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Pearson Career Ready

At Pearson, we are committed to a world that is always learning and to the people who make that possible. From foundational learning through career advancement, we help learners build the skills and confidence they need to thrive in a rapidly changing economy. We are reimagining how education and workforce readiness come together-creating innovative solutions that help institutions expand access, improve outcomes, and better serve learners across every stage of life.

About the Role

This role aligns with industry title: State Adoption Advanced Specialist

Pearson's Career Ready portfolio helps state systems, institutions, and employers access workforce-aligned learning and certification programs. As state adoption activity for Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum continues to grow, we're adding a State Adoption Advanced Specialist to own the strategy, expertise, and post-adoption execution planning behind our CTE state adoption bids.

This role is the institutional expert on _how_ and _what_ to submit: which titles to put forward, how to interpret nuanced state-specific requirements, and how to position our portfolio competitively within a given state's adoption cycle. You'll partner closely with our RFP/Bid Management team, who handle the mechanics of submission (forms, compliance, documentation, coordination across departments) - this role sets the strategy and requirements interpretation that makes those submissions successful and then carries that expertise forward into how we execute after a win.

Your role is to dig into each state's enrollment data, competitive landscape, and detailed submission paperwork, and to clearly relay back to Product and Content teams exactly what's needed for our courseware to clear a given state's review hurdles - capturing and communicating that nuance. In addition, you will coordinate closely with Sales to support execution of sell-in related to state adoption materials, informing strategy and guiding execution, and advising on guardrails and considerations specific to this process.

You will also serve as a key point of contact for individual districts throughout a state's adoption review process - managing district-specific communication requirements, such as the "cone of silence" protocols common to certain adoption states like Texas.

Experience with Texas is especially valuable in this role, given its significance as one of our most critical adoption states.

What You Will Do

Adoption Strategy & Expertise

+ Serve as the internal subject matter expert on CTE state adoption processes, requirements, and timelines

+ Research state enrollment data and the competitive landscape for a given state adoption, informing (not determining) title/product decisions that Product ultimately owns

+ Interpret nuanced, state-specific submission requirements and translate them into clear guidance for the teams executing the bid

+ Dig into state submission paperwork and requirements, and relay back to Product exactly what's needed in our courseware to clear a given state's review hurdle - capturing the nuance and requirements rather than defining the resulting edits

+ Monitor state adoption calendars, legislative activity, and regulatory changes affecting CTE curriculum adoption

Partnership with RFP/Bid Management

+ Provide strategic context, requirements interpretation, and subject-matter guidance to the RFP/Bid Management team as they prepare and submit bids

+ Ensure submission strategy reflects accurate understanding of each state's adoption process - while partnering with the Bid Management to support deliver on the submission mechanics themselves (forms, compliance tracking, documentation)

+ Continuously monitor state purchasing contracts and vendor agreements to ensure our standing remains current and up to date

+ Track and maintain a centralized, up-to-date understanding of active state and district purchasing contracts, available RFPs, and cooperative purchasing agreements (co-ops) - serving as the go-to resource who coordinates with the appropriate internal teams on actual responses, even where this role isn't the one responding directly

+ Serve as a customer-facing point of contact for individual districts throughout a state's adoption review process

+ Manage official presentation and review dates and events with individual districts

+ Coordinate submission processes for district-level review

+ Navigate individual district communication rules, including "cone of silence" requirements common to certain adoption states like Texas

District & Customer-Facing Communication

Post-Adoption Execution Strategy

+ Develop execution strategy following a successful adoption, including how to structure roadshows and state/district engagement

+ Advise on considerations and requirements for partnering with districts during sell-in following an adoption win

+ Build relationships and maintain lines of communication with relevant state agencies to stay ahead of adoption cycle changes

Cross-Functional Collaboration

+ Partner with Curriculum and Product teams - relaying the state-specific nuance and requirements uncovered during adoption research - while Product retains ownership of product fit, requirements, and edits

+ Document and share adoption process knowledge to build durable institutional expertise across the organization

Qualifications

+ 3+ years of experience in K-12 state adoptions, curriculum procurement, or CTE program strategy in educational technology or a related field

+ Experience with the Texas state adoption process is especially helpful, given Texas's role as one of our most critical adoption states

+ Demonstrated expertise navigating the complexities of state adoption bid processes - knowing not just how to comply, but how to strategically position for success

+ Strong cross-functional collaborator, able to work closely with a Bid Management/RFP team without duplicating their function

+ Self-starter with strong research and analytical skills; comfortable building expertise independently

+ Excellent communicator, able to translate complex, state-specific requirements into clear, actionable guidance for internal teams

+ Detail-oriented and comfortable managing towards nuanced, high-stakes requirements

+ Bachelor's degree and 3+ years of experience in the K-12 or CTE education market

+ Experience serving as a customer- or district-facing point of contact during a formal review, procurement, or compliance process is a plus

Other Considerations

+ US-based remote position

+ Located in core state adoption states like Texas and Florida is helpful but not required

+ Competitive salary and participation in company bonus plan (bonus not guaranteed)

+ Medical benefits

+ Standard company holiday and vacation policy

+ Em...

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