Remote Program Manager Jobs in Iowa City, IA (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 Program Director, State Strategy and Execution to help us fulfill that mission. The Program Director of State Strategy and Execution is a critical individual contributor role on ACT's State, Government and Public Relations team, responsible for translating state-level goals into coordinated, cross-functional action. As ACT sharpens its focus on state markets, this role ensures that every team touching a target state � from State/District Sales to Product to Government Relations and Policy � is rowing in the same direction toward the same goals.
The Program Director, State Strategy and Execution is an organized, strategic orchestrator: someone who can document the full picture of a state relationship, spot misalignment before it becomes a problem, and lead through collaboration rather than authority. This role acts as the backbone across multiple teams by coordinating work, maintaining accurate tracking systems, and ensuring a shared understanding of priorities, actions, and outcomes. The role drives alignment and execution of a sales strategy through influence, organization, and process management rather than formal authority or ownership. Success in this role requires exceptional cross-functional credibility, understanding of ACT's existing products and relationships, disciplined accountability tracking, and the judgment to escalate when the work demands it.
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 $115,000 to $125,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity. This position is incentive eligible.
Location: This is a remote position, based in the United States.
Visa: Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for visa sponsorship.
What you will be working on:

• State Strategy Coordination:
  • Translate the state-by-state strategy into cross-team initiatives with clear owners, timelines, and success measures.
  • Manage the Senior Directors� and SVPs priorities, ensuring time and attention are allocated to the highest-leverage work.
  • Coordinate cross-functional state strategy meetings.
• Tracking, Reporting & Accountability:
  • Own the tracking and reporting cadence on state-by-state goal progress � not just measuring outcomes, but proactively flagging when a team's activity is misaligned with the state strategy before it becomes a problem.
  • Build and maintain dashboards and reporting tools that surface goal progress, relationship health, revenue trends, and execution gaps for leadership review.
  • Provide regular updates to internal teams on state portfolio performance, including risks, wins, and recommended pivots.
• Revenue Gap & Growth Opportunity Identification:
  • Track revenue gaps and growth opportunities within existing state relationships to facilitate strategy development.
  • Maintain documentation for the cross-functional plan to capture identified opportunities, coordinating across sales, product, and policy teams to execute with precision.
  • Work with Policy and Government Relations team members to track state policy developments that may affect ACT's market position.
• Cross-Functional Coordination & Influence:
  • Coordinate across divisions without direct authority � leading through collaboration, clarity, and accountability rather than organizational hierarchy.
  • Drive cross-team working sessions to align on state priorities, resolve execution conflicts, and maintain momentum toward shared goals.
  • Escalate when a division's independent pursuit is working against the state strategy, with the standing and judgment to stop, redirect, and refocus the work.
  • Identify and address organizational gaps that prevent effective state execution � surfacing structural or process issues and building solutions in partnership with division leads.
  • Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and mission alignment across the senior leadership team.

Role Progression:
In the first 90 days, the Program Director, State Strategy & Execution will:

• Develop a working knowledge of ACT's target state portfolio, including existing relationships, contract status, and pending opportunities.
• Establish a foundational state-by-state strategy document for the highest-priority states.
• Map current cross-functional workflows and identify key gaps in coordination or communication across teams; learn existing tracking/organization resources and identify improvements.
• Build relationships with key internal stakeholders across government & public relations, district sales, product, research, and operations.

In the first year, the Program Director, State Strategy & Execution will:

• Own the resources for coordinating/tracking a comprehensive state strategy that is actively used by division leads.
• Demonstrate measurable improvement in cross-functional alignment on at least three target states.
• Surface and drive action on at least two revenue gap or growth opportunities within existing state relationships.
• Establish a reporting cadence that gives leadership consistent, reliable visibility into state portfolio health.

This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):

• 7+ years of experience in strategy, program/project management, or cross-functional operations in a matrixed organization.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate complex, multi-stakeholder work across teams without direct authority.
• Strong analytical skills with experience translating data and relationship intelligence into actionable strategy.
• Experience building and maintaining tracking systems, dashboards, or reporting tools for executive audiences.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complexity into clear direction.
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities and communicate across teams with diplomacy and directness.
• Strategic Thinking � Sees the full state picture and identifies where priorities conflict or where opportunity is being left on the table.
• Influence Without Authority � Builds buy-in across divisions through credibility, clarity, and relationship, not org chart position.
• Accountability Orientation � Tracks what matters, flags what's off course, and follows through until the work is done.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration � Comfortable moving between sales, product, policy, and operations contexts and translating across each.
• Executive Communication � Can distill complex state portfolio dynamics into crisp, decision-ready summaries for senior leadership.
• Judgment & Escalation � Knows when to resolve independently, when to escalate, and how to do both in a way that builds trust.
• Bachelor's degree in education policy, public policy, economics, statistics, data science, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

It's a plus if you have:

• Experience in K�12 education policy, state government relations, or education sales environments.
• Experience working in a chief of staff or similar role.
• Familiarity with state procurement cycles, education agency relationships, or statewide assessment markets.
• Background in revenue operations, sales strategy, or account-based planning.
• Experience working in or alongside a revenue-generating organization (sales, business development, or partnership management).

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.*