Executive Director, Business Development

College Board – College Readiness Assessments

100% Remote (anticipated 40-50% travel, usually 1-2 days at a time)

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 Executive Director, Business Development will lead and build out the SAT Suite Market Development and Engagement team responsible for our market and sales strategy, stakeholder engagement, and SAT Suite messaging. With the transition of the SAT Suite to digital assessments now complete, we have established this team to lead how we present the SAT Suite and its mission and benefits to stakeholders (K-12, Higher ED, students and families, media, etc.), with the goal of driving its continued growth as we seek to deliver on our mission for as many students and schools as possible.

About the Opportunity  

As the Executive Director, Business Development, you are a strong business and/or sales strategist who is highly driven to win new business. You are relentless in your pursuit, with a unique ability to assess the specific needs of prospective customers and use that information to develop and implement successful multi-month and year market and sales strategies. You are a strong people influencer and motivator, able to influence external prospects while effectively working internally across divisions and titles to rally others on the importance of the work. You are excited to apply these skills to develop and implement strategies that enable our team to achieve and exceed volume, revenue, and retention goals for districts and states who bring the SAT Suite and its benefits to students. You will develop and leverage your deep understanding of the customers and stakeholders we serve, the programs we deliver, and the other organizations in our market to refine our market and sales strategy, including leading our RFP processes. Through extensive engagement with current and prospective customers and analysis of the assessment and ed tech space, you will identify new products and features to better meet the needs of the K-12 market. You are driven by the chance to help a diverse set of students access college, scholarship, and career opportunities, thus opening doors to access and opportunity. You believe in our triple bottom line, creating mission, member, and margin value, the last of which enables College Board to reinvest in providing best in class services to our K-12 partners. Your experience, strong strategic and business acumen, and belief in the power of the SAT Suite enable you to communicate effectively with professionals across the education industry and build new relationships with institutional decision makers and thought leaders within this space. 

You will report to the SVP, College Readiness Assessments, as a member of our division’s senior leadership team. You will manage a small team (3-4) to start as you work to identify the additional roles you need and will work with teams and leaders across the organization as you craft and lead our sales pursuits (teams including Government Relations & Public Policy; State and District Partnerships; Communications & Marketing; Finance; Legal and Strategy).

In this role, you will: 

Sales Strategy and Implementation (75%)

• Continuously refine our market and sales strategy and SAT Suite value propositions for all the assessments in the SAT Suite

• Design and implement our strategy to secure new K-12 state and district partners to achieve and surpass sales goals

• Lead our RFP process to secure new contracts and renew current contracts using your deep knowledge of what makes the digital SAT Suite a best-in-class suite of assessments

• Serve as the CRA lead for the State and District Partnerships (“SDP”) division as we execute on and refine our market and sales strategy, ensuring the SDP team has the resources, training, and collateral needed to execute our sales strategy

• Provide strategic direction and, when necessary, support in key sales opportunities to secure new business and retain existing partners 

• Manage a prioritized list of program and product enhancements that would win and retain contracts and increase business

• Provide key input to a long list of medium and long-term enhancements, features, and products that would open additional markets and extend our competitive strategy

• Utilize expertise in our competitive landscape, leveraging that knowledge to inform strategic messaging and differentiation of College Board solutions in the market

Communications and Customer Engagement (25%) 

• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of the SAT Suite’s value, strategy, operations, and business model

• Create and own, in partnership with our Communications team, our strategic messaging and full ecosystem of communications to each stakeholder group

• Refine our strategic messaging, materials, and resources in partnership with our communications team that support our customers and stakeholders

• Ensure that our external engagement and presence at 50+ conferences and committee meetings per year with K-12 and Higher Ed are oriented to our strategic, growth and market insights goals and needs

• Develop a deep understanding of the current and future K-12 market needs to help shape CRA product development

• Manage direct reports towards strong outcomes while ensuring they are supported and engaged

About You

You have:

• 10+ years of experience, including strong recent experience as a sales or business strategist (experience in the K-12 assessments landscape, trends, and market including technology platforms and/or EdTech a strong plus)

• Understanding of the fit between product, marketing, sales and service strategies and their applications within a complex environment

• Exceptional ability to engage with customers, gain a thorough understanding of their needs, and translate those insights into actionable strategies and solutions

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

• Strong experience leading and managing diverse teams

• Demonstrated ability developing winning sales and/or new business strategies

• Demonstrated success managing complex sales or operational situations

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

• Demonstrated ability to use standard CRM and business software

• Ability to travel domestically 3-4 times a month to external client sites and College Board offices

• 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 $152,000 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.

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 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).

• We value learning and growth; we offer formal and informal ways to lead through your superpowers, sharpen your strengths, and meet your development goals.

• We know that our impact is strongest together. Our College Board Cares program offers all staff up to $1,000 annual match against partner non-profit organizations.

• We offer a transparent approach to promotions and merit raises, annual performance-based bonuses, and how to grow your career here over time.

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