Director, Privacy (Remote)

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.

The Director, Privacy is responsible for leading Cengage's enterprise privacy program, ensuring it remains scalable, operationally effective, and aligned with evolving business needs and regulatory requirements. Reporting to the VP, Legal Operations, Privacy & Contract Management this role is responsible for the day-to-day management of the privacy program, partnering closely with Legal, Technology, Cybersecurity, Product, Sales, and other business teams to embed privacy into business processes and technology solutions.

This is a hands-on leadership role. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable setting strategy and rolling up their sleeves to build, operate, and continuously improve the privacy program. The Director will drive execution of the company's privacy strategy while coordinating legal mentorship with internal and external subject matter experts as needed.

What You’ll Do Here

Lead the enterprise privacy program roadmap, priorities, and maturity strategy.

Coordinate scalable governance processes that enable privacy-by-design across the organization.

Lead and continuously improve Cengage's enterprise privacy program aligned to Cengage’s overall business objectives and customer base.

Lead the continued evolution of Cengage’s coordinated, risk-based privacy program in partnership with Legal Operations, including implementation and optimization of the company’s privacy management platform.

Provide practical privacy mentorship to business teams, translating regulatory requirements into scalable business processes and coordinating legal advice as needed.

Partner with Technology, Cybersecurity, Product, and Sales teams to ensure technical controls align with privacy governance requirements and ensure privacy by design is an integral part of roadmaps, systems and new or modified products and platforms.

Bridge legal, technical, and business perspectives by translating privacy regulations and legal mentorship into practical technical requirements and communicating privacy risks and recommendations in language appropriate for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Assess and lead privacy risks through a risk-based framework, implementing appropriate mitigation measures and controls to reduce regulatory exposure

Partner with Government Affairs and legal subject-matter experts to supervise relevant legislative developments, assess business impact, and support advocacy efforts where appropriate

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Partner with our Contract Management and Commercial Legal teams to develop and maintain privacy-related contractual language and provide training to those teams on privacy-related matters relevant to contracting.

Support the assessment, investigation, and response to cybersecurity, data privacy, and information security events; serve as a primary Privacy and Legal point of contact; collaborate with senior leadership and relevant stakeholders to resolve and fulfill applicable legal, regulatory, contractual, and notification obligations.

Lead privacy impact assessments and data protection impact assessments, maintain Records of Processing Activities (RoPA), and support related privacy-by-design, risk assessment, and compliance activities across the organization.

Support data retention, data mapping, records of processing, and third-party privacy governance.

Partner with Cengage’s Counsel, AI, Digital Content & Intellectual Property to provide privacy leadership relating to AI governance, responsible data use, and emerging technology initiatives.

Qualifications - Required

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

10+ years leading privacy, compliance, governance, or related enterprise programs.

Practical understanding of GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, U.S. state privacy laws, and other applicable privacy regulations; familiarity student privacy requirements (FERPA, etc.)

Experience building and operating enterprise privacy programs.

Strong cross-functional leadership, program management, and communication skills.

Ability to translate regulatory requirements into practical business processes and assess technical solutions.

Qualifications - Preferred

Experience in education, publishing, SaaS, or technology organizations.

Familiarity with international privacy regulations, particularly in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the EU, China, India, and Australia.

CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, or similar certi