Counsel, Business Operations and Regulatory (Remote)

About the role

Cengage is seeking a pragmatic, business-oriented attorney for the role of Counsel, Business Operations and Regulatory. This role will serve as a key legal partner to its growing workforce skills and career training business.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Cengage Work business, developing a strong understanding of its products, business models, and strategic priorities.
• Collaborate with product, operations, finance, and go-to-market teams to incorporate legal and regulatory considerations into business decisions.
• Provide practical, risk-based legal advice that supports business objectives.
• Advise on federal and state regulatory frameworks that, directly or indirectly, impact Cengage Work, including consumer protection laws and disclosure requirements, education financing models, postsecondary education laws and regulations, and workforce development and training program regulations.
• Collaborate with Cengage’s government affairs team and advisors to monitor, interpret, and advise on changes in postsecondary education, workforce education, and skills training related laws and regulations that may impact Cengage Work.
• Identify legal, regulatory, and operational risks across Cengage Work and partner with compliance, legal subject matter experts, and the business to develop policies and procedures to mitigate these risks.
• As needed, serve as lead counsel on select enterprise-wide regulatory and compliance initiatives.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of agreements supporting Cengage Work offerings, including customer, partner, and institutional arrangements.
• Provide clear, actionable legal guidance to support transaction strategy and execution.
• Partner with Legal Operations to set the strategic framework for contracting processes supporting Cengage Work, including templates, standards, and playbooks across multiple business models.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex, non-standard contractual matters, providing advisory guidance to the Contract Management team.
• As needed, support corporate legal team on acquisition and other strategic transactions for Cengage Work.

Requirements

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership.
• 4–7 years of relevant legal experience (law firm and/or in-house).
• Strong analytical, issue-spotting, and problem-solving skills, with a practical, business-oriented approach to risk.
• Willingness to learn a new business and capacity to independently develop expertise in unfamiliar areas.
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of complex legal projects and independently manage projects cross-functionally with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills.

Preferred

• Familiarity with federal and state regulatory regimes affecting postsecondary education and workforce and skills training.
• Experience in technology companies focused on workforce skills, online continuing education, or vocational training.