Sr Solution Specialist

Solution Specialist, HSG (Humanities, Social Sciences & Gale)

We believe in the power and joy of learning. At Cengage, our employees have a direct impact in helping students around the world discover the power and joy of learning. Our Higher Education business supports learning and student success by providing materials and digital solutions to faculty and students in two‑year, four‑year and vocational programs. We serve more than ten million of the eighteen million students in U.S. higher education, delivering quality, easy‑to‑use course materials from textbooks and eBooks to courseware such as Mind Tap and Web Assign.

We help instructors be better teachers, institutions solve problems, and students transform their lives through the power of learning.

• Own the entire sales cycle for course and department level new adoptions and competitive takeaways.
• Identify, qualify, develop, and close new digital opportunities within assigned subject area.
• Establish relationships with deans, department chairs, coordinators, and faculty influencers to secure multi‑section or multi‑course wins.
• Drive digital‑first decisions that increase usage, value, and long‑term institutional alignment.
• Consultative Selling & Solution Alignment:
  Lead discovery conversations that uncover instructional challenges, curriculum needs, and departmental goals; deliver high‑quality product demonstrations and consultative engagements.
• Collaboration with Product Consultants:
  Engage Product Consultants for down‑funnel support on complex, strategic, or large‑scale opportunities.
• Coordinate with Principal Account Directors to access departmental activity influencing institutional agreements and share insights on adoption, competition, and faculty sentiment.
• Market Expansion & Competitive Displacement:
  Develop targeted strategies to win high‑value competitive accounts, activate faculty advocates, and analyze field trends.
• Territory, Pipeline & Forecast Management:
  Maintain a disciplined pipeline using Salesforce, plan strategic activity, provide accurate forecasting, and use data to guide territory focus.

To be considered, candidates must be based in one of the following areas:
Bay Area, CA
; Sacramento, CA metro area
. The role requires frequent travel to campuses and events as needed.

Required:

Minimum two years of customer‑facing sales, education, or training experience with evidence of strong performance, or five or more years equivalent. Strong consultative selling, presentation skills, and ability to influence faculty and academic leaders; high digital proficiency; positive relationship building; independent management of territory, pipeline, and complete sales cycle; proficiency in Microsoft Office and CRM systems (Salesforce preferred); ability to travel.

Preferred:
Experience in EdTech, SaaS, or new‑business acquisition roles; background in teaching, instructional design, or academic environments; experience partnering with product, marketing, or customer success functions.

Cengage, a global education technology company serving millions of learners, provides affordable, quality digital products and services that equip students with the skills and competencies needed to be job ready. With more than 100 years of history, we support higher education, workforce skills, secondary education, English language teaching, and research markets worldwide.

Base pay range: $58,300.00 – $75,750.00 USD. Target variable compensation of $45,000.00 annual. Additional variable incentive compensation may vary based on performance.

Cengage is committed to working with broad talent pools to attract and hire strong and most qualified individuals. All job applicants are considered regardless of classification protected by applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws. The company also provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities during the application process. For accommodation requests, contact

Warning:
Be aware that there has been an increase of targeted recruitment scams. Cengage will only interview candidates via live in‑person meetings, phone calls, or video calls before an offer is extended; verify communications originate from an  email address.