Cross-Functional Program Lead for Higher Education

Cengage Group; Honolulu (HI); On-site; USD 117,000 - 187,000; Full time

Job summary

Cengage Group is seeking a Sr. Program Manager to drive multi-disciplinary programs across Higher Education. You will align disciplines, manage dependencies, and coordinate planning from inception through rollout.

This high-visibility role requires strong leadership and executive communication to drive reusable solutions across Product, Content, Engineering and GTM in a fast-paced environment.

Join a global edtech leader delivering impact for millions of learners worldwide.

Qualifications

• Experience leading complex programs across product strategy, content, technology, and commercial teams.
• Experience establishing operating models, governance, planning processes, and decision frameworks for complex multi-functional initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into coordinated portfolios, roadmaps, workstreams, and measurable outcomes.
• Ability to identify patterns and common needs across multiple initiatives and drive alignment around shared capabilities and reusable solutions.
• Strong relationship-building and partner management skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across functions and levels of the organization.
• Strong executive communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information, frame tradeoffs, and facilitate decisions among senior stakeholders.
• Experience operating in a matrixed organization where authority is distributed across multiple teams and leaders.
• Strong facilitation, problem-solving, and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a portfolio view across disciplines, connecting priorities and planned work to create visibility and alignment.
• Identify common capability needs across subjects and coordinate prioritization and sequencing to support shared roadmaps.
• Define and track objectives and measurable outcomes, linking progress to business impact.
• Identify and manage dependencies, risks, and questions across disciplines and workstreams.
• Surface decisions and drive alignment on a path forward with stakeholders.
• Coordinate Product, Content, Engineering, Go-to-Market and other teams through delivery and adoption of new capabilities.
• Facilitate communication across teams to remove blockers and drive execution.
• Ensure work is prioritized, well-defined, and aligned with strategic priorities.

Skills

Program management leadership across |

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic portfolio planning

Dependency & risk management

Executive stakeholder communication

Matrixed organization experience

Facilitation & problem solving

Prioritization & roadmapping

Education

PMP or PgMP certification

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Job description

Cengage Group is seeking a Sr. Program Manager to drive multi-disciplinary programs across Higher Education. You will align disciplines, manage dependencies, and coordinate planning from inception through rollout.

This high-visibility role requires strong leadership and executive communication to drive reusable solutions across Product, Content, Engineering and GTM in a fast-paced environment.

Join a global edtech leader delivering impact for millions of learners worldwide.