**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-diversity/ .

**What you will do here:**

The **Associate Portfolio Product Manager** is a Portfolio Product Management role at Cengage with an expectation that you are ready to independently lead and demonstrate the full PM responsibilities within approximately two years. This Associate Portfolio Product Manager role will manage our **Higher**

**Education HVAC and Electrical portfolio within the Trades team,** which is part of our larger Focus product team.

Associate Portfolio Product Managers serve the same function as Portfolio Product Managers for their given product group. Similar to the Product Manager, the Associate Product Manager is responsible for crafting the product strategy, making product decisions, and leading cross-functional project teams. The Associate Portfolio Product Manager role differs from the Portfolio Product Manager role in that there is a larger focus on learning and development.

**Essential Duties/Responsibilities:**

Lead a profitable product line and develop a strategic business plan in partnership with the Portfolio Product Director. The ideal candidate can be objective and willing to make hard choices regarding investment prioritization for the good of the overall organization. Ability to:

+ Use data to make market-informed business proposals, take mitigated risks, and inform strategic decisions.

+ Translate strategy into organized end-to-end development plans with budgets, resources, performance goals, and key milestones.

+ Execute plans effectively by hitting deadlines and goals.

+ Demonstrate strong communication skills with keen ability to facilitate team meetings, focus groups, interviews, presentations, and trainings.

+ Establish yourself as product champion and team leader — taking on accountability and ownership.

+ Understand, analyze, identify, define, and size market segments associated with the assigned portfolio.

+ Lead product lifecycle of multiple products simultaneously within scope and budget.

+ Fully understand and track all product activity that affects assigned portfolio, including any product launches/enhancements and competitor movement.

+ Develop a keen understanding of competitors.

+ Identify and test product ideas within segments.

+ Regularly analyze product and portfolio plans to align forecasting and measurement of progress towards goals; provide business cases for investment decisions.

+ Partner closely with other functional teams to seed and secure adoptions.

+ Make presentations at company meetings, customer visits, and academic conferences in support of sales efforts.

**Skills you will need here:**

**Basic (Required)**

+ Creative and curious problem-solver and collaborator.

+ Understanding of the educational technology and publishing industry.

+ Excellent at articulating vision and strategy.

+ Customer-focused; understands how customer needs and challenges translate into opportunities.

+ Commitment to results; Enthusiastic “can-do” demeanor and persistence!

+ Strong negotiation and influence skills.

+ Experience using standard research methods and user testing models.

+ Ability to tell a product story through numbers.

+ Ability to self-manage and self-access personal progress against achievements and results with a high degree of accountability.

+ Passion for improving education.

+ Experience working on teams that built digital solutions.

+ Understanding of how financial calculations and digital metrics are used in product management.

+ Ability to travel during peak selling seasons.

+ BA or BS degree.

**Preferred**

+ Experience leading a team.

+ Experience in writing requirements and crafting user stories.

+ Work experience in education technology, non-traditional players, or digital development.

Cengage Group is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do 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. You may view Cengage’s EEO/Affirmative Action Policy signed by CEO Michael Hansen (https://p.widencdn.net/pdvq6j/EEO\_Policy\_Statement\_January\_2017) and Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law notice (http://embed.widencdn.net/pdf/plus/cengage/ybs5gt19ik/eeopost-merged.pdf) by visiting their corresponding links.

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 (https://www.cengagegroup.com/news/perspectives/2024/cengage-group-total-rewards-philosophy/) 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.

$58,300.00 - $93,200.00 USD