Senior Director, Custom Program Development

CEA CAPA Education Abroad; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

CEA CAPA Education Abroad is seeking a Senior Director of Custom Program Development to translate growth priorities into scalable programs. You will lead design, budgeting, and global delivery standards while guiding a team of managers and directors across cross-functional partners to deliver academically sound, financially viable study abroad experiences.

You will collaborate with Institutional Relations and Global Operations to optimize the custom program lifecycle, balancing student quality

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• 8+ years in education abroad with 3+ years in a leadership role.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience managing custom and faculty-led initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen, including forecasting, resource allocation, pricing strategy and profitability analysis.
• Strong analytical and performance management skills, with the ability to translate data and reporting into actionable business decisions.
• Proven ability to take initiative and lead large-scale projects while collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment on goals, priorities and execution.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
• Growth mindset with a commitment to innovation, continuous improvement and organizational learning.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Salesforce (or similar CRM).
• Master’s degree or significant senior-level experience leading multidisciplinary teams preferred.
• Experience living, working or studying in multicultural environments preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in Salesforce, reporting platforms and data visualization tools preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Custom Program Development team, setting clear priorities, accountabilities, and service standards.
• Supervise the Operations Manager and Director of Global Custom Program Operations, connecting program development with global delivery.
• Build a collaborative, high-performing culture grounded in ownership, accuracy, problem-solving, and follow-through.
• Align team capacity and resources with the highest-priority opportunities.
• Coach the team to balance creativity and responsiveness with quality, financial discipline, and scalability.
• Develop team talent through coaching, mentoring and career development, helping employees build skills and expand responsibilities.
• Lead custom program strategy and development, including design, feasibility, budgeting, pricing, proposals and delivery handoff.
• Partner with Institutional Relations leaders to evaluate and prioritize high-potential opportunities.
• Support the team in translating US partner needs into compelling, academically sound, operationally viable and financially sustainable programs.
• Advance growth through creative solutions without compromising student experience, quality, or execution.
• Lead the strategy to expand custom program capabilities to new markets in alignment with organizational priorities.
• Strengthen the custom value proposition using partner feedback, market insight and delivery lessons.
• Annually review the custom program portfolio and development practices, recommending where to streamline work, focus resources and refine or discontinue offerings that no longer deliver strategic or partner value.
• Align priorities, timelines and accountabilities across Institutional Relations, Global Operations and other key teams.
• Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept through implementation.
• Create clarity, resolve competing needs and sustain momentum when priorities or solutions are undefined.
• Resolve complex development and delivery issues by convening the right stakeholders and driving decisions.
• Translate complex information into clear recommendations for leaders and teams.
• Work collaboratively with cross-functional leadership to optimize the full custom program lifecycle, from intake and design through delivery, evaluation and renewal.
• Monitor dashboards and metrics for pipeline, proposals, conversion, forecasting, cycle time, quality and profitability.
• Use data to identify trends, evaluate trade-offs and turn analysis into action.
• Partner with Finance to evaluate program economics, set margin and FX assumptions and align bids with growth, profitability and sustainability goals.
• Advance global delivery standards aligned with the organization’s Playbook of Excellence and a consistent, high-quality partner experience.
• Improve consistency, quality and scalability through clear standards, workflows, handoffs and controls.
• Ensure programs meet organizational standards and The Forum on Education Abroad Standards of Good Practice.

Skills

Leadership

Financial acumen

Analytics

Cross-functional collaboration

Stakeholder management

Strategic thinking

Change management

Salesforce

Excel

Multicultural experience

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Salesforce

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

About CEA CAPA

At CEA CAPA, we believe studying and interning abroad is a transformative experience. By immersing themselves in new cultures, our students gain valuable skills and perspectives that shape their futures.

About CEA CAPA

At CEA CAPA, we believe studying and interning abroad is a transformative experience. By immersing themselves in new cultures, our students gain valuable skills and perspectives that shape their futures.

We’re proud to be a recognized sector leader, known for our delivery of impactful academic, professional and cultural experiences. This is achieved through our dedicated global team who provide comprehensive guidance, instruction, support and resources to maximize the benefit of our students’ time abroad.

A sense of belonging is central to CEA CAPA’s mission. We foster a work environment that values diversity and is free from bias. Our hiring practices are based on professional qualifications, skills and competence.

