Director, Product Development - AP Readiness

Director, Product Development - AP Readiness

College Board – AP&I 

Location: This is a fully remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office). 

Type: This is a full-time term position that will last 18 months from the start date.   

About the Team:  

The College Board’s Advanced Placement and Instruction division develops and administers coursework taken by more than 3 million students worldwide each school year, and the related subject matter exams utilized by more than 4,000 colleges and universities for course placement and awarding of college credit. These include credit and placement examination programs like CLEP and ACCUplacer; Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre-AP courses in 40+ disciplines; and associated teacher professional learning programs.   

The AP Program Access department focuses on expanding availability of AP and Pre-AP courses, participation among traditionally underserved students, and supporting teachers. Our goal is to serve a broad range of high school students to succeed in rigorous courses and earn credit opportunities that accelerate them to and through college. Within this department, our AP Readiness & Learning team of 14 focuses on growing the pipeline of students ready for AP by  

• Implementing our Pre-AP program and strengthening its role in building readiness for AP 

• Exploring how students and teachers experience the early years of implementing new AP courses  

• Understanding perceptions of AP’s teacher professional learning (PL) offerings to inform program design 

We use what we learn to enhance how AP and Pre-AP teachers are trained, supported, and retained, emphasizing effectively leading classrooms that meet the needs of all students, including those taking AP courses for the first time. We are currently assembling a new Readiness Design Team to develop and execute a strategy for building the pipeline of students ready for AP, focusing on designing and deploying resources and tools for 8th and 9th grade classrooms.  

About the Opportunity:   

As Director, Product Development - AP Readiness, you will play a key role in designing new approaches to measuring and documenting the academic behaviors and skills students need to transition to high school ready for AP course taking. You will create an evidence-based prototype for AP Readiness badging, collaborating with cross-divisional teams to develop and launch the product, ensuring it integrates with our technology systems. You will also work across teams to ensure we have a platform for collecting, reviewing, and providing feedback on student work samples associated with AP Readiness Badging.
As a 0 to 1 product manager launching a new product, you will create structure from greenfield possibilities or expand existing solutions. You will rally the team around the mission and build confidence in the product. You will bridge the gap between strategy, design, and the practical realities of working in middle schools, which are not typical AP program partners. Your ability to thrive in ambiguity and adapt plans swiftly will be key to our success.

In this role, you will focus on:   

Product Design and Launch (80%)   

• Working closely with the Director - AP Readiness Strategy, codify evidence-based skills that signify readiness for AP, and develop plans to incorporate these skills across middle school offerings 

• Define and execute on overall vision for an evidence-based AP Readiness Badge prototype reflective of the academic behaviors and skills students need to be ready for AP course taking  

• Formulate an AP Readiness Badge design plan driven and informed by market research, internal partner feedback, outreach and interaction with educators and students, ensuring that new AP Readiness Badging is meaningful in the field and effectively engages students and schools with the AP community  

• Work closely with cross-functional teams in product development and technology to ensure alignment on feasibility of building necessary data collection and reporting systems  

• Define key product and business metrics that would inform prioritization of features and the direction for launching a product that adequately reflects the skills aligned with AP readiness 

• Be accountable for the product roadmap and successful launch of new AP Readiness Badging  

Product and Technology Management (20%)  

• Develop and execute timelines and work plans, managing deadlines and workflow across cross divisional teams   

• Work with cross-divisional teams to ensure that all aspects of the product development process are coordinated, with a focus on smooth transitions between design phases  

• Communicate proactively across cross-divisional teams about prioritization and emerging needs  

• Understand technical concepts and be able to communicate them to non-technical audiences   

About You

You have:  

• 5+ years of experience in product management, product strategy, and/or product consulting roles with a focus on prototyping and testing, ideally in middle and high schools  

• Technical fluency and experience managing products from inception through design to implementation and launch   

• Experience defining user needs and documenting product requirements in small, well-articulated, and valuable deliverables 

• Some experience with translating external user needs to technical stakeholders and/or internal teams and vice versa 

• Strong organizational and project management skills to keep projects on track, matched by comfort with ambiguity that allows you to adjust plans rapidly in the face of new information or challenges  

• Excellent communication and listening skills, including helping others understand practical implications of data analyses   

• Adept problem-solving skills, including using data to inform decisions and actions  

• Strong collaboration skills and energized by working on cross-divisional teams 

• Demonstrated ability to influence others and a relationship-building approach that’s motivated by a strong, user-centric orientation 

• Strong attention to detail and a thorough, feedback-oriented approach 

• An ability to make connections across a variety of teams, seeing the big picture through the details and accommodating different points of view  

• An ability to travel 3-5 times per year  

• Authorization to work in the United States 

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 $80,000 to $140,000.  

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 )

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