Senior Customer Success Manager

Job Title: Sr. Customer Success Manager

Reports to: Customer Success Director

Location: Seattle

Growth is working with QA, who are a high-growth, high-value company serving the skills and talent needs of the Fortune 500, helping them transform through a tech-enabled approach to developing their people and skills for real business outcomes. As a CVC Capital Partners operating company, QA includes sub-brands like Cloud Academy and Circus Street.

• QA Experts in technology talent and training services. Helping individuals and businesses win in the digital revolution.
• Cloud Academy: Technology platform and provider of cloud and specialist technology training with a library of over 40,000 hours of content.
• Circus