Cengage Group is hiring an Adoption Strategy Director, K-12 to lead our efforts in securing state adoption approvals and expanding market presence. In this senior role, you will craft and execute strategies using data-driven insights and cross-functional collaboration to optimize prioritization and ensure flawless delivery, driving the innovation that helps millions of learners achieve their dreams.
What You'll Do
- Lead planning and execution of state adoption initiatives, ensuring compliance with all regulations and timelines.
- Use data analytics and market intelligence to inform adoption strategies, prioritize opportunities, and allocate resources effectively.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams (Sales, Marketing, Product, Operations) to develop adoption submissions and campaigns that fulfill state requirements.
- Maintain proactive communication with state education agencies and adoption committees to anticipate changes.
- Collect and analyze adoption-related data, including historical performance and competitor positioning.
- Apply dashboards and reporting tools to monitor adoption progress and guide strategic decisions.
- Transform insights into effective plans that boost adoption success rates and hasten market penetration.
- Leverage AI strategically for decision making, content mapping, and rubric evaluations.
- Coordinate allocation of resources and manage budgets to improve return on investment on adoption campaigns.
- Ensure efficient use of financial and operational resources across state and open-territory initiatives.
- Maintain full P&L accountability for adoption-related initiatives, ensuring financial performance aligns with organizational goals.
- Identify high-potential districts in non-adoption states using data-driven segmentation.
- Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, Sales Enablement, and Customer Success on scalable strategies and campaigns for open territories.
- Integrate digital curriculum solutions into adoption and open-territory strategies as a key differentiator.
- Leverage digital platforms to customize content to align with state-specific standards.
- Provide input on positioning and messaging for digital offerings to support customer needs and compliance standards.
- Monitor market trends related to digital learning to inform future strategies.
- Collaborate closely with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Operations teams to ensure alignment on priorities, messaging, and prioritization.
- Facilitate cross-functional planning sessions to integrate customer insights into product development and marketing initiatives.
- Serve as a strategic liaison between adoption requirements and internal execution teams.
- Define and track important metrics such as adoption success rates, market share growth, and revenue performance.
- Provide regular reporting and recommendations for continuous improvement based on data insights.
What We're Looking For
- 5+ years in K-12 education or equivalent experience, educational publishing, or EdTech, with proven success in managing adoption processes.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
- Experience managing budgets and optimizing prioritization for central initiatives.
- Strong ability to interpret data, build insights, and apply them to strategic decisions.
- Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional initiatives and building consensus among diverse teams.
- Outstanding organizational skills with experience managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects under strict deadlines.
- Ability to develop scalable strategies for diverse markets and evolving customer needs.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to influence and build consensus among internal and external collaborators.
- Ability to travel and be in-market for extended periods during adoption campaigns.
Nice to Have
- Master’s degree or equivalent experience in Education, Business, or a related field preferred.
Work Mode
This is a fully remote position.
Cengage Group is committed to working with broad talent pools to attract and hire the strongest and most qualified individuals. Our job applicants are considered regardless of any classification protected by applicable federal, state, provincial, or local laws.
