Web Editorial Strategist

About the Team  

With 40 courses and exams across multiple subject areas, Advanced Placement is the most widely accepted college-level academic program available to high school students. Each year, students around the world who want to achieve at the highest level become AP® students. Through AP’s college-level courses and exams, students can earn college credit and advanced placement, stand out in the college admission process, and learn from some of the most talented and inspiring teachers in the world. The AP Web Management team is committed to ensuring critical information about the AP program is available on our web sites in a timely manner, collaborating with both program subject-matter experts as well as cross-divisional stakeholders such as Communications, Engagement, Tech, and Legal.  

About the Opportunity   

As Web Editorial Strategist, you will be responsible for ensuring that content is engaging, user-centered, on brand, and is easy to maintain and govern over time. You will get to contribute to the development of websites, working closely with multidisciplinary teams to conceptualize, develop, and maintain content. Through your keen awareness of the frequent need to reuse content across channels, you’ll strategize and develop content accordingly. Responsibilities span the life cycle of web content from inception through launch and include collaborating with program stakeholders and others to define content requirements, conduct content audits, create, and synthesize content, edit, and enter content, as needed. You are the conductor of our content orchestra. You guide and direct the flow of ideas and concepts on our pages, you shape and adjust the tone and voice, you bring together a body of text that comes to life on the web page so as to not get in the way of the reader understanding what they need to know. The page is transparent to the reader and the content is clear and concise. 

Your work will directly influence the future of the AP Program as we develop and launch new courses to help kids get ahead in their prospective careers, offering instruction in areas that can be readily applied out of high school into the workforce. Your work will also support AP’s transition to digital AP exams and help explain to the 300K+ educators and 3M+ students why it is important and how it impacts their life. There will be other opportunities for your work to shine, like helping us improve how we describe and explain applications used in the AP exam ordering process, or the AP score release process, or the AP Course Audit process, among other opportunities where we need to sharpen our content strategy online.     

Your key responsibilities are: 

Web Editorial Strategy (40%) 

• Advocate and help implement C.O.P.E. (create once and publish everywhere) approaches for content creation to optimize our publishing process 

• Develop systematic processes and conceptual maps that identify content types and areas of page types that can be reused across our websites to reduce redundancy and optimize pages  

• Help maintain an editorial calendar aligning to program needs but considering seasonality trends, user demand for content, and web page performance as a driver for iterative content development 

• Formulate information architecture strategies that help users discover, find, and browse to key content areas, at the right time 

Web Editorial Process (40%) 

• Develop or update copy decks that capture content requirements and meet AP web editorial standards and guidelines 

• Review, revise, rewrite and edit content as necessary per web editorial guidelines and direction from team Web Content Leads 

• Direct web producers on creating web pages, prototypes, and downloadable resources that meet (or exceed) content requirements 

• Confirm content requirements meet stakeholder expectations and get sign off or approval to release 

• Update content in our preview environments under guidance and direction from the Web Content Leads 

• Support web content production pipeline by updating work orders with meta data and communication through our Smartsheet board 

• Assist in improving our content management process, including how the team manages updates to web pages via copy decks (or other means), support maintenance of web editorial guidelines, how assignments are delegated, and where documentation is maintained  

Stakeholder Management (20%) 

• Engage with internal program stakeholders to learn and understand content requirements  

• Work with stakeholders throughout the production process by circulating content decks to stakeholders 

• Build consensus with stakeholders on best practices for web content and keep projects moving by encouraging stakeholders to continuously iterate  

About You  

• Have 5-7 years of experience writing and editing content for the web with a content strategy lenses and a bachelor's degree or similar experience in a related field (Master’s degree is a plus) 

• Have excellent organizational skills and proven ability to independently manage multiple projects in parallel and as a member of a larger team 

• Create or adopt systems and routines that guide your daily operations and help you squeeze efficiency and productivity out of your time  

• Have excellent attention to detail, you are the one catching things before projects are launched or completed 

• Have proven ability to build relationships and influence others to action 

• Are a self-starter and not afraid to take initiative 

• Have adept problem-solving skills, including using data to inform decisions and actions 

• Have excellent verbal and written communication skills, including facilitating meetings and presenting remotely to groups of 15 or more is nice to have 

• Have experience making content changes to websites using content management systems (Drupal, WordPress, Adobe AEM, others) preferred 

• Proficiency with office software (word processing, spreadsheet management, presentation decks); mastery of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote) is preferred 

• Have familiarity with project management software such as Smartsheet is preferred 

• Have familiarity with a “post-Agile” world or mentality  

• Have authorization to work in the United States 

About Our Process  

• Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled  

• While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes resume and application submission, recruiter phone screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise and/or panel interview, and reference checks.  This is an approximately 8-week process. 

About Our Benefits and Compensation 

College Board offers a competitive compensation program that attracts top talent looking to make a difference in education.  

• The salary for this position is $55 per hour. You will be paid this rate hourly for time worked.  

• As a temporary position, this role is not eligible for College Board benefits including medical benefits or paid time off.    

You can expect to have transparent conversations about compensation with our recruiters throughout your application process. 

About Our Culture  

Our community matters, and we strive to practice and improve our culture daily. Here are some headlines:  

• We are motivated to positively impact the educational and career trajectories of millions of students a year.  

• We prioritize building a diverse and inclusive team where every employee can thrive, and every voice is heard.  

• We welcome staff to join any or all six of our affinity groups: ARISE (Alliance for Asian Retention, Inclusion, Success, and Engagement; DIASPORA (Alliance for Pan-African Success and Achievement); Pride (alliance for LGBTQ+ staff and allies); Resilience (alliance for Native staff and advocates); SALSA (Staff Alliance for Latinx Success and Achievement); and WIN (Women’s Impact Network).   

• We value learning and growth; we offer formal and informal ways to lead through your superpowers, sharpen your strengths, and meet your development goals.  

• We know that our impact is strongest together. Our College Board Cares program offers all staff up to $1,000 annual match against partner non-profit organizations.   

• We offer a transparent approach to promotions and merit raises, annual performance-based bonuses, and how to grow your career here over time.