Fast Facts

Cengage Group is seeking a Portfolio Manager to drive growth in the higher education sector by leading a cross-functional team to deliver innovative products and ensure commercial success.

Responsibilities: The Portfolio Manager is responsible for defining growth strategies, managing product development, and ensuring successful market performance while collaborating with various teams to meet sales and release goals.

Skills: Candidates should possess strong problem-solving abilities, communication skills, and financial analysis expertise, along with experience in product management or marketing in the educational technology sector.

Qualifications: A BA or BS degree and 3-5 years of relevant experience in product management or related fields is preferred, with a passion for enhancing education.

Location: This position is fully remote, based in the US, requiring occasional travel of approximately 20%.

Compensation: $90000 - $125000 / Annually

We believe in the power and joy of learning

At Cengage Group, our employees have a direct impact in helping students around the world discover the power and joy of learning. We are bonded by our shared purpose – driving innovation that helps millions of learners improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.   

Our culture values diversity, engagement, and discovery

Our business is driven by our strong culture, and we know that creating an inclusive and diverse workplace is essential to the success of our company and our learners, as well as our individual well-being. We recognize the value of diverse perspectives in everything we do and strive to ensure employees of all levels and backgrounds feel empowered to voice their ideas and bring their authentic selves to work. We achieve these priorities through inclusive programs, benefits, and initiatives that are integrated into the fabric of how we work every day. To learn more, please see https://www.cengagegroup.com/about/inclusion-and-belonging/.    

What You’ll Do Here:   

The Portfolio Manager is responsible for defining and achieving the growth strategy for a specific academic subject area vertical in the higher education market. As the successful candidate, you will lead a cross-functional team including Learning Designers, Content Managers, and Marketing Partners to deliver on your strategic pipeline, including content revisions, digital online learning experiences, and new entries into your respective markets. You will be accountable for delivering commercially successful products, meeting release goals within budget and achieving annual sales forecasts. You will partner with sales and marketing to retain existing and acquire new customers by demonstrating the value proposition of your portfolio solutions.   

Essential Duties and responsibilities:

• Use data to make market-informed business proposals, take mitigated risks, and inform strategic decisions.
• Translate strategy into structured end-to-end development plans; define and lead all aspects of budgets, resources, performance goals, and key achievements.
• Regularly analyze product and portfolio plans to align forecasting and measurement of progress towards goals; deliver cases for strategic investment.
• Achieve plans successfully by meeting release objectives and goals.
• Demonstrate strong communication skills with keen ability to facilitate team meetings, focus groups, interviews, presentations, and trainings.
• Fully understand and track all market and industry activity that affects assigned portfolio, including any new market launches and competitor movement.
• Define, identify, size and prioritize market segments associated with the assigned portfolio.
• Establish and maintain relationships with authors and adoption decision makers to gain customer insights, strengthen customer relationships, and identify/recruit new author talent.
• Partner closely with Marketing and Sales teams to seed and secure adoptions.
• Create compelling needs-based discipline, course, and product positioning.
• Make presentations at company meetings, customer visits, and academic conferences in support of sales growth.   

Skills you will need here:   

• BA or BS degree
• Minimum 3-5 years in product management, product development, marketing, sales or other relevant business role
• Creative and curious problem-solver and collaborator
• Understanding of the educational technology and publishing industry.
• Excellent at articulating vision and strategy
• Strong communication skills with demonstrable ability to facilitate meetings, presentations, focus groups, and customer interviews
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams through influence and inspiration
• Strong financial analysis and modeling skills
• Experience using standard research methods and user testing models
• Ability to self-manage personal progress against achievements and results with a high degree of accountability
• Understands how customer needs and challenges translate into opportunities.
• Passion for improving education and delivering high quality learning experiences
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PowerBI
• Expected travel ~20%     

Cengage Group does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, marital status, parental status, cultural background, organizational level, work styles, tenure and life experiences. Or for any other reason.    

Cengage Group is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected] or you may call us at +1 (617) 289-7917.   

About Cengage Group    

Cengage Group, a global education technology company serving millions of learners, provides affordable, quality digital products and services that equip students with the skills and competencies needed to be job ready. For more than 100 years, we have enabled the power and joy of learning with trusted, engaging content, and now, integrated digital platforms. We serve the higher education, workforce skills, secondary education, English language teaching and research markets worldwide. Through our scalable technology, including MindTap and Cengage Unlimited, we support all learners who seek to improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.

Compensation

At Cengage Group, we take great pride in our commitment to providing a comprehensive and rewarding Total Rewards package designed to support and empower our employees. Click here to learn more about our Total Rewards Philosophy.

The full base pay range has been provided for this position. Individual base pay will vary based on work schedule, qualifications, experience, internal equity, and geographic location. Sales roles often incorporate a significant incentive compensation program beyond this base pay range.

$90,000.00 - $125,000.00 USD