Strategic Growth and Innovation Manager, School

Description

At Macmillan Learning, we're 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 you're a Pioneer shaping bold new ideas, a Builder turning possibilities into reality, or a Stabilizer optimizing for success, you'll play a vital role in advancing our mission. If you're excited by the prospect of testing new technologies, implementing transformative strategies, and thriving in a fast-paced, innovative environment, we'd love to hear from you!

The Strategic Growth and Innovation Manager (School) drives the discovery and incubation of new opportunities that expand BFW's impact across the broader school market, including high school and emerging K-8 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 what's next in the school space-grounded 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 don't meet every single qualification listed. We encourage you to apply if you're excited about this role and believe you can contribute meaningfully to our team, even if your background doesn't align perfectly with every requirement. We're 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, we'd love to hear how your unique background and abilities could contribute to our team's success. We're 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 - we're 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

Innovation & Digital / AI Acceleration

Program & Business Model Development

Required Qualifications :

Preferred Qualifications :

Salary Range : $90,000 - $95,000

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.

Benefits

Regular full-time and qualifying part-time employees and their dependents are eligible for Macmillan benefits, effective on the employee's 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.

Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family owned company that improves lives through learning. By linking research to learning practice, we develop pioneering products and learning materials for students that are highly effective and drive improved outcomes. Our engaging content is developed in partnership with the world's best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook , Twitter , LinkedIn or join our Macmillan Community . Macmillan Learning is a division of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a family-owned 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 Education's guidance. Portions of the affirmative action program are available for review by applicants and employees by contacting Human Resources at Macmillan Learning.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.