Edtech.com's Summary

College Board is hiring a Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing- Marketing & Professional Services. The role entails leading the enterprise strategy for sourcing marketing and professional services, driving procurement initiatives, managing supplier relationships, and overseeing contract negotiations. The position involves developing sourcing strategies across multiple categories and collaborating with cross-functional teams to align purchasing with organizational goals.

Highlights

Lead development and execution of sourcing strategies for Marketing & Professional Services to optimize spend, reduce risk, and enhance value
Manage supplier evaluation, selection, performance, and negotiations of complex contracts including SLAs and licensing
Oversee a team of strategic sourcing professionals, setting targets for savings and professional growth
Conduct market and supplier research, manage RFI/RFP/RFQ processes, and implement data-driven sourcing recommendations with TCO analyses
Partner closely with stakeholders in Engagement and Reach, Global Policy, Governance Risk and Compliance, Legal, and Finance
Utilize ERP systems, supplier management, contract lifecycle management tools, and enterprise AI procurement tools
Require a bachelor's degree; MBA or advanced degree preferred; 10+ years in strategic sourcing with 4+ years focused on Marketing & Professional Services
3+ years experience leading procurement or sourcing teams; preferred certifications include CPSM, PMP, Lean/Six Sigma, or ISM
Salary range $96,000–$160,000/year adjusted by location with transparency in compensation discussions
Mission-driven nonprofit supporting over 7 million students annually; role demands strong leadership, strategic thinking, and collaborative skills

Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing- Marketing & Professional Services Full Description

Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing- Marketing & Professional Services

College Board - Finance

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 Strategic Sourcing team is a dynamic, collaborative group that partners with leaders across the organization to drive decisions that maximize value and impact. We combine market insight, strong supplier relationships, and strategic sourcing practices to ensure every dollar we spend advances the College Board's mission. Our work strengthens operations, promotes sustainability, and ensures that the organization's resources are used thoughtfully and effectively in service of students everywhere.

The Strategic Sourcing team at College Board is embarking on an exciting transformation, shifting from transactional procurement to a model centered on strategic engagement. This role will join a team of sourcing leaders dedicated to delivering meaningful, measurable value to the organization, directly supporting our mission and the students we serve.

About the Opportunity

The Senior Director, Strategic Sourcing- Marketing & Professional Services is responsible for defining and executing College Board's enterprise strategy for sourcing Marketing & Professional Services, leading enterprise-wide procurement initiatives, supplier relationship management, and contract management activities across multiple spend subcategories. In this role, you will develop and implement sourcing strategies, conduct market and supplier research, manage RFI/RFP/RFQ processes, oversee supplier evaluation and selection, and drive contract negotiations.

You will work within the Strategic Sourcing team and will be responsible for developing and executing sourcing strategies for Marketing and Professional Services related products and services (e.g. Advertising & Media Buying, Creative & Content Services, Print & Production Services, Consulting Services, Legal & Advisory Services).

You will also partner closely with cross-functional stakeholders including Engagement and Reach and Global Policy and External Relations, as well as partners in Governance Risk and Compliance, Legal, Finance, and suppliers to align sourcing strategies with organizational goals, mitigate risk, manage supplier relationships and ensure compliance with policies and regulations. This role requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to foster supplier and stakeholder partnerships that drive measurable value to College Board.

In this role, you will:

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management (70%)

Lead the development and execution of Marketing & Professional Services sourcing strategies to optimize spend, reduce risk, and enhance value in alignment with organizational objectives
Identify, evaluate, and make recommendations on selection of suppliers across marketing and professional services categories
Manage a team of strategic sourcing direct reports, establishing team and individual targets for cost savings, process improvements, and professional development of the team
Understand the current supplier landscape and identify opportunities to consolidate demand and drive cost savings while maintaining service quality
Proactively update sourcing strategies based on market analysis and risk assessment, aligning with organizational goals and industry trends

Supplier & Contract Management (15%)

Lead supplier selection, performance management, and relationship development in partnership with internal stakeholders
Lead negotiations of commercial terms, service-level agreements (SLAs), and licensing models to achieve favorable cost, risk, and performance outcomes
Partner with Legal, GRC and Information Security teams to ensure all security and business term requirements are included in contracts
Manage ongoing supplier relationships, performance reviews, and escalation processes.

Data & Process Excellence (10%)

Gather and analyze spend data to benchmark and identify opportunities for savings and efficiency
Create category specific cost models, including TCO analyses, to support data driven sourcing recommendations and track impact against organizational goals and metrics
Adopt and leverage existing Procurement tools and platforms, as well as enterprise AI tools, to deliver value driven insights and recommendations

Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration (5%)

Serve as a trusted advisor to business units on category related procurement and sourcing matters, delivering market insights, improving supplier performance, and ensuring contract and policy compliance.
Proactively engage with stakeholders to understand their goals and planned initiatives, translating insights into category sourcing strategies that anticipate needs, align with enterprise objectives, and deliver strategic value
Facilitate cross-functional collaboration to improve contract compliance, supplier performance, and policy adherence

About You

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred
10+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, or supplier management, with at least 4 years focused on Marketing and Professional Services categories
3+ years of experience leading procurement or strategic sourcing direct reports
Demonstrated experience negotiating high-value, complex contracts
Familiarity with ERP systems, supplier management systems, and contract lifecycle management tools
CPSM, PMP, Lean/Six Sigma, or ISM certification preferred

Skills & Attributes

Strong knowledge of sourcing categories Marketing & Professional services, including suppliers, market trends, etc
Strong analytical, financial, and strategic problem-solving skills, including ability to deliver data-based insights to support strategic recommendations
Excellent communication and presentation abilities, with experience influencing stakeholders
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships across diverse teams
High level of integrity, initiative, curiosity, and organization
Comfort with fast-paced, cross-functional mission-driven environments

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 paycheckâwe 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 $96,000-$160,000/year. We adjust salaries by location to ensure fairness, no matter where you live. Below, we've offered an estimated range for a variety of metro areas throughout the United States:

New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC and Los Angeles: $120,000-$160,000
Austin, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Denver: $110,000-$140,000
Atlanta, Miami, Iowa City and most other locations throughout the Southeast and Midwest: $96,000-$130,000

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.

Original Job Description