Senior Director, Reach Operations and Events

Senior Director, Reach Operations and Events

College Board - Engagement and Reach (EaR)

Location: This is a remote role. Candidates who live near College Board offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office). All College Board employees are required to occasionally travel to meet in person for business purposes.

Role Type: This is a full-time position.

*Strong candidate already identified for this role

About the Team

The Engagement and Reach (EaR) team — roughly ninety professionals across Reach, Communications, and Counselor Community Engagement — drives College Board's strategy for reaching, engaging, and converting prospective students, families, and partners into the organization's programs. This role sits within Reach, which is responsible for connecting College Board with more students, families, and communities than ever before. That includes the work you'd expect from marketing — building interest in College Board's programs and services, and helping teams engage state and district leaders — but it also means thinking in new ways about audience engagement, including working through associations and other outside organizations to reach people College Board could not reach on its own. 

About the Opportunity 

This is a newly created role responsible for building, from the ground up, two enterprise-level systems that do not yet exist at College Board: a standardized approach to how the organization defines, scores, routes, and converts marketing leads, and a framework for how the organization prioritizes, resources, and measures impact across its full portfolio of over three hundred annual industry events and sponsorships. This role also builds the documentation and training infrastructure that drives adoption of these systems and establishes marketing as a cross-functional data and process partner across the organization, rather than a reactive service function. 

This role will work through significant ambiguity, set direction for teams across State and District Partnerships (SDP), Global Programs and External Relations (GPER), Higher Education Membership and Access (HMA), and Program, and serve as a trusted point of view for senior leadership on questions of field marketing strategy, lead operations, event investment, and organization-wide measurement standards. This is an individual contributor role within Engagement and Reach (Reach), reporting to the Executive Director, Reach Operations, with the expectation that this person will design both systems and execute within them during this foundational period, building the supporting documentation and training that drive adoption, and refining the standards as the function matures. 

In this role, you will: 

Own the Enterprise Marketing Lead Operations System (35%)  

• Define and own the enterprise standard for what constitutes a qualified marketing lead and contact, including scoring methodology, routing logic, and conversion tracking  

• Architect the operating system connecting lead capture, scoring, and routing to sales pipeline outcomes — designed to be adopted across marketing, sales, and partner functions, not run manually  

• Continuously test, refine, and improve the lead and contact operations system as volume and complexity grow, treating this as a living standard rather than a one-time build  

• Build the reporting and analytics infrastructure that gives leadership visibility into lead velocity, conversion, and pipeline health  

Own the Enterprise Event Strategy and Portfolio System (35%)  

• Define and own the enterprise-wide framework for how the organization evaluates, prioritizes, and resources its full portfolio of over three hundred annual industry events, sponsorships, and third-party engagements  

• Set the standards by which future events are selected, funded, and measured — building a system that other teams and future hires will operate within, not a calendar that this role runs alone  

• Establish the impact measurement model for event investment, including cost-per-lead, pipeline contribution, and return on investment (ROI), where no standardized model exists today  

• Lead negotiation and structuring of major sponsorships and speaking opportunities that carry enterprise-level visibility or investment  

Shape Cross-Functional and Enterprise Direction (20%)  

• Serve as the trusted point of view for the Executive Director and VP of Reach on questions of field marketing strategy, lead operations, event investment, and organization-wide measurement standards brining a clear, defensible recommendation to every significant decision.  

• Align State and District Partnerships (SDP), Global Programs and External Relations (GPER), Program, and other functions to a shared standard for how the organization shows up externally and converts that presence into pipeline  

• Build and maintain centralized documentation and structured training on marketing measurement and CRM best practices, driving adoption across partner divisions and establishing marketing as a cross-functional data and process partner rather than a reactive service function 

• Anticipate second-order impacts of event and lead strategy decisions on sales forecasting, budget planning, and brand presence across the organization  

• Benchmark lead operations and event-portfolio practices against peer nonprofit and enterprise marketing organizations, bringing external models to bear rather than defaulting to internal legacy approaches 

Execute Within the Systems You Build (10%)  

• Direct the build and initial operations of both systems during this foundational period, while the function is being stood up and before additional capacity is added  

• Identify, over time, where execution should transfer to future hires, agency partners, or a split of the combined role, and flag when scope has outgrown a single-person structure 

About You 

You have: 

• Seven or more years of experience across marketing operations, demand generation, or field/event marketing, with demonstrated ownership of enterprise-level systems or frameworks — not just execution within an existing one 

• A proven track record of building something from ambiguity: designing a process, system, or standard where none existed, rather than optimizing an established one 

• Deep proficiency with marketing automation platforms (for example, HubSpot or Marketo) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems (for example, Salesforce), including lead scoring, routing logic, and attribution modeling 

• Experience negotiating high-value sponsorships, partnerships, or vendor contracts with enterprise-level financial or reputational stakes 

• A demonstrated ability to set strategy and influence senior leaders — including Vice Presidents (VPs) and above — without relying on formal authority over the teams being aligned 

• Skilled at driving alignment across teams and functions that do not report to you — using data, credibility, and a clear point of view to move senior stakeholders toward a shared standard, rather than positional authority 

• Demonstrated track record of holding cross functional teams accountable to enterprise standards, and using data and adoption metrics without formal management responsibility over that team 

• Strong analytical skills, including building reporting and dashboards that connect marketing activity to pipeline and revenue outcomes 

• A track record of anticipating second-order impacts of decisions across functions, rather than optimizing for a single team's metrics 

• Degree requirement: Bachelor's degree required; equivalent professional experience will be considered in place of a degree 

• Ability to travel up to thirty percent of the time for on-site event execution and industry engagement 

• Ability to sit, stand, and work at a computer for extended periods; ability to travel to and navigate event venues and conference environments, including standing for extended periods during on-site event execution and occasionally lifting or transporting event materials (up to 25 pounds) 

Preferred:  

• Experience standing up a net-new function or system within a growing organization, including navigating the ambiguity of building without a template 

• Experience operating at the intersection of marketing and sales, with a track record of improving lead-to-revenue conversion through system design rather than campaign tactics alone 

• A history of point of view being sought proactively by senior leadership on strategy, not just brought in to execute 

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 five 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 $104,000–$160,000. 

• 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.