Executive Director, Business Development

Executive Director, Business Development 

College Board – Global Talent & Strategy Division 

Remote 

About the Team 

The Strategy Team is responsible for developing and executing the strategic vision and direction of the College Board. We work closely with executive leadership team, business units, and external partners to identify opportunities and incubate solutions that improve educational opportunities and outcomes, particularly for low-income, first-generation, and students of color, in the context of a competitive business environment.    

About the Opportunity 

College Board seeks an exceptional business development professional to source and deliver deals that advance us towards key program and organizational priorities. 

The ED, Business Development will develop a set of priorities for partnership and acquisition, manage relationships with companies/organizations in these realms and evaluate/close/implement deals that meet these priorities. This is a highly cross-functional role where an individual will be expected to utilize soft power to help a 100-year-old organization move agilely to meet our goals.  

The ED will report to the VP of Strategy and work closely with leaders and key staff of our three major programs (AP, SAT, BigFuture) – along with leaders/staff from divisions including the Office of the CEO, Finance, Legal, Higher Education, Technology, and others.  

In this role, you will: 

• Develop priorities for acquisition or partnership with program leadership of AP, SAT, BigFuture – focusing on a small set of areas with substantial opportunity to help students, k12 & higher ed members, and with a compelling economic rationale  

• Create and maintain a list of companies/organizations and their assets/needs against those priorities – and ensure the College Board has relationships with these parties (either yourself or through one of our programs) 

• Create and maintain deal flow, leading CB teams to evaluate opportunities against mission, financial, risk, operational, and other considerations 

• In partnership with VP, Investments and Strategic Initiatives, build infrastructure (staff, process, resources) to complete due diligence process and make decisions (including executive approval) quickly and effectively against key targets 

• In partnership with our programs, build the processes, systems, and structures to ensure that the College Board can effectively integrate an acquired company into our structure or manage a partnership in service of meeting shared goals 

About You 

• 10+ years of relevant and progressive experience in business development at entrepreneurial/high performing organizations  

• An outstanding track record of sourcing and closing deals that impact key organizational goals 

• Demonstrated experience of project managing complex partnership/acquisitions processes, including prior M&A experience  

• Strong ability to identify, evaluate, and make recommendations on key drivers/criteria for decisions 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to interact with all levels of management – internally and externally  

• Strong ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, across lines of difference 

• A strong commitment to expanding educational opportunity for all students