We are seeking a
Senior Program Director, State Chief Liaison to help us fulfill that mission.
The Senior Program Director, State Chief Liaison will focus on connecting K-12 Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, and Boards of Education to ACT's policy-driven strategies that influence revenue and long-term positioning.
The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications.
For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary in the range of $120,000 to $160,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity. The position is incentive eligible.
Location: This is a remote position, based in the United States.
Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.
What you will be working on: - Build and maintain relationships with state-level decision-makers (Commissioners, Boards of Education, Deputy Commissioners).
- Advise on policy trends and accountability shifts impacting assessment and readiness programs.
- Serve as ACT's policy liaison for executive-level discussions, ensuring ACT solutions align with state priorities.
- Influence and guide RFP executive summaries and • model• frameworks to reflect policy priorities.
- Provide strategic intelligence on state education policy changes and their implications for ACT's offerings.
- Collaborate with Government Relations (GR) to ensure unified messaging without duplicating lobbying efforts.
- Success Metrics:
- Overall revenue generation and growth of assigned states (indirect / influence).
- Number of quality strategic policy engagements at commissioner/board level.
- Influence on RFP language and executive summaries.
- Policy-driven opportunities identified and converted into actionable business strategies.
- Number of ACT solutions added to state level pathways/requirements.
Role Progression: At the end of 3 months you will have: - Become familiar with ACT products and services and internal/external stakeholders.
- Establish relationships across the organization where there are common goals.
- Identify states, create a territory map to include decision makers, history and vulnerabilities.
Within 6 months you will: - Begin developing strategic initiatives and how to deliver on them.
- Identify RFPs and deliver multi-level plans for opportunities to flip states.
- Monitor legislation via tracking system and document actions and progress.
Within 9 months you will: - Achieve successful outcomes via legislative process and Governor-led initiatives.
- Influence RFP language to align with ACT products.
- Start seeing tangible results -- additional states using our products and blocking competition.
This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements): - At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in education industry.
- Experience serving in a leadership role at a State Department of Education, a State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) agency, or a State Department of Labor, in roles such as Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Chief of Staff, State Director, or equivalent executive leadership roles.
- Demonstrated ability to engage and influence senior state officials.
- Deep understanding of state education policy, accountability systems, and governance structures.
- Proven experience translating complex policy landscapes into strategic organizational action.
- Exceptional communication skills, especially in executive-level environments.
- Ability to travel frequently (approx. 30%) and manage executive relationships across multiple states.
- Ability to gain and apply in depth product knowledge of ACT's products and services, including how the products and services are collectively used to provide solutions to state customers.
- Demonstrated ability to influence and engage key state executives.
- Ability to gather and use competitive intelligence to create strategies that advance and/or protect ACT's interests.
- Ability to work effectively and build relationships with individuals within the organization.
- Strong communication skills including ability to communicate effectively across all levels in the organization, as well as outstanding presentation skills.
- Strong analytical abilities and the ability to determine logical solutions to complicated problems.
- Ability to set goals and priorities and manage to completion.
- Strong negotiation skills.
- Skills and knowledge required for success in this position attained through experience and education (Bachelor's degree in Education, Business, or related area of study), or a combination of both.
It's a plus if you have: - Assessment industry experience.
- Account management or sales experience.
- Previous experience and demonstrated success leading, managing, and building teams.
