AP Curriculum and Assessment, Associate Director, Program Operations

College Board – AP& I

Location:

This is a hybrid role in the Reston, VA College Board office and requires the candidate to be on-site in the Reston office at least every Tuesday and Wednesday with some weeks requiring more time spent in the 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 AP Curriculum and Assessment Team at College Board (110+ staff) collaborates with colleagues across all aspects of the AP Program to develop, manage, and deliver AP’s 40+ courses in a wide variety of subject areas. AP® is a rigorous academic program built on the commitment, passion, and hard work of students and educators from secondary schools and higher education. AP provides willing and academically prepared high school students with the opportunity to study and learn at the college level. AP’s content leads ensure that course curricula are aligned to higher education expectations and reflect the state of the art in the discipline, contribute to instructional resources and tools for teachers, and develop assessments that allow students in these courses to demonstrate their mastery of course content and skills.

About the Opportunity

The Associate Director, Program Operations is responsible for program execution, financial operations coordination, and operational consistency across Curriculum & Assessment (C&A) programs and functions. This role ensures the successful delivery of high-volume, cross-functional work while establishing clear processes, documentation, planning approaches, and financial coordination practices that enable execution at scale.

Based in Reston, VA this individual will work closely as a part of the AP C&A meeting operations team to support seamless coordination and execution across high-volume programs. This role serves as the primary operational owner of the end-to-end C&A Development Committee experience, ensuring seamless execution across distributed teams and processes. This is a highly execution-focused role requiring strong judgment, attention to detail, and the ability to manage complex, high-volume work with minimal oversight.

In this role, you will:

Program Execution & Delivery (35%)

• Own the end-to-end Development Committee (DC) lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, rotation planning, meeting preparation, onsite execution (for approximately 20% of DC meetings), and post-meeting follow-up
• Lead Development Committee recruitment and rotation processes and timelines within Smartsheet, ensuring continuity, appropriate member composition, and adherence to established guidance and requirements
• Maintain accurate, up-to-date Development Committee rosters by year, serving as the single source of truth for committee membership and participation records
• Maintain a strong onsite presence in the Reston office to support meeting operations, execution coordination, and collaboration across the broader meeting operations team responsible for 65+ meetings annually
• Oversee hotel sourcing and contracting in alignment with organizational policies and in coordination with appropriate partners
• Ensure a high-quality, consistent experience for Development Committee members across all interactions and touchpoints
• Proactively identify and resolve execution challenges to ensure smooth delivery across complex, multi-phase work

Operational Processes, Documentation & Knowledge Management (30%)

• Establish, document, and continuously refine clear, scalable processes that support consistent execution across meetings, DC lifecycle, and budget.
• Define and drive adoption of standardized planning approaches, timelines, tools, templates, and operational practices to improve efficiency and reduce variability
• Identify inefficiencies, redundancies, and gaps in current workflows and implement improvements to streamline execution and strengthen cross-functional coordination
• Ensure process documentation, templates, and operational resources of owned workflows within myC&A Hub SharePoint are current, well-structured, accessible, and consistently used across the team
• Partner with team members responsible for myC&A Hub SharePoint to strengthen content organization, usability, and knowledge-sharing practices for owned workflows
• Translate complex or fragmented ways of working into clear, practical documentation that supports reliable execution and reduces reliance on inconsistent or informal practices

Financial Operations & Budget Coordination (25%)

• Provide day-to-day oversight and management support for the AP Curriculum & Assessment budget portfolio totaling approximately $6 million
• Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of all budget categories, expenditures, forecasts, and financial processes related to C&A operational workstreams
• Monitor spending trends, track budget activity, and proactively identify risks, discrepancies, or areas requiring leadership attention
• Process payments and approve expense reimbursements, related to Development Committees and other contracts initiated by C&A, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timely submission
• Establish and manage clear processes for intake, tracking, approval, and submission of payment requests to vendors and other paying entities
• Partner closely with Finance, Program Enablement, Procurement, and external vendors to ensure smooth coordination and resolution of payment and contracting issues
• Support strong fiscal stewardship through accurate tracking, organized documentation, and consistent adherence to organizational policies and procedures

Cross-Functional Coordination & Operational Leadership (10%)

• Serve as a central point of coordination across teams supporting Development Committees and related programs, ensuring alignment, clarity, and seamless execution
• Coordinate across partner teams, including Program Enablement, ensuring clear roles, smooth handoffs, and a cohesive experience for stakeholders
• Align execution across Resource Management, Professional Learning, and other C&A functions, proactively managing dependencies and communication
• Provide day-to-day operational guidance across team members contributing to program delivery, managing priorities, resolving issues, and ensuring work is aligned
• Independently drive decision-making within scope, elevating risks, tradeoffs, and exceptions as needed

About You

Exceptional candidates can effectively speak to:

• Expertise in managing complex, high-volume programs with multiple stakeholders, with 7–10+ years of experience in program management, operations, or large-scale program delivery
• Strong operational and customer service mindset with a focus on execution, process design, and delivery
• Demonstrated fiscal responsibility and strong financial stewardship skills
• Experience establishing and scaling processes, systems, and documentation
• Experience leading large-scale meetings, events, or committee-based programs, with a strong customer service orientation
• Experience influencing and coordinating work across teams without direct supervisory responsibility
• Experience managing or coordinating complex operational budgets and financial processes
• Strong attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to navigate ambiguity and evolving priorities while managing complex operational and financial information accurately and consistently
• Builds strong, trust-based relationships through a diplomatic, thoughtful, and professional approach
• Exercises strong judgment in decision-making, including knowing when to independently resolve issues and when to escalate for alignment
• Proficiency with operational tools such as Smartsheet and SharePoint
• Experience working in education, assessment, or other mission-driven organizations preferred
• Bachelor’s degree required
• This role may require extended periods of standing and active onsite coordination during meetings and events.
• This role requires a consistent onsite presence in the Reston office and flexibility to support in-person meetings and events, including occasional early mornings, evenings, and weekends.
• The ability to travel 3-6 times a year to College Board offices or on behalf of College Board business.

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 such as live coding, 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 $68,000–$92,000.
• 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.

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