Director, Career Strategy & Engagement-South & Southwest Region

Director, Career Strategy & Engagement – South & Southwest Region 

College Board – Strategic Reach and Workforce Partnerships, GPER 
Location: Remote but must reside within South & Southwest Region  

This is a full-time position. 

About the Team 

The Strategic Reach and Workforce Partnerships Team drives integrated career state plays; ensuring College Board is seen as a state’s talent development advisor via partnerships across government, education agencies, employers, and workforce development partners. We aim to enable all College Board products, and especially AP Career Kickstart courses, to thrive and both students and states see a broader set of future options for ALL students.    

About the Opportunity  

At this pivotal moment in education, College Board is deepening its commitment to preparing students for success – both in college and in high-growth careers.  As states accelerate access to career-connected learning, we are seizing the moment with programs like AP Career Kickstart helping to reimagine what’s possible for students—by bridging rigorous academics with real-world career skills and opportunity. 

This role is central to realizing that vision. It brings strategic clarity, operational excellence, and inspirational leadership to three high-impact domains: 

• Strategic External Engagement 

Cultivate enduring partnerships across CTE, government, and industry—building trust and positioning College Board as a visionary, long-term ally in workforce development at the state level. 

• Career-Connected Event Execution 

Lead the design and delivery of high-profile convenings that energize the field, elevate our mission, and catalyze momentum—while streamlining the experience for external partners and internal teams. This is about elevating visibility and momentum without increasing the load on external partners – or internally for our field staff team. 

• Internal Enablement and Scale 

Develop an actionable toolkit of playbooks, training, and resources that empower our State & District Partnerships (SDP) and Government Policy & External Relations (GPER) teams to scale what works across multiple states. 

We’re looking for a dynamic, collaborative, mission-driven leader to champion career-connected engagement strategies across the South & Southwest Region.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Strategic Reach and Workforce Partnerships—and in close collaboration with state and regional leaders on the State and District Partnerships (SDP) team—this Director will: 

• Accelerate regional adoption of career-aligned offerings that unlock opportunity for students 

• Build cross-sector partnerships with education, workforce, and industry leaders 

• Equip internal teams with the tools and training to scale what works 

This role demands a strong communicator and collaborator—someone who can navigate complexity, align stakeholders, and drive impact across teams. While this person will report directly to the ED in Strategic Reach and Workforce Partnerships, he/she will work closely with the State and District Partnerships (SDP) team in their given region. Day-to-day priorities and strategic direction will be heavily influenced by Regional and state leadership, requiring someone with strong communication and collaboration skills. 

Ultimately, your leadership will help ensure students gain access to high-quality, future-ready pathways grounded in real-world opportunity and informed by labor market needs.  

As Director of Career-Connected Engagement, you will drive regional strategy, foster cross-sector collaboration, and empower internal teams to scale impact.

In this role, you will:  

Cultivate and Steward Strategic Relationships (30%) 

• Lead a regional engagement strategy to build alliances with key career stakeholders—chambers of commerce, workforce boards, intermediaries, and more. You will do this in partnership with regional/state leadership. 

• Represent College Board at workforce and CTE convenings, building trust and elevating our visibility. 

• Partner with internal leaders and external state partners to align messaging and surface emerging opportunities. 

Lead High-Impact Convenings (30%) 

• Design and execute 5–7 cross-sector events annually that bring educators, employers, and workforce leaders together. 

• Host gatherings in dynamic, career-relevant spaces—like hospitals, aviation hubs, and advanced manufacturing sites—to spotlight real-world pathways. 

• Inspire action and deepen adoption of College Board’s career-connected learning programs. 

Empower Internal Teams to Scale (30%) 

• Provide CTE, workforce, career-connected education and expertise to regional staff as they implement career-aligned offerings as well as support schools and districts participating in College Board’s career offerings. 

• Create toolkits, trainings, and playbooks to support consistent, scalable execution.  

• Partner with AP Strategy and SDP Business Operations to analyze access metrics to identify patterns and develop strategies to improve our career efforts regionally  

Elevate our Story & Voice (10%) 

• Collaborate with program, policy, and marketing teams to localize messages and align with workforce trends. 

• Capture stories and insights that showcase impact and progress. 

• Document and amplify the voices of our partners through thoughtful storytelling. 

About You 

You are a collaborative, equity-driven leader with a passion for expanding opportunity. You bring: 

• 5+ years of experience in education partnerships, workforce development, or career pathways in the South & Southwest Region (AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, AR, NM, OK, TX) 

• Proven success implementing career/CTE programs in high schools in this region 

• A track record of building programs that deliver measurable impact 

• Deep belief in education as a lever for equity and deep commitment to College Board’s mission of promoting educational equity, access, and excellence for students of all backgrounds. 

• An authentic commitment to the voice of the educator and the student – manifested in the ways you routinely engage these stakeholders to gauge satisfaction, receive input, and inform strategy 

• Strong relationship-building and cross-sector engagement skills. Excellent written and verbal communication, and the ability to translate vision into action 

• Track record of leading meaningful stakeholder convenings. 

• Knowledge of career pathways, CTE, and regional job market dynamics (specifically in region). 

• Strong organization and prioritization skills and the proven ability to move forward multiple time-sensitive projects in concert, both independently and as a member of the team 

• Comfort with ambiguity, eager to make changes as context shifts around you, and work cross-functionally to get things done      

• Self-starter with a collaborative spirit and comfort working in emerging spaces 

• Willingness and ability to travel extensively in the South & Southwest Region to support state-level work 

• Experience using project management platforms like Asana, and customer relationship management platforms like Salesforce 

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 such as live coding, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks.    

What We Offer 

At College Board, we offer more than just 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 $100,000 – 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 our careers page for more. 

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