CRA") division is a team of mission-driven people who deliver the SAT Suite of Assessments (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT10, and PSAT 8/9) to millions of students across the world each year to help open their paths to college, career, and life after high school. The SAT Suite measures the foundational reading, writing and math skills that research shows matter for success in college and career, providing students from all backgrounds a trusted signal of their authentic learning.  More than just tests, the SAT Suite connects students to a wide range of post-high school opportunities, including scholarships, careers, and colleges and universities. In 2024, we retired the use of paper/pencil testing and are now a fully digital SAT Suite offering an assessment that is easier to give, easier to take, more secure, and more relevant.   

About the Opportunity   

The Director, Special Projects operates as a “chief of staff” and strategic thought partner to the Senior Vice President, who leads the SAT Suite program. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role at the center of one of the organization’s most important areas of work: expanding opportunity for millions of students and supporting tens of thousands of schools each year through the College Readiness Assessments division.  

The Director will serve as a trusted partner and force multiplier to the Senior Vice President, helping drive the division’s priorities, operating rhythm, leadership alignment, and execution against ambitious goals. The role will lead goal-setting and performance-driving efforts across the division, ensure critical initiatives are well planned and executed, and help manage the Senior Vice President’s internal and external agenda. Operating at the intersection of strategy and execution, the Director will identify priorities, surface risks, unblock progress, prepare executive-level materials, lead special projects, and represent the Senior Vice President and division in a variety of settings, including with senior leaders across the College Board.  This role will serve as a critical partner in helping the Senior Vice President manage priorities and maximize effectiveness across the division and the College Board.  

As a member of the Senior Vice President’s leadership team, the Director will also serve as a key connector across the division on mission critical initiatives, ensuring clarity, alignment, accountability, and strong communication between the Senior Vice President, her leadership team, and managers across the organization.  

In this role, you will:  

SVP Support (50%)  

• Serve as Chief of Staff and strategic thought partner to Senior Vice President, helping the Senior Vice President manage priorities, make effective decisions, and maximize impact across the SAT Suite program, College Readiness Assessments division, and adjacent teams. 

• Ensure clear, timely communication between the Senior Vice President and her leadership team, translating priorities into action and helping managers understand context, expectations, and decisions. 

• Create the Senior Vice President’s daily email briefings, make recommendations on how to handle incoming asks/projects, prepare upcoming presentations & talking points, and manage her email inbox. 

• Represent the Senior Vice President in internal working groups and meetings, making recommendations and decisions on behalf of SVP and CRA, through sound judgment, professionalism, and executive presence. 

• Draft, proofread, and edit mission critical correspondence, emails, and presentations for the Senior Vice President, representing the entire division and College Board. 

Divisional Support (25%)  

• Develop a deep understanding of the SAT Suite’s mission, strategy, operations, and business model and serve as a member of the CRA leadership team, while providing sound counsel and professional discretion. 

• Lead the division’s goal-setting process, track progress against priorities, identify performance gaps, and help ensure teams are focused on the work that matters most.  

• Define and drive the division’s culture and employee engagement, ensuring these efforts reinforce collaboration, community, transparency, inclusion, and commitment to the College Board’s mission. 

• Partner with our Finance Business Partner on the annual budgeting process, quarterly financial reviews, and quarterly Board reports. 

• Collaborate closely with our Talent Business Partner (HR) on promotion/raise processes, organizational design, headcount, and other Talent initiatives. 

• Plan, manage, and lead our weekly divisional stand-up and monthly divisional meetings, our semi-annual in-person convenings, and semi-annual leadership retreats in addition to managing our 2x/week leadership touchpoints.   

• Manage the Associate Director, CRA Division Management working together to support the Senior Vice President’s priorities and ensure our monthly divisional meetings, team operations and divisional communications are as effective as possible. 

Special Projects (25%)  

• Advance high-priority special projects that require strong problem solving, cross-functional coordination, and the ability to move complex work from ambiguity to execution.  

• Drive AI usage across the division, bringing together CRA’s AI Champions to plan and lead divisional trainings and supports to expand AI awareness and active usage.  

• Foster relationships with a broad set of employees from across the College Board, including senior management, establishing mutual trust and respect that helps the team drive org-wide impact. 

About You  

• Minimum 5-10+ years professional experience including, ideally, several years of experience in a strategic operations role and experience working closely with a senior executive   

• Bachelor’s degree, though an MBA/Master’s is a plus  

• An outstanding record of professional achievement and leadership  

• A passion for supporting educational and career opportunities for millions of students     

• Comfort with ambiguity, complexity, and fast-moving priorities 

• Experience managing complex, cross-functional projects simultaneously, with attention to detail and command of project specifications   

• Strong strategic, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including using data to inform decisions and actions. 

• Excellent judgement and ability to engage with, influence, and make recommendations to senior leaders across the organization  

• Strong ability to work collaboratively and build trust across teams  

• Exceptional verbal and written communications skills, including facilitating meetings and presenting remotely and in-person to groups of 40 or more   

• Experience leading effective meetings and driving follow-through and progress tracking  

• Proficiency with using generative AI to expedite workflows, drive efficiencies, and enhance final work products 

• Ability to travel 1-2 times per quarter, particularly to New York City and Washington, DC  

• Authorization to work in the United States  

All roles at College Board require: 

• A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work 

• Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, with a willingness to experiment with and adopt new AI-driven solutions and comfort with learning and applying new digital tools independently and proactively.  

• Clear and concise communication skills, written and verbal 

• A learner's mindset and a commitment to growth: welcoming diverse perspectives, giving and receiving timely, respectful feedback, and continuously improving through iterative learning and user input. 

• A drive for impact and excellence: solving complex problems, making data-informed decisions, prioritizing what matters most, and continuously improving through learning, user input, and external benchmarking. 

• A collaborative and empathetic approach: working across differences, fostering trust, and contributing to a culture of shared success 

• Authorization to work in the United States 

About Our Process   

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days. 

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone/video screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks.    

What We Offer 

At College Board, we offer more than a paycheck- we provide a meaningful career, a supportive team, and a comprehensive package designed to help you thrive. We’re a self-sustaining nonprofit that believes in fair and competitive compensation grounded in your qualifications, experience, impact, and the market. 

A Thoughtful Approach to Compensation 

• The hiring range for this role is $90,000-$130,000. 

• Your exact salary will depend on your location, experience, and how your background compares to others in similar roles at the College Board. 

• We aim to make our best offer upfront, rooted in fairness, transparency, and market data. 

• We adjust salaries by location to ensure fairness, no matter where you live. 

You’ll have open, transparent conversations about compensation, benefits, and what it’s like to work at College Board throughout your hiring process. Check out our careers page for more.