Director, Marketing Technology & Data Operations

Director, Marketing Technology & Data Operations

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.

About the role:

Cengage is looking for Director, Marketing Technology & Data Operations to be a strategic, collaborative, and forward-thinking leader to build and scale our global Marketing Technology and Data function and team. Reporting to the VP of Marketing Operations, this role will define the vision, governance, and operating model for our marketing technology and data ecosystem, enabling marketing teams around the world to work more effectively, deliver exceptional customer experiences, and accelerate business growth.

You'll lead the strategy behind our MarTech portfolio—from roadmap planning and technology governance to vendor management, ROI evaluations, platform rationalization, AI innovation, and experimentation. Working across Marketing, Digital, IT, Procurement, Finance, RevOps, Sales, Security, and Legal, you'll help ensure our technology investments align with business priorities while creating a scalable foundation for the future.

You'll define the vision, strategy, and operating model for marketing data, building trusted, scalable data capabilities that improve decision-making, enable personalization and AI, strengthen measurement, and deliver greater business value.

As a strong people leader, you’ll lead, coach, and develop a global marketing technology and data team.

This is an opportunity for a leader and builder who enjoys solving complex business problems, influencing across organizations, and bringing structure, governance, and innovation to a growing enterprise marketing organization.

What you'll do here:

Develop the marketing technology strategy

• •Define and own a marketing technology strategy and roadmap aligned to business priorities and customer experience goals.
• •Translate marketing and business needs into technology recommendations, investment priorities, and implementation plans.
• •Partner with Marketing and cross-functional teams to define the future-state MarTech ecosystem and supporting architecture.
• •Find opportunities to unlock new marketing capabilities, improve operational efficiency, and support business growth through technology.

Define marketing data strategy, governance & operations

• •Establish the vision, governance, operating model, and roadmap for marketing data to improve quality, accessibility, compliance, and business value across the global marketing organization.
• •Partner with Marketing, RevOps, Digital, IT, Analytics, Sales, and Data Engineering teams to align data requirements and use cases; define data platforms, standards, architecture, and integration strategies that enable personalized experiences, trusted reporting, AI, and advanced analytics.
• •Lead data quality, stewardship, taxonomy, and master data management initiatives to ensure consistent account, customer, campaign, and performance data across the MarTech ecosystem.
• •Partner with cross-functional teams evolve marketing measurement by enabling scalable attribution, performance dashboards, experimentation, and actionable insights that support business growth and executive decision-making.
• •Oversee marketing data operations, including data pipelines, integrations, privacy, governance, and operational processes that ensure reliable, secure, and compliant data management.
• •Build a future-ready data foundation and team that accelerates maturity while reducing technical debt and operational complexity.

Build governance and operational excellence

• •Establish governance processes for evaluating, selecting, implementing, and retiring marketing and data technologies.
• •Create and maintain a comprehensive inventory of marketing applications, integrations, licenses, and business owners.
• •Lead technology rationalization efforts to reduce redundancy, simplify the technology landscape, and increase platform adoption.
• •Develop standards, policies, and operating procedures that improve consistency, scalability, and decision-making.
• •Ensure alignment with enterprise governance processes including security, privacy, legal, procurement, architecture review, and software lifecycle management.
• •Balance global standardization with regional business needs to support worldwide marketing teams.

Lead technology investment and vendor management

• •Manage the intake, prioritization, evaluation, and recommendation process for new technology requests.
• •Partner with Procurement and Finance to manage contracts, licensing, renewals, and annual spend forecasting.
• •Build business cases and technical requirements that guide technology investment decisions.
• •Establish vendor performance management through scorecards, business reviews, roadmap alignment, and strategic partnerships.
• •Monitor platform utilization and recommend opportunities to optimize licenses, reduce costs, and improve adoption.

Drive innovation, AI, and experimentation

• •Develop and implement the marketing AI roadmap in partnership with enterprise AI and technology teams.
• •Identify, pilot, and scale AI-powered capabilities that improve marketer productivity, campaign performance, customer engagement, and operational efficiency.
• •Champion experimentation by enabling testing frameworks, measurement approaches, and continuous optimization across digital marketing experiences.
• •Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend innovations that position Cengage for long-term success.
• •Establish responsible governance for AI adoption, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards and business objectives.

Partner across the business

• •Build trusted partnerships with leaders across Marketing, Digital, IT, Procurement, Finance, Sales, Security, and Legal, and external vendors.
• •Align cross-functional roadmaps, delivery timelines, and investment priorities across partner groups.
• •Influence strategic technology decisions through data-driven recommendations and executive communication.
• •Drive organizational adoption through enablement, change management, documentation, and standards.

Build and lead high-performing teams

• •Lead, coach, and develop a global marketing technology and data team.
• •Establish clear goals, development plans, and success metrics for team members.
• •Recruit and retain top talent while building organizational capabilities for the future.

Skills required for this position:

• •Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Information Systems, Computer Science, or a related field.
• •10+ years of experience in Marketing Technology, Marketing Operations, Data Operations, Digital Marketing, Business Systems, or related areas.
• •Strong people leadership and coaching ability. Demonstrated success building and leading high-performing teams in complex enterprise environments.
• •Experience leading enterprise MarTech and data strategy, governance, technology transformation, or digital capability programs.
• •Strong understanding of modern marketing technology and data ecosystems, including CRM, marketing automation, web platforms, analytics, experimentation, digital asset management, customer data platforms, and AI-enabled marketing solutions.
• •Deep expertise in marketing data strategy, governance, and operations, with a proven ability to build trusted, scalable data foundations that enable measurement, AI, personalization, and business growth.
• •Experience developing technology roadmaps, governance frameworks, and portfolio management practices.
• •Experience evaluating technology investments, managing vendors, and leading software selection processes.
• •Strong business sense with the ability to translate business objectives into technology strategies and investment recommendations.
• •Demonstrated success l