Senior Director, Policy

About the Team 

Global Policy and External Relations (GPER) is a close-knit team of policy and government relations professionals who drive policy proposals and appropriation priorities from design to implementation. Our core capabilities are policy design and adoption to reach a broader group of students, field and subject-matter expertise to help College Board programs innovate and adapt, and advocacy and policy implementation to build and maintain a powerful network of external allies that will help us advance our organizational goals. 

About the Opportunity  

As the Senior Director of Policy, you will have two main portfolios – both crucial to driving outcomes for students. You will be the College Board’s top expert on assessments and accountability policy, and you will be the regional policy lead for our western states, driving College Board’s policy strategy across all programs. 

As the assessment lead, you will design and lead a policy portfolio that drives the College Board’s state assessment and accountability work – in partnership with internal program leadership. You will be responsible for designing K-12 assessment and accountability policies that measurably lead to growth in our SAT Suite of assessments.  

As a regional policy lead, you will formulate policy agendas that promote organization-wide priorities in twelve western states, including California. You will be the “expert in the room”, providing policy analysis and guidance to execute these state agendas. This important work will require you to collaborate with colleagues in other divisions and advise senior leaders to ensure policy strategy becomes reality. You will develop deep expertise in a dozen states and with other College Board programs like Advanced Placement and BigFuture. 

In this role, you will:  

Policy Expert Portfolio (50%) 

• Serve as the policy lead, organization policy expert, and chief designer on assessment and school accountability policies in K-12 that drive growth in the SAT Suite, alongside other organizational priorities across all states.  

• Collaborate with the data privacy lead and support ongoing tracking, analysis, and strategy. 

• Partner with Government Relations and other cross-divisional teams to develop and promote adoption of legislation and appropriations in states, with a focus on assessment and accountability policies. 

• Serve as key policy spokesperson and expert with federal, state, and local policymakers during meetings and negotiations about assessment-related policies. 

• Track and analyze assessment and accountability policy trends, searching for opportunities to reach more students, and elevate these trends to senior leaders using written and oral communications. 

• Lead cross-divisional workstreams on assessment and accountability policy, driving complex work through to decision-making at the senior executive level.  

• Draft compelling stories for external audiences, including legislators and partner organizations, that lead these audiences to take action aligned to our goals and mission. 

• Cultivate and leverage relationships with organizations that drive K-12 assessment and accountability policy, ensuring College Board is a key voice in policy conversations that are driving change at the federal, state, and district levels.     

Regional and State Policy Strategist (30%) 

• Serve as the policy lead responsible for policy design, analysis, research and strategy, and Policy’s contribution to volume goals for AP, SAT Suite, and Big Future for 12 western states. 

• Serve as one of four regional leads on the Policy Team who will work closely with other analysts, including the data analytics director, in a regional strategy to advance goals. This role will share best practices and communicate state challenges and accomplishments to senior leaders and collaborate across state teams, which are comprised of multiple divisions. 

• Lead, plan, and facilitate strategy and status meetings with external and internal stakeholders and act as the point of escalations for state teams; Lead and manage integrated initiatives.  

• Be instrumental in resolving complex issues independently when evident organizational risks are identified, or critical support is needed.   

Other Policy Work (20%) 

• Advance other policy priorities, in collaboration with the Policy Team and external stakeholders 

• Develop and manage portfolio-related policy partnerships, creating mutually beneficial relationships that advance organizational goals 

• Disseminate and present on key policy information to other staff, as needed 

• Mentor junior staff 

 About You  

You have: 

• 7-10 years of education public policy experience with a demonstrated track record of success in states. Prior experience with state accountability and assessment policies a bonus. 

• Exceptional writing and presentation skills, including the ability to lead and facilitate meetings in-person, remotely, and in a hybrid setting 

• Ability to analyze legislation and craft amendments 

• Strong organization and prioritization skills and the proven ability to move forward multiple projects in concert, both independently and as a member of the team   

• A strong network of connections with external organizations focused on assessment policy and design, accountability policy, and state policy groups. 

• Proven ability to build internal and external relationships and influence others to action 

• Ability to think strategically and innovatively, to come up with creative solutions to thorny problems, then persevere to see the best ideas through to execution 

• Experience working with government relations, sales, and other field teams preferred 

• Willingness to grow and contribute to strong team culture 

• Ability to travel 8-12 times a year (or more depending on where you are based) 

• A bachelor’s degree in public policy or a related field; master’s preferred 

About Our Process   

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled   

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

About Our Benefits and Compensation 

College Board offers a competitive benefits and compensation program that attracts top talent looking to make a difference in education. As a self-sustaining non-profit, we believe in compensating employees equitably in relation to each other, their qualifications, their impact, and the relevant market.  

The hiring range for a new employee in this position is $112,000 - $170,000. College Board differentiates salaries by location so where you live will narrow the portion of this range in which you can expect a salary.  

Your salary will be carefully determined based on your location, relevant experience, the external labor market, and the pay of College Board employees in similar roles. College Board strives to provide our best offer up front based on this criteria.  

Your salary is only one part of all that College Board offers, including but not limited to:    

• A comprehensive package designed to support the well-being of employees and their families and promote education. Our robust benefits package includes health, dental, and vision insurance, generous paid time off, paid parental leave, fertility benefits, pet insurance, tuition assistance, retirement benefits, and more 

• Recognition of exceptional performance through annual bonuses, salary growth over time through market increases, and opportunities for merit raises and promotions based on increased scope of responsibility 

• A job that matters, a team that cares, and a place to learn, innovate and thrive 

You can expect to have transparent conversations about benefits and compensation with our recruiters throughout your application process. 

About Our Culture  

 Our community matters, and we strive to practice and improve our culture daily. Here are some headlines:  

• We are motivated to positively impact the educational and career trajectories of millions of students a year  

• We prioritize building a diverse and inclusive team where every employee can thrive, and every voice is heard 

• We are a dynamic hybrid team, giving staff members the choice to either be fully remote or hybrid if they live close to a College Board office. Hybrid employees go into offices every Tuesday and Wednesday 

• We welcome staff to join any or all six of our affinity groups: ARISE (Alliance for Asian Retention, Inclusion, Success, and Engagement; DIASPORA (Alliance for Pan-African Success and Achievement); Pride (alliance for LGBTQ+ staff and allies); Resilience (alliance for Native staff and advocates); SALSA (Staff Alliance for Latinx Success and Achievement); and WIN (Women’s Impact Network)  

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