Associate Director, Investments and Strategic Initiatives

About The Team

The Investments and Strategic Initiatives team is at the forefront of shaping the College Board’s future — identifying bold opportunities, guiding strategic growth, and driving impact through smart investments. This highly visible, five-person team partners closely with leaders across AP, SAT, BigFuture, Finance, and Strategy, offering you unparalleled exposure to senior decision-making and the fast-growing EdTech and impact investing sectors. If you’re passionate about applying your financial acumen to initiatives that make a difference, this is your chance to do work that matters.

About The Opportunity

As the Associate Director of Investments and Strategic Initiatives, you will play a critical role in shaping the College Board’s long-term business strategy. Your work will directly influence how we expand access to education for millions of students. You will work on important strategic initiatives and develop financial analysis that supports key decisions related to investments, M&A transactions, and strategic partnerships. You will also be responsible for growing the College Board’s impact investment fund. This role offers long-term upward mobility at College Board, but also positions you as a strong candidate for a top MBA program after 2-3 years (many former Associate Directors have gone this route). 

In This Role, You Will:

Advance our M&A strategy that we hope will yield tremendous impact not only for the organization but for our members and students.  (60%)  

• Research education sectors, develop landscape assessment, and analyze and understand trends to identify new areas of growth for the College Board. 
• Analyze potential acquisition targets and develop preliminary strategic rationale and risk assessment.   
• Develop analytical frameworks and complex financial models, including company projections, customer analysis, company valuation, and financial return analysis.  
• Participate in financial due diligence of target companies. 
• Work closely with senior leaders from Finance, Strategy, Talent, Technology, and Legal to advance transactions through College Board’s approval process.   
• Create effective presentation materials for senior management and Board members.  
• Play a key role in the overall project management and execution of acquisitions.   

 Grow our Impact Investment Portfolio (40%)   

• Source investment opportunities for the College Board’s growing impact investment fund via industry research and meetings with Edtech investors and entrepreneurs.  
• Participate in due diligence process to evaluate mission impact potential, financial return, and strategic benefits of investments in early-stage education technology companies.  
• Lead all aspects of the financial analysis to evaluate investment opportunities.  
• Support portfolio management and reporting process for impact investment portfolio.  
• Prepare investment memos and participate in Investment Committee approval meetings. 
• Research sectors and companies in the education technology sector and prepare summaries of key insights and market intelligence for executive leadership. 
• Collaborate with Strategy and Program leadership to drive partnership opportunities that advance the College Board's mission and strategic goals.     

About You

To qualify for this role, you must have:

• A willingness to work a hybrid schedule out of our New York City office (2 days per week)
• A Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or related technical field 
• Minimum of 2 years of relevant and progressive experience 
• Extensive experience in financial modeling 
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills 
• Ability to succinctly summarize complex financial analysis and present key findings to senior management 
• Strong understanding of corporate finance and investments 
• Exceptional attention to detail   
• Strong communication skills and ability to interact with all levels of management 
• Project management skills and ability to prioritize and independently manage multiple time-sensitive projects  

• Proficient Research Skills

• Advanced MS Excel, Powerpoint, and Word skills  
• Prior M&A experience is a plus 
• A strong interest in expanding educational opportunity for all students 
• The ability to travel 3-5 times a year to College Board offices or on behalf of College Board business. 

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 

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 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 $80,000–$!35,000
• 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.