Project Manager, AP Design and Non-test Publications
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 position
About the Team
The Advanced Placement team supports College Board in serving more than seven million students a year as they prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — specifically through the Advanced Placement (AP) Program. With more than 38 courses in a variety of subject areas, we are committed to promoting innovation, equity, and excellence for generations of students.
The AP design team—currently consisting of two individuals—works with internal stakeholders ensure their products, resources, and outreach materials serve their audiences effectively while remaining on brand. The AP Exam Administration Information group within the AP Program Information team manages the development and delivery of critical instructions and messages to schools throughout the year, from exam ordering in the fall through administration of AP Exams in May. You’ll be joining a small, highly collaborative, and results-oriented team.
About the Opportunity
As the Project Manager, AP Design and Non-test Publications, you are a key member of the AP Program Information team. To support the AP Design team, you will be responsible for the management of design projects from inception to execution—including planning, monitoring, and delivering successful projects that are on time and meet or exceed project objectives You will be critical in helping support high quality graphic design projects, working with internal vendor management, and cross collaborating with a variety of internal clients across Advanced Placement. To support the AP Exam Administration Information team, you will develop and maintain project schedules, update status reports and dashboards, and engage with internal colleagues and external vendors to ensure schedule and project status alignment.
You have expertise in project management, organization, and prioritization. You not only have technical analysis skills and the ability to balance multiple projects at once, but also superb interpersonal and communication skills. You have strong, yet kind management skills with the ability to understand, motivate, inspire trust, and build rapport with peers and leadership; a team player eager to troubleshoot challenges, share your knowledge, and learn from others.
In this role, you will:
Plan, Schedule & Improve (70%)
- Oversee workload capacity for the internal design team, coordinate project timelines, budgetary needs, and effectively communicate project status with multiple internal clients.
- Run daily standup meetings with design team to track progress, assess risks, and stay consistently informed on the progress of all projects. Resolve any issues with appropriate stakeholders.
- Maintain Jira tickets and Smartsheet progress tracker in support of multiple projects for both design team and Exam Administration information team, while making suggestions for improvements and efficiencies.
- Engage with internal and external clients for both design team and Exam Administration information team to generate project estimates, scope or budget as necessary, and manage purchase orders, approvals, invoices and tracking in relation to projects produced through Vendor Management.
- Develop prioritized requirements for AP program initiatives, including supporting data and stakeholder analysis, and manage stakeholder alignment within AP and across other divisions.
- Manage prioritized backlog items across AP, coordinating within AP Delivery agile processes and across divisions to manage activity from requirements through solution implementation .
- Maintain constant knowledge of current and upcoming projects, manage communication around shifting priorities with key stakeholders to ensure positive workflow.
- Utilize principles of project management and agile practices to achieve pace and maintain flexibility, promoting transparency and aligned stakeholder understanding .
- Proactively drive process improvements that will enable the team to be efficient and ensure quality.
- Support AP exam administration team with annual Smartsheet project plan rollovers.
Analyze, Forecast & Communicate (30%)
- Analyze options with a particular focus on rapid clarification and resolution of complex or emergent issues, including costs, challenges, benefits, and recommended course of action and/or key open questions.
- Enhance and formalize standard operating procedures and capacity forecasting, while driving awareness of processes and planning protocol for work requests.
- Produce reporting that speaks to the design team’s output and capacity.
- Manage solution implementation, coordinating across AP product and program managers and engaging staff across other divisions as necessary to bring together the required elements to achieve stated outcomes. Examples of products and programs include: AP Registration and Ordering , AP Digital Assessment, Communications and Outreach , AP Web, Customer Service , AP Score Reporting , AP Reading , Billing and Invoicing , and more.
About You
You have:
- 5-7 years relevant experience
- Demonstrated experience in project management, including agile practices and active collaboration with product managers and owners
- Deep understanding and appreciation of end-to-end creative development processes and best practices. Multi-media experience and experience managing print deliverables is a plus.
- Demonstrated ability to plan and implement solutions, both end-to-end at the tactical scale, and through developing requirements for larger initiatives
- Facility with data collection, aggregation of evidence, analysis, and interpretation, including practical applications to inform business and solution decisions and recommendations
- Strong planning, scheduling, cost management, and reporting skills required
- Demonstrated experience balancing multiple diverse projects with competing demands for scope, time, cost, and risk, with a limited pool of resources
- An excellent verbal and written communicator – clear, compelling, and persuasive in your communications – with the ability to build strong working relationships with other teams in the organization.
- Able to work well with staff at all organizational levels, vendors/partners, and educators
- Experience in creative resource management and proficient in project management tools (i.e. Smartsheet, Microsoft Office, Jira, etc.). Agency experience a plus.
- Degree or advanced degree in a relevant field, and 5+ years of related work experience
- Strongly preferred: Experience with the Advanced Placement Program, or in education or school management
- Ability to travel minimally (~5%)
- You must be authorized to work in the US
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-weekprocess.
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 $130,000.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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