Senior Director, CEO Initiatives

Senior Director of CEO Initiatives 

College Board – Office of the CEO  

Location: This is a hybrid role and requires the candidate to be on-site at our New York office at a minimum of every Tuesday and Wednesday with other in-person work across New York City as needed.  

Type: This is a full-time position 

About the Team  

The Office of the CEO is a small, high leverage enterprise team that operates at the center of College Board, working directly with the CEO, President, and senior leaders to strengthen and accelerate mission impact. The Office brings together executive leadership support and enterprise execution to ensure the organization moves in a coherent, disciplined, and aligned way.  

We work with urgency, integrity, and a focus on high-quality output, collaborating daily with colleagues across the 1,900-person organization. Our team is committed to providing clarity and meaning for all College Board colleagues to drive organizational priorities and thrive within the organization.   

About the Opportunity 

As the Senior Director, CEO Initiatives, you serve as a leader within the Office of the CEO, owning complex, high-impact strategic initiatives from conception through execution. This role is designed for a seasoned operator who brings strong judgment, enterprise perspective, and the ability to independently drive work that shapes CEO priorities, leadership effectiveness, and organizational outcomes. 

Reporting to the Executive Director, CEO Initiatives, you act as a primary source of capacity for enterprise-level projects that require sustained focus, cross-functional influence, and senior-level problem solving. You are expected to operate with significant autonomy, translate broad direction into clear plans, and drive results with minimal oversight. You work closely with the Chief of Staff, Executive Director and other senior leaders across the organization, but your core priority is staffing the CEO in the day-to-day and exhibiting strong work product that frees up the CEO’s time and advances College Board’s strategic priorities. 

You thrive in ambiguity, anticipate issues before they surface, and are comfortable making decisions, setting direction, and holding others accountable. You bring clarity where there is complexity and momentum where there is inertia. 

In this role, you will: 

Independently own and deliver enterprise-level strategic initiatives for the Office of the CEO (35%) 

• Independently lead complex, multi-month, cross-enterprise initiatives on behalf of the Office of the CEO, from problem definition and strategic design through execution, measurement, and course correction, including work tied to organizational launches, restructures, leadership transitions, and externally driven deadlines 

• Working closely with our Strategic Execution and Enablement (SEE) team, translate CEO and Executive Director priorities into clear strategic plans, success metrics, and decision pathways that enable progress in ambiguous, high-stakes environments 

• Continuously assess evolving conditions, proactively identifying risks, dependencies, and tradeoffs, and advancing clear recommendations that drive timely decision-making and execution 

• Partner with senior leaders across divisions to align priorities, resolve tension, and deliver results against enterprise objectives, particularly during moments of heightened urgency, visibility, or complexity 

• Use data, dashboards, and qualitative insight to inform decisions, monitor progress, and recalibrate strategy in real time, serving as a steady source of judgment and momentum when stakes are high 

Advance CEO effectiveness through targeted, high-leverage work (35%) 

• Own preparation for daily meetings and select high-stakes CEO engagements, initiatives, or decisions requiring deep strategic context and sustained execution 

• Develop decision memos, strategic framing, and synthesis that support high-quality CEO and ELT decision-making 

• Ensure commitments made through CEO-led initiatives are translated into action, monitored for progress, and driven through completion 

• Partner with communications colleagues to shape messaging, narratives, or materials tied to major enterprise initiatives or inflection points  

Serve as a senior partner to the Executive Director, CEO Initiatives and Chief of Staff (20%) 

• Act as a senior thought partner and extension of the Executive Director, assuming full ownership of delegated strategic workstreams with minimal oversight 

• Bring enterprise-level perspective and pattern recognition to help shape prioritization, sequencing, and focus across the Office of the CEO’s portfolio of work 

• Represent the Office of the CEO in senior-level forums and working sessions as appropriate, driving clarity, alignment, and sustained follow-through 

External engagement strategy and CEO leverage (10%) 

• Own the strategic planning, preparation, and follow-through for a defined portfolio of the CEO’s external engagements, ensuring time and attention are focused where they most advance enterprise priorities 

• Develop integrated briefing and framing materials that synthesize external context, stakeholder dynamics, organizational objectives, and desired outcomes for high-impact external meetings and appearances 

• Translate insights, commitments, and signals from external engagements into clear internal actions, recommendations, and strategic inputs for the Executive Director and Chief of Staff 

• Partner closely with Communications, External Relations, Government Relations, and related teams to ensure external engagements reinforce enterprise narrative, positioning, and priorities 

• Track themes, risks, and opportunities emerging from external interactions and surface patterns that inform future CEO priorities and strategic decision-making 

You have: 

• 10–12+ years of experience independently leading complex projects or initiatives in high-stakes, fast-paced environments 

• Demonstrated success owning strategic work end to end, from problem definition through execution and impact assessment 

• Experience working closely with senior executives and influencing outcomes at the C-suite or equivalent level 

• Strong judgment and the ability to navigate ambiguity, competing priorities, and sensitive dynamics with discretion 

• Proven ability to drive cross-functional alignment and execution across diverse stakeholders 

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complexity into clear, actionable insights 

• Strong analytical skills and comfort using data, dashboards, and qualitative inputs to inform decisions 

• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills, with a track record of delivering results without close oversight 

• Proficiency in PowerPoint, Word, and Excel 

• Willingness to work on-site to support key meetings and initiatives and to travel as needed (approximately 20–30%) 

• Bachelor’s degree required 

• Authorization to work in the United States 

 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, 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 $108,000–$170,000.  

• 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.