Fast Facts

The College Board seeks a Director of Instructional Services to lead budget management, grant processes, and contractor relations within the AP Access team, aimed at expanding the AP Program's reach and support for underrepresented students.

Responsibilities: The role involves managing budgets, overseeing contingent worker contracts, guiding grant processes, and ensuring compliance with operational standards to support professional learning programs.

Skills: Candidates should have experience in business operations/finance, vendor management, strong spreadsheet skills, and the ability to design clear processes and templates.

Qualifications: 4–7 years in relevant roles with proven budget management and vendor engagement experience, preferably in education or non-profit sectors.

Location: This is a fully remote role available to candidates in the United States, with an option for hybrid work for those near College Board offices.

Compensation: $80000 - $135000 / Annually

College Board – AP and Instruction

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).

Role Type: This is a full-time position

About the Team

The AP Access team’s goal is to extend the growth and reach of the AP Program to serve the middle third of high school students by growing participation, serving more underrepresented students, and supporting teachers and schools to help students succeed. The Instructional Services team within this department is dedicated to bringing innovative approaches to AP teaching and learning to scale that are inspired by and build on the needs, experiences, and insights of our educator and student communities.

We work closely with our colleagues across AP and Instruction and in Communications and Marketing to ensure that we are aligned in all efforts to promote the work of AP Courses and Programs to a wide range of audiences including students, parents, educators, policymakers, the media, member organizations and staff.

The Advanced Placement Program® (AP) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. The program consists of college-level courses developed by the AP Program that high schools can choose to offer, and corresponding exams administered once a year.

About the Opportunity 

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the financial and operational backbone of the Instructional Services team. The position spans three core areas: building and maintaining the team’s operating budget, managing tuition waiver and grant processes with precision and compliance, and overseeing the contracting of contingent workers and business partners. By driving budget strategy, strengthening financial controls, and standardizing contracting practices, this role ensures Instructional Services can deliver high-quality professional learning programs at scale. The successful candidate will serve as a trusted partner to Finance, Legal, Procurement, and program leads, playing a critical role in aligning resources with impact and sustaining operational excellence.

In this role, you will:

Lead Contingent Worker & Business Partner Contracting for Instructional Services (30%)

• Own and drive the full contingent workforce contracting process to support the evolving needs of the Instructional Services team, ensuring seamless and efficient engagement from request through offboarding.
• Act as the go-to expert for all things VNDLY: post roles, manage requisitions, coordinate rate cards, curate shortlists, and guide approvals through to completion.
• Manage the full lifecycle of contingent engagements—including Statements of Work (SOWs), onboarding (e.g., W‑9, COI, background checks), deliverable tracking, renewals, and offboarding, with precision and speed.
• Ensure compliance and consistency in classification, legal terms, and contracting standards, partnering with Legal and Procurement when necessary to resolve issues or elevate complex cases.
• Track spend, monitor deliverables, and proactively troubleshoot timecard and invoicing concerns to ensure alignment with SOWs and team objectives.
• Maintain and continuously improve a centralized Contingent Worker contracting playbook with templates, SLAs, FAQs, and vendor performance metrics to promote transparency and consistency.
• Serve as the primary liaison for business partner contracting and payment requests, ensuring timely and accurate processing.
• Oversee and refine the business partner contracting playbook, establishing clear standards and performance benchmarks that drive excellence across engagements.
• Develop and implement a scalable process to manage Professional Learning tuition fee waivers, ensuring efficiency and growth.

Exceed target application goals for general AP Participant Grants and SDP incentives in 2025 by effectively managing the grant process. (30%)

•  Design and maintain standardized grant intake, review, budgeting, and reporting templates (SOPs, checklists, RACI).
• Partner with program leads to create compliant grant budgets, narratives, and milestones aligned to allowable cost rules.
• Set and manage the grant calendar (deadlines, submissions, reporting, close-out) to ensure on-time, error-free deliverables.
• Monitor and analyze grant burn rate vs. milestones; track restricted vs. unrestricted funds; prepare funder reports and dashboards.
• Ensure compliance with grant terms, procurement policies, and internal controls; maintain complete source documentation.

Oversee and reconcile the Instructional Services team budget with accuracy and timeliness, aligned to developed business cases (30%)

• Build and own the annual Instructional Services operating budget; translate program plans into detailed line-item budgets (staffing, ICs, travel, platforms, curriculum, events).
• Maintain and update rolling forecasts (monthly/quarterly); conduct variance analyses, interpret key drivers, and recommend corrective actions.
• Develop professional learning scenario models (e.g., cohort sizes, delivery formats, rates) and analyze unit economics (cost per teacher/cohort).
• Track and reconcile balances and actuals with Finance; verify proper coding (GL, cost centers, projects).
• Implement spend controls, approval matrices, and documentation standards; maintain audit-ready financial files.

Cultivate and manage partner relationships to ensure operational alignment with partnership goals (10%).

• Drive program growth by increasing the number of students earning AP with WE recognition by 10% in 2025.
• Evaluate and streamline the AP with WE teacher authorization process to reduce administrative friction and expand participation.
• Redesign and enhance AP with WE pages on AP Central in collaboration with the Director of Communications to deliver a more intuitive educator experience.
• Design, launch, and analyze an end-of-year teacher survey with the AP with WE Program Manager and Marketing Insights Team to generate actionable insights.
• Coordinate with the Communications team to transition customer support from the AP with WE inbox to Salesforce and the Customer Service department, ensuring compliance with Legal guidelines and delivering responses within three business days.

About You

Exceptional candidates can effectively speak to: 

• 4–7 years in business operations/finance, program operations, or vendor management (education, nonprofits, or services preferred).
• Proven ownership of a department/program budget (build, forecast, variance analysis) and grant or restricted‑fund management.
• Hands‑on experience managing contractor or vendor engagements through a VMS (VNDLY strongly preferred) or similar tools.
• Strong command of spreadsheets and financial modeling; able to turn program plans into costed scenarios and KPIs.
• Process design mindset: builds clear SOPs, templates, and controls; improves cycle time and accuracy.
• Excellent cross‑functional communication with Finance, Legal, Procurement, and program leaders.
• Working knowledge of compliance basics (grant terms/allowable costs, vendor onboarding, worker classification) and audit readiness.
• The ability to travel up to eight 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 thehiring 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 $80,000 –$135,000.
• 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 ourcareers page for more.

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