Associate Director of Content Management, HSS - United States

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 B ...

Job 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 Associate Director of Content Management (HSS) provides operational leadership for content development workflows across the Higher Education Humanities and Social Sciences portfolio and reports to the Senior Director of Content. This role manages and develops a team of Content Managers—who oversee the planning and execution of complex content development projects across print and digital formats, including main texts and Macmillan Learning Achieve courses—as well as Editorial Assistants who support this work.

Focused on the content development phase rather than downstream production execution, this role ensures that development work is well-scoped, well-resourced, and on schedule, with clear processes and strong cross-functional coordination. The Associate Director acts as a force multiplier for Content Developers, Program, and Product teams by creating the operational conditions that allow content to move efficiently and predictably from concept through delivery.

Refining the Content Manager role, this position helps shape how content development work gets done at scale. Working closely with the Senior Director of Content and cross-functional partners in Content Development, Program, Product, Content Operations, and Content and Media Production, the Associate Director helps define roles, refine workflows, and establish sustainable operating models. This role applies expertise in building clarity, structure, and shared ways of working—turning complexity into systems that work. This role manages other employees.

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:

People Leadership and Team Management

• Directly manage, coach, and develop a team of Content Managers and Editorial Assistants supporting HSS content development initiatives.
• Support performance management, professional growth, and skill development for Content Managers and Editorial Assistants, with a focus on operational excellence, consistency, and clear role boundaries.
• Allocate projects and responsibilities across the team based on capacity, experience, and portfolio needs.

Portfolio-Level Project Oversight (Humanities & Social Sciences)

• Provide oversight across multiple concurrent content development projects, including core text revisions, new product development, and ongoing courseware updates.
• Monitor portfolio-level risks, dependencies, and resourcing constraints, making recommendations on sequencing, staffing, and timeline tradeoffs.
• Ensure Content Managers are building and maintaining realistic project plans, schedules, and budgets aligned with approved development strategies.

Operational Planning, Resourcing, and Enablement

• Support Content Managers in planning for capacity, sequencing work, and balancing competing priorities across projects.
• Oversee resourcing strategies, including the use of freelancers, vendors, external contributors, and AI tools managed by Content Managers.
• Ensure consistent and effective use of project management tools, documentation standards, and reporting practices across the team.

Operating Model, Systems, and Cross-Functional Integration

• Establish, document, and refine standardized workflows and best practices for content development execution, handoffs, remediation, and stakeholder communication.
• Serve as the primary operational liaison between HSS Content Development and Program, Product, and Content and Media Production teams.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director of Content Management for STEM to ensure processes, standards, and tools are aligned and scalable across portfolios.

Continuous Improvement, Change, and Role Evolution

• Lead the Content Manager function through organizational change, evolving systems, automation, and shifting portfolio needs.
• Partner with the Senior Director of Content to shape and refine the evolving Content Manager role, translating experimentation into clear responsibilities and scalable operating norms.
• Identify systemic inefficiencies in legacy content development operations and lead initiatives to address them.
• Partner with the Director of Content Operations & AI Transformation to pilot, implement, and scale automation and AI-enabled workflows.
• Use data, retrospectives, and experimentation to drive continuous improvement at both the project and portfolio level.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree.
• 7-10 years of experience in project management or operations roles supporting complex, multi-format content development initiatives, preferably in higher ed educational publishing.
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing project management teams, including coaching, performance management, and capacity planning.
• Deep understanding of content development workflows, including development-phase planning, cross-functional handoffs, downstream dependencies, and the standardization of practices across teams or portfolios.
• Proven ability to work effectively across content development, program, product, and print and media production teams, with strong operational judgment and experience developing recommendations on resourcing, sequencing, and timeline tradeoffs in partnership with senior leadership.
• Experience supporting operational enablement initiatives, including the evaluation and onboarding of vendors or contractors and experimentation with automation or AI-enabled tools.
• Exceptional organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate complex work into clear plans and options.
• Demonstrated success and comfort working in evolving environments, with the judgment to operate effectively amid ambiguity, pilot new approaches, and help shape roles, processes, and team norms as they take form.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Content management leadership experience.
• Experience with Jira, Confluence, Google Workspace, and assessment authoring software.
• Project management or operations certifications such as PMP, PMI-ACP, Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Lean Six Sigma, or similar credentials.

Salary Range: $95,000 - $115,000 / year.

Exemption Status: Exempt

Please include a cover letter with your application.

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.

• 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 People's 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 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 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 equal opportunity compliance program in compliance with the NY Department of Education's guidance. Portions of the equal opportunity compliance program are available for review by applicants and employees by contacting Human Resources at Macmillan Learning.