Programs Director Jobs in Iowa (NOW HIRING)

At ACT, Your Work Makes a Difference

Education has power – a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for equity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we’ve never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to a mission that has never been more important: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing that mission within our organization, by helping our team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable environment in which every team member has an opportunity to grow.

We want our team members to have the well-being and confidence they need to do their best work, in an environment where both they and ACT thrive. To support this, our total rewards include company paid life insurance, medical, dental, vision, flexible health and dependent spending accounts, 401(k) retirement savings with company match, paid holidays, paid time off, and so much more. You can find a comprehensive list of our benefits here.

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.

About ACT

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry—helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life’s transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We’re doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we’re all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That’s why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!

ACT is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ACT participates in E-verify. ACT's online position announcements are intended only to provide general descriptions of employment opportunities; none of the information provided for any position should be interpreted as a commitment by ACT to specific terms and conditions for employment.

Completion of the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate is recommended. Find a testing site near you to register for the WorkKeys assessments. Finalists for this position will be subject to a criminal background check as a condition of employment.

**If you have received an ACT employment-related communication from an email address that is not affiliated with @act.org and/or that requests personal or financial information, please do not reply. Instead, reach out to us at careers@act.org with the details. ACT's recruitment team appreciates your interest in working with us to transform college and career readiness pathways for all learners and wishes you the best of luck in your career journey.**