Sr Director, Talent Acquisition

Cengage; Kentucky; On-site; USD 163,000 - 212,000; Full time

Job summary

Cengage is seeking a Senior Director, Talent Acquisition to lead the strategy, design, and execution of our enterprise TA function. This leader will build and scale a recruiting organization that attracts, assesses, and hires high-impact talent across product, technology, data, AI, and customer success in a SaaS-ready environment.

You will drive AI-enabled transformation of recruiting, partner with HR Talent Strategy Partners and business leaders, define hiring profiles, build proactive

Qualifications

• 12+ years in talent acquisition with 5+ years in leadership roles.
• Experience building enterprise TA in tech-enabled or high-growth environments.
• Experience using AI-enabled recruiting tools and data-driven practices.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an enterprise TA strategy aligned to growth priorities.
• Build and scale a high-performing recruiting team.
• Lead transformation of recruiting with AI tools, automation, and data.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic thinking

Data-driven decisions

Stakeholder management

Change management

Communication

Tools

Eightfold

Workday Recruiting

Job description

We believe in the power and joy of learning At Cengage, our employees have a direct impact in helping learners 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.

Position Overview

The Senior Director, Talent Acquisition will lead the strategy, design, and execution of Cengage's enterprise talent acquisition function. This role is responsible for building and scaling a recruiting organization that enables the business to attract, assess, and hire high-impact talent across a dynamic and evolving workforce landscape. As Cengage continues its evolution as a digital-first, technology-enabled learning company, this leader will ensure talent acquisition strategies support the organization's growth in product, technology, data, AI, and customer-centric capabilities required to challenge and scale in a SaaS-driven environment. The role requires a strategic operator who can evolve recruiting practices through data, AI-enabled capabilities, enterprise skills frameworks, talent intelligence, and scalable processes that improve hiring outcomes. This leader will leverage Cengage's skills-first talent strategy to enhance talent identification, workforce planning, internal mobility, and hiring effectiveness while ensuring the organization attracts talent capable of succeeding in an increasingly AI-enabled, digital-first environment.

What You’ll Do Here

• Develop and execute an enterprise talent acquisition strategy aligned to organizational growth priorities, workforce plans, and evolving business capabilities.
• Build and scale a high-performing recruiting team with deep functional expertise and the flexibility to support changing organizational priorities.
• Lead the transformation of recruiting practices through AI-enabled tools, automation, talent intelligence, and data-driven decision making.
• Partner with HR Talent Strategy Partners, Talent COE leaders, and business leaders to operationalize Cengage's skills-first talent strategy and leverage enterprise skills frameworks to improve talent identification, workforce planning, internal mobility, and hiring effectiveness.
• Leverage enterprise skills data, workforce insights, and talent intelligence to identify talent gaps, advise recruiting strategies, and support hiring for emerging capabilities critical to Cengage's growth, digital transformation, and AI-enabled future.
• Partner with business leaders to define hiring profiles and assessment approaches that reflect evolving workforce requirements, including AI fluency, digital adaptability, continuous learning, and technology-enabled ways of working.
• Establish dedicated recruiting strategies and proactive talent pipelines for critical capabilities across product, technology, data, AI, customer success, commercial, and leadership functions.
• Define and supervise recruiting metrics, workforce analytics, and market insights to drive accountability, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement.

Required Skillset and Experience

• 12+ years of dynamic talent acquisition experience, including 5+ years in leadership roles within sophisticated, matrixed organizations.
• Proven success building and scaling enterprise talent acquisition functions in dynamic, technology-enabled, or high-growth environments.
• Experience implementing and using Eightfold is highly desirable.
• Experience demonstrating skills-based hiring frameworks, talent intelligence, or workforce capability models to improve recruiting outcomes.
• Understanding of talent requirements within digital, SaaS, technology-enabled, or AI-enabled organizations.
• Consistent record to use workforce data, recruiting analytics, and talent insights to influence business decisions and improve hiring outcomes.
• Expertise with ATS platforms and recruiting technologies, including Workday Recruiting preferred.
• Exceptional relationship-building, executive influencing, and strategic advisory skills.

Equal Opportunity

• Cengage is committed to working with broad talent pools to attract and hire strong and most qualified individuals. Our job applicants are considered regardless of any classification protected by applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws.
• Cengage is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities including during our job application process. If you are an applicant with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in our job application process, please contact us at [e-mail].

About Cengage

Cengage, 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. 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. In this position, you will be eligible to participate in the company’s discretionary incentive bonus program. This position's bonus target amount, which is not guaranteed and is dependent on individual performance and overall company results among other factors, is provided below.

30% Annual: Individual Target $163,000.00 - $212,000.00 USD

Cengage, a global edtech company, supports learners, educators and institutions across more than 100 countries. With products serving nearly 16 million digital users across the Higher Education, School, Work and English Language Learning markets, we’ve built a learning ecosystem that connects education to employment. We combine trusted content, AI-powered insights and scalable digital platforms to power learning for every future and drive meaningful outcomes at every stage of the learning journey.