Strategic Growth and Innovation Manager, School

At Macmillan Learning were committed to driving innovation that transforms education. We seek team members who thrive on pushing boundaries envisioning future possibilities and building solutions that make a lasting impact. Whether youre a Pioneer shaping bold new ideas a Builder turning possibilities into reality or a Stabilizer optimizing for success youll play a vital role in advancing our mission. If youre excited by the prospect of testing new technologies implementing transformative strategies and thriving in a fast-paced innovative environment wed love to hear from you! 

The Strategic Growth and Innovation Manager (School) drives the discovery and incubation of new opportunities that expand BFWs impact across the broader school market including high school and emerging K8 opportunities. This role blends entrepreneurial curiosity with strategic analysis to identify unmet educator and learner needs test new ideas and translate market signals into viable pathways for growth. The Manager leads early-stage initiatives from insight to pilot establishing a repeatable process for validating new concepts and building the evidence needed for future investment or scale. Focused on the Who and the Why the Manager drives market discovery and builds the business cases that guide investment decisions. The Manager collaborates with the Content team to test and refine early concepts ensuring that new market insights (Who/Why) are translated into feasible high-impact prototypes and content experiences (What/How). Working closely with cross-functional partners in Product Marketing UX Research and Sales the Strategic Growth and Innovation Manager helps BFW shape whats next in the school spacegrounded in educator feedback informed by data and guided by a spirit of experimentation and strategic focus.

We know that talented candidates sometimes hesitate to apply when they dont meet every single qualification listed. We encourage you to apply if youre excited about this role and believe you can contribute meaningfully to our team even if your background doesnt align perfectly with every requirement. Were looking for people who are passionate about our mission and can bring valuable perspectives to our work. Different experiences skills and approaches all have the potential to strengthen what we do. If this opportunity interests you wed love to hear how your unique background and abilities could contribute to our teams success. Were committed to building a workplace where everyone can do their best work and where diverse viewpoints are valued. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply - were excited to learn about the different ways you might add value to our organization.

Major responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Growth Strategy & Market Discovery

• Serve as the leader of growth and innovation bringing people together across functions to drive clarity momentum and shared ownership of strategic growth priorities.
• Work cross-functionally with key partners including UXR Product Marketing New Markets Business Development and the High School Teaching & Learning Strategist to integrate market insights educator perspectives and commercial opportunities into discovery and strategy.
• Conduct early stage market discovery and strategy development by analyzing customer needs competitive dynamics and emerging instructional or policy trends to identify and prioritize new opportunities across high school and K-8.
• Serve as a voice of the market articulating where school education is heading and how BFW will meet that future through innovative evidence-based solutions.

Talent Pipeline & External Partnerships

• Identify recruit and cultivate relationships with innovators educators and thought leaders who will help shape new offerings.
• Build a pipeline of collaborators (e.g. authors classroom innovators external partners) who can contribute to concept design pilot testing and program growth.
• Hire and manage SMEs to support prototype development for early validation of new concepts. 

Innovation & Digital/AI Acceleration

• Lead innovation efforts focused on digital-first pedagogy-centered and AI-informed approaches that accelerate growth in the school market.
• Manage the innovation bridge with the strategy team ensuring alignment between early experimentation and long-term strategic direction.
• Partner with Product Marketing and Teaching & Learning colleagues to co-create and validate new solutions that address defined classroom needs.
• Ensure innovation efforts deliver focused school-specific solutions rather than adaptations of models from other markets.

Program & Business Model Development

• Take ownership of end-to-end initiative success: from concept through pilot launch measurement and iteration.
• Ensure speed to market by building data-informed business cases and accelerating decision-making with the Program Director and Strategy team.
• Define and track success metrics financial measures and retention drivers to guide business strategy and ensure commercial impact.
• Balance creative innovation with disciplined execution enabling smart investment decisions and measurable outcomes.

Qualifications :

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors Degree.
• 4 years in educational technology K12 education or related innovation roles.
• Proven ability to identify validate and scale new business or product opportunities.
• Experience driving initiatives from concept to pilot using data to guide decisions.
• Strong collaborator skilled at translating educator and learner insight into strategy.
• Clear persuasive communicator with a bias toward action and measurable results.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Entrepreneurial mindset with a record of creative problem-solving and experimentation.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and balancing innovation with business discipline.
• Motivated by learning iteration and meaningful impact.
• Collaborative authentic leader who builds trust across teams.
• Deep understanding of K12 dynamics and educator needs.

Salary Range: $90000 - $95000

Exemption Status: Exempt

Physical Requirements:

Requires periods of close concentration; must be able to multi-task; must be able to travel occasionally; work overtime - more than 40 hours a week regularly as needed.

The position is eligible for remote employment excluding the following locations: Alaska Arkansas Hawaii Mississippi Nevada South Dakota West Virginia Wyoming.  

Additional Information :

Benefits 

Regular full-time and qualifying part-time employees and their dependents are eligible for Macmillan benefits effective on the employees date of hire. Macmillan also offers health benefits coverage to qualifying same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners (may require additional documentation) of active employees. 

• Competitive pay and bonus plan
• Generous Health Benefits (Medical Dental Vision)
• Contributions to your 401k retirement account through Fidelity 
• Generous paid time off sick time floating holidays and paid holidays (Spring Reset Day Juneteenth Indigenous Peoples Day Election Day and more!)
• Employee Assistance Program Education Assistance Program
• 100% employer-paid life and AD&D insurance
• And much more!

Macmillan Learning is a privately-held family-owned company that inspires whats possible for every learner. We envision a world in which every learner succeeds. Through our content tools and services we aim to make that a reality. To learn more please visit  join our Macmillan Community stay connected to our Learning Stories blogs or see us on LinkedIn Facebook or X. Macmillan Learning is a division of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group a global media company headquartered in Stuttgart Germany.

At Macmillan Learning we believe diverse perspectives and backgrounds enrich our mission to improve lives through learning. We actively seek candidates who reflect a wide range of identities experiences and communities. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion age ethnicity national origin sex sexual orientation gender gender identity or expression disability status physical ability neurodiversity genetic information protected veteran status family and economic status and background geographical status and background or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local law. You can read more about our Diversity Equity & Inclusion initiatives here.

The successful candidate for this position will be an employee of Bedford Freeman & Worth Publishing Group LLC d/b/a Macmillan Learning. Bedford Freeman & Worth Publishing Group LLC has developed an affirmative action program in compliance with the NY Department of Educations guidance.  Portions of the affirmative action program are available for review by applicants and employees by contacting Human Resources at Macmillan Learning.

Remote Work :

Yes

Employment Type :

Full-time