Sr. Director, Credentialing

About the position The Senior Director, Credentialing serves as the operational and programmatic business leader for NACD’s certification program and a principal representative of the program to the membership and broader business community. In collaboration with the Vice President, Credentialing and Strategic Engagement, the position is also responsible for the program’s business performance, including registrations, numbers certified and recertified, setting the strategic direction for the ongoing development and expansion of the product, its integration into NACD’s core business, the product management of the program’s information technology evolution, business line P&L, and the activation of the related Certification community and Education Network. Responsibility also includes oversight of certification administration, exam development, exam security governance, and candidate engagement. The Senior Director, Credentialing is also a key member of NACD’s operational leadership and is a key leader for the NACD Corporate Directors Institute (CDI), which houses the certification credential.

Responsibilities

• Business Leadership In collaboration with the Vice President, Credentialing and Strategic Engagement, responsible for the program’s business performance, including registrations, numbers certified and recertified, setting the strategic direction for the ongoing development and expansion of the product,
• Leads the program’s integration into NACD’s core business, the product management of the program’s information technology evolution, business line P&L and reports on program performance to the senior leadership team.
• Activates the Certification community and Education Network to advance the program goals.
• Engages CDI board through preparation of board materials, presented to the board, and leverages the board relationships thoughtfully to advance the program’s goals.
• Certification Program Leadership Provide leadership for the execution of NACD’s certification program, translating strategic direction into operational plans, priorities, and deliverables.
• Represent and advocate for the Certification program across the business, chapters, events, and external events and engagement.
• Own day-to-day certification administration and performance outcomes, ensuring consistency, quality, and accountability across the program lifecycle.
• Serve as the primary internal owner of certification execution and operational decision-making, ensuring program performance to budget and goals.
• Team Leadership and Development Directly manage and develop three certification team members, including performance management, goal setting, coaching, and professional development.
• Set priorities and allocate work across direct reports to ensure timely execution of certification administration, exam support, and engagement activities.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and service excellence within the certification team.
• Cross-Functional and Vendor Collaboration Serve as the primary liaison between the Certification team and internal stakeholders, including Membership, Marketing, Content, Chapters, DTSI (technology), and external vendors.
• Ensure certification policies, processes, and requirements are clearly understood and consistently applied across internal teams.
• Partner with internal teams to support certification-related communications, engagement initiatives, and operational readiness.
• Exam Development Oversight and Governance Lead internal oversight of the certification exam lifecycle, including exam development, maintenance, refresh cycles, and related governance activities.
• Oversee external psychometric and exam development partners to ensure exam validity, reliability, and defensibility.
• Coordinate Subject Matter Expert (SME) engagement for job task analysis, item development, and exam review activities.
• Ensure alignment of exam development and governance practices with credentialing industry standards and best practices.
• Oversee exam security monitoring, incident response coordination, documentation, and adherence to established policies and procedures.
• Decision Authority and Escalation Act as the first point of escalation for certification-related operational, programmatic, and exam issues.
• Resolve issues within delegated authority and escalate matters to the VP of Strategic Engagement only when policy decisions, material risk, budget impact, or board-level implications are involved.
• Provide regular updates and reporting to leadership on certification performance, risks, and operational needs.
• Serves as backup for other department team members when needed.
• Travel is required to attend and/or support NACD member events, industry conferences, and meetings.
• Attendance (in-person) at the annual Summit and other key events is required.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree or equivalent experience preferred.
• Minimum of ten years of progressive experience in business, product development, sales, governance, or related fields is preferred.
• Experience running and growing a business line is required.
• Proven experience managing external vendors and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Prior people management experience required.
• Must be located in the DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area to work a hybrid (in-office and virtual) schedule.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with certification, assessment, or professional education environments encouraged.
• Familiarity with credentialing governance, exam development and security, and certification standards is a plus but not required.

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