Executive Director, SAT Weekend Program Management

Posted:
11/13/2024, 3:39:44 AM

Experience Level(s):
Expert or higher ⋅ Senior

Field(s):
Product

Workplace Type:
Remote

College Board – College Readiness Assessments

100% Remote

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 life after high school. The SAT Suite connects students to a wide range of post-high school opportunities, including scholarships, careers, and colleges and universities. In 2023, 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.

The SAT Weekend Program Management team is responsible for our traditional SAT model where students register to take the SAT during the weekend at a test center near them, both domestically and internationally. The team is responsible for successfully administering the SAT to millions of students every year in over 170 countries, with the goal of driving the SAT Weekend’s continued growth and development as we seek to deliver on our mission for as many students as possible. The team oversees the product roadmap and collaborates closely with various internal and external stakeholders to understand what innovations or enhancements are needed to better serve students and educators. This role oversees the student experience from registration to test submission to test-day readiness and administration day, as well as the end-to-end test center staff experience.

About the Opportunity  

As the Executive Director, SAT Weekend Program Management, you are energized by the opportunity to lead and build the SAT Weekend program amidst an increasingly competitive and dynamic assessment landscape. You are excited to understand and lead our full business model, influencing large-scale business decisions that impact students daily. In this role, you will oversee the successful delivery and launch of SAT Weekend program changes, ensuring they meet student and educator expectations and are delivered on time. You will tackle daily operational challenges and customer escalations, drive pricing and competitive strategy, and monitor market trends to increase our reach. Collaborating with the Communications team, you will develop compelling value propositions to recruit new weekend test centers as well as campaigns to position the SAT as the preferred college entrance exam with students and their parents and educators. Partnering with the Digital Product Team, you will support student registration and readiness efforts for test day, as well as identify future product enhancements and features to acceptance. Additionally, you will work with our Partnerships team to drive international and domestic growth, expanding the global market share of the SAT Suite. Your leadership will ensure the SAT Weekend model consistently meets high standards, maintaining student and educator satisfaction while achieving financial goals.

As the leader of the SAT Weekend Program Management team, you will manage a team of five individuals, each leading various aspects of work supporting our SAT Weekend model. You will report directly to the Vice President, SAT Suite Program and Innovation as a member of our division’s senior leadership team. Your role will be highly visible across the organization, and you will work closely with colleagues in Operations, State and District Partnerships, Communications and Marketing, and Legal.   

In this role, you will:

Program Management & Stakeholder Satisfaction (60%)

  • Manage the execution of the SAT Weekend model, including policy, programming, as well as student and educator experiences 

  • Lead and manage a team engaged in program policies, administration, customer satisfaction, and program growth and enhancements; foster and maintain team cohesion and engagement

  • Review and revise SAT Weekend policies based on stakeholder feedback and market trends, both domestic and international 

  • Define and develop the SAT Weekend product roadmap with the Digital Product team to identify short, medium, and long-term product changes, obtaining stakeholder input and synthesizing conflicting needs 

  • Liaise with internal and external stakeholders to inform program changes and enhancements as well as provide updates on SAT Weekend program, both domestic and international  

  • Manage ongoing test center strategy with Operations, leading effort to expand test center capacity, especially across the United States’ West Coast, while supporting and sustaining current test centers 

  • Manage the honoraria program and cost management expenses of SAT Weekend administrations, in close collaboration with Operations and Finance 

  • Manage all ancillaries and access-related programs, including fee waivers, device lending, SAT study guide, and score sending 

Program Strategy & Administration (25%)

  • Drive pricing strategy for the SAT Weekend model, identifying volume drivers and cost saving opportunities

  • Monitor market trends and make decisions to increase volume both domestically and internationally, working closely with Finance

  • Define the business cases for new investments (technical or non-technical), utilizing deep market understanding of what offerings or enhancements would provide value to customers  

  • Set requirements for our Operations team who supports coordinators and student before, during, and after an SAT Weekend administration

  • Set and finalize administration calendar and vetting of associated dates for our seven weekend administrations 

  • Manage the response to unexpected events impacting weekend administrations on a global, national, or local level, including but not limited to natural disasters or other events that cause test center closures 

  • Provide guidance and direction for the management of customer escalations with external-facing teams

  • Serve as point of contact for escalations from students, parents, counselors, and test centers 

Information Management (15%)

  • Provide guidance on readiness to stakeholders and partners on readiness actions

  • Serve as subject matter expert for test center staff training  

  • Oversee the documentation and maintenance of gold source materials for downstream team efforts, including training, website, annuals, presentations, and other team needs  

About You

You have:

  • 10+ years of experience in program/business management, with a strong focus on K-12 assessments, test preparation and/or EdTech

  • Proven success setting vision and direction, and managing a team to achieve aligned goals and metrics

  • Understanding of and curiosity about the K-12 assessment landscape, trends, and market including testing technology platforms

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

  • Understanding of the fit between product, marketing, sales, pricing, and service strategies and their applications within K-12

  • Demonstrated ability to lead large-scale cross-functional teams centered around seamless delivery and customer satisfaction

  • Demonstrated success managing complex operational situations

  • Strong knowledge of marketing, business, and financial principles

  • Demonstrated ability to design and deliver presentations and effectively facilitate high-stakes internal and external meetings

  • Ability to work on Saturdays and remain accessible on Sundays for seven specific weekends each year during Weekend SAT administrations

  • Ability to travel domestically (up to 15%, typically for 1-3 days at a time) to observe test administrations and/or give presentations

  • Bachelor's degree in a business-related field; MBA is a plus

  • Authorization to work in the U.S.

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 screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise and/or panel interview, and reference checks.  This is an approximately 8-week process

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 $144,000 to $220,000. 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.

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