Vice President, New Course Design and Development
Vice President, New Course Design and Development, Advanced Placement Program
College Board - AP and Instruction
Location: This is a remote role. Candidates who live near CB offices have the option of being fully remote or hybrid (Tuesday and Wednesday in office). All CB employees are required to occasionally travel to meet in person for business purposes.
Role Type: This is a full-time position
About the Team
The College Board’s Advanced Placement and Instruction division (300+ staff) develops and administers coursework taken by more than 3 million students worldwide each school year, and the related subject-matter exams utilized by more than 4,000 colleges and universities for course placement and awarding of college credit. These include credit and placement examination programs like CLEP and ACCUplacer; Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre-AP courses in 40+ disciplines; and associated teacher professional learning programs.
The Advanced Placement Program is the largest offering in the division’s portfolio, and currently has five departments: Curriculum and Assessment, which manages the ongoing development and evolution of AP’s courses and exams within the Arts, English, History, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and World Languages; Production and Delivery, which manages the annual cycle of transactions with schools – from student registration and exam production to exam administration, scoring, and score reporting; Access, which focuses on expanding availability of AP and Pre-AP courses, participation among traditionally underserved students, and supporting teachers; Strategy, which measures and evaluates the program’s components and leads the development and implementation of strategic initiatives, and New Course Design and Development, which leads the development, launch, and refinement of new AP courses designed to reach students not currently engaged with AP.
About the Opportunity
The Vice President of New Course Design and Development will establish vision and methods for the design, development, and launch of new AP courses intended to extend AP coursework to students not currently engaged by AP’s offerings. Accordingly, this Vice President will develop new AP courses and exams in fields of especial post-secondary relevance for a broader group of high school students than currently participate in AP, designing these courses in ways that maximize relevance, student engagement, and career connections while maintaining alignment with standards for awarding of “advanced placement” and college credit by Higher Ed institutions.
As part of this effort, the Vice President will identify, validate, and incorporate innovative assessment models and item types (e.g., simulations, project portfolios) that effectively measure career-essential knowledge and skills that are the focus of these courses. Following the development and launch of these new AP courses and exams, the Vice President will partner with the researchers to evaluate and refine the design of these courses and exams, and will instantiate processes for efficient, streamlined semi-annual course and exam updates in rapidly changing technology and career fields.
The initial scope of the New Course Design and Development department is to develop and launch six-to-eight new AP courses in Fall 2028 and Fall 2029, from a current list of possibilities that includes: Introduction to Health Science; Anatomy and Physiology; Marketing and Sales; Digital Media and Design; Engineering; Data Science; Agricultural Science; Advanced Manufacturing.
You will directly manage a team of Executive Directors with expertise in instructional design and assessment design, who in turn will lead teams of curricular analysts, instructional designers, assessment specialists, and project managers responsible for building the new courses, exams, and associated instructional resources.
In this role, you will:
Lead and Manage the New Course Design and Development Team(50%)
Effectively manage a high-performing, remote team of ~25 curricular researchers, instructional designers, and project managers, ~4 of whom are direct reports, to enable growth and success in accomplishing annual goals.
Set vision and priorities for the team, track and mange progress to goals, and provide coaching and support to ensure team members meet and exceed goals, remain engaged, and contribute meaningfully to our mission
Cultivate an inclusive and high achieving culture that enables all team members to live out College Board’s Operating Principles.
Bring proven leadership experience and consistently embody College Board’s Manager Expectations in your work.
Sit on the College Board’s AP Leadership Team, meeting weekly with the other senior leaders of the Advanced Placement Program, identifying, structuring, and enacting new opportunities to expand AP opportunities to students not yet benefiting from such.
Represent the AP Program in presentations to teachers, professors, administrators, and policymakers, particularly at conferences and events where the focus is on curriculum and instruction.
Partner with the Access department and State and District Partnerships colleagues to observe classrooms testing and implementing new content.
Lead the New Course Design and Development Department through several phases for each new AP course, including (50%):
Analysis: Lead research and option development for new AP courses, evaluating curricular and assessment trade-offs to recommend whether to proceed.
Course Design & Development: Oversee creation of rigorous, nonpartisan course frameworks aligned to college credit standards and designed for broad student engagement and teacher usability.
Exam Design & Development: Guide development of innovative, high-quality assessments and supporting resources, balancing new approaches with operational feasibility and ongoing refinement.
Instructional Resources: Direct rapid prototyping and development of instructional materials that support effective teaching and expand AP’s reach to diverse learners.
Evaluation & Continuous Improvement: Partner across teams to assess impact and continuously improve courses, exams, and instructional supports based on data and feedback.
About You
You are a strategic and detail-oriented leader who can set a bold vision for expanding AP to new audiences while translating that vision into high-quality, discipline-specific course and exam designs. You balance big-picture thinking with precision, making thoughtful trade-offs to ensure courses are rigorous, relevant, and accessible to a broad range of students and teachers. You are collaborative, data-informed, and comfortable making tough decisions in service of clarity, depth, and impact.
To qualify for this role, you must have:
15+ years of experience in education, curriculum, or assessment development; experience with career-focused or CTE pathways strongly preferred
Deep understanding of secondary education, including state standards, career pathways, and authentic assessment of knowledge and durable skills
Proven ability to lead complex, high-impact initiatives from concept through execution
Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills
Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work across disciplines and influence diverse stakeholders
High attention to detail paired with creativity and problem-solving
Openness to feedback and a commitment to continuous learning
Passion for education and student impact
Willingness to travel 6–12 times per year
Experience building, developing, and retaining high-performing teams
Ability to delegate effectively, empower others, and drive accountability
Strong strategic thinking and planning skills, with the ability to connect near-term work to long-term goals
Skilled at leading through change in fast-paced, high-stakes environments
Demonstrated ability to influence, collaborate, and build relationships across stakeholders
Commitment to inclusive leadership and fostering a culture of belonging
Track record of setting high expectations, coaching others, and driving performance and growth
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, 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 $275,000–$310,000.
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.