AI Programs Lead — Governance, Vendors & Ops

Cengage Group; Anchorage (AK); On-site; USD 117,000 - 187,000; Full time

Job summary

Cengage is seeking a seasoned Program Manager to lead the operational cadence for enterprise AI initiatives, pilots, and vendor onboarding. You will coordinate governance across Legal, Privacy, Security, Procurement, Product, Engineering, and Operations to scale AI adoption while maintaining rigor and compliance.

The role requires 5+ years in program management and a strong track record of cross-functional delivery, with experience in FERPA, GDPR, CCPA, and vendor governance processes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in program management, operations, governance, or cross-functional technology delivery.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, information systems, program management, technology, or related field.
• Experience with FERPA, GDPR, CCPA, or similar privacy regulations.
• Experience coordinating contracts, DPAs, MSAs, or vendor governance processes.
• Strong written and verbal executive communication and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Manage the operational cadence for enterprise AI initiatives, pilots, vendor onboarding, and governance.
• Conduct and coordinate vendor risk assessments for AI tools, platforms, and integrations.
• Coordinate the AI intake process including security, privacy, and contract review.
• Build and maintain the criteria matrix for AI vendor approvals and connector decisions.
• Partner with Procurement on AI contracts, DPAs, and commercial terms.
• Maintain the approved AI vendor list and reassessment cadence.
• Establish and maintain program governance artifacts including intake workflows, decision logs, action tracking, status reporting, and executive updates.
• Coordinate collaborators across AI Enablement, Legal, Privacy, Security, Procurement, Product, Engineering, and Operations teams.
• Track program achievements, dependencies, risks, and operational readiness across AI initiatives.
• Support operational scaling of AI enablement activities including onboarding, documentation, communications, and process standardization.

Skills

Program management

Operations

Governance

Privacy compliance

Vendor governance

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, IS, PM, tech, or related field

Job description

Cengage is seeking a seasoned Program Manager to lead the operational cadence for enterprise AI initiatives, pilots, and vendor onboarding. You will coordinate governance across Legal, Privacy, Security, Procurement, Product, Engineering, and Operations to scale AI adoption while maintaining rigor and compliance.

The role requires 5+ years in program management and a strong track record of cross-functional delivery, with experience in FERPA, GDPR, CCPA, and vendor governance processes.