With a footprint that spans 53 cities in 20 countries across Europe, Latin America and Australia our 450 strong global workforce deliver exceptional cultural experiences abroad to over 7,000 students per year.

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Custom Program Development is a hands-on, operations-minded leader responsible for translating growth priorities into scalable and consistently delivered custom programs. The role provides strategic leadership for the creative development of custom programs and establishes the operational frameworks to move opportunities from concept to implementation.

The Senior Director directly oversees a team of managers and directors dedicated to program design, proposal development, budgeting, reporting and global delivery standards. In addition, the Senior Director works collaboratively with cross-functional teams in Institutional Relations and Global Operations to enhance the custom program lifecycle. This leader combines higher education and study abroad expertise with strong analytical, financial, and project leadership capabilities to develop creative solutions for university partners, strengthen execution, and support sustainable growth.

This leader continuously evaluates practices and the custom program portfolio to streamline work, redirect resources, and discontinue activities that no longer support organizational priorities. Success requires respecting essential processes while challenging assumptions, navigating ambiguity, and turning ideas into action.

Responsibilities

The job duties listed below are not all inclusive of what the employee may be responsible for. Other duties may be assigned.

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the Custom Program Development team, setting clear priorities, accountabilities, and service standards.
• Supervise the Operations Manager and Director of Global Custom Program Operations, connecting program development with global delivery.
• Build a collaborative, high-performing culture grounded in ownership, accuracy, problem-solving, and follow-through.
• Align team capacity and resources with the highest-priority opportunities.
• Coach the team to balance creativity and responsiveness with quality, financial discipline, and scalability.
• Develop team talent through coaching, mentoring and career development, helping employees build skills and expand responsibilities.

Program Strategy & Growth

• Lead custom program strategy and development, including design, feasibility, budgeting, pricing, proposals and delivery handoff.
• Partner with Institutional Relations leaders to evaluate and prioritize high-potential opportunities.
• Support the team in translating US partner needs into compelling, academically sound, operationally viable and financially sustainable programs.
• Advance growth through creative solutions without compromising student experience, quality, or execution.
• Lead the strategy to expand custom program capabilities to new markets in alignment with organizational priorities.
• Strengthen the custom value proposition using partner feedback, market insight and delivery lessons.
• Annually review the custom program portfolio and development practices, recommending where to streamline work, focus resources and refine or discontinue offerings that no longer deliver strategic or partner value.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Align priorities, timelines and accountabilities across Institutional Relations, Global Operations and other key teams.
• Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from concept through implementation.
• Create clarity, resolve competing needs and sustain momentum when priorities or solutions are undefined.
• Resolve complex development and delivery issues by convening the right stakeholders and driving decisions.
• Translate complex information into clear recommendations for leaders and teams.

Operations & Performance

• Work collaboratively with cross-functional leadership to optimize the full custom program lifecycle, from intake and design through delivery, evaluation and renewal.
• Monitor dashboards and metrics for pipeline, proposals, conversion, forecasting, cycle time, quality and profitability.
• Use data to identify trends, evaluate trade-offs and turn analysis into action.
• Partner with Finance to evaluate program economics, set margin and FX assumptions and align bids with growth, profitability and sustainability goals.
• Advance global delivery standards aligned with the organization’s Playbook of Excellence and a consistent, high-quality partner experience.
• Improve consistency, quality and scalability through clear standards, workflows, handoffs and controls.
• Ensure programs meet organizational standards and The Forum on Education Abroad Standards of Good Practice.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in education abroad, including 3+ years in a leadership role.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience managing custom and faculty-led initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen, including forecasting, resource allocation, pricing strategy and profitability analysis.
• Strong analytical and performance management skills, with the ability to translate data and reporting into actionable business decisions.
• Proven ability to take initiative and lead large-scale projects while collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment on goals, priorities and execution.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building and stakeholder management skills.
• Growth mindset with a commitment to innovation, continuous improvement and organizational learning.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Salesforce (or similar CRM).
• Master’s degree or significant senior-level experience leading multidisciplinary teams preferred.
• Experience living, working or studying in multicultural environments preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in Salesforce, reporting platforms and data visualization tools preferred.

Hours

This is a full-time position. Standard work schedule is (include times if needed; if the position allows for flexibility, include if this role operates within standard business hours Monday-Friday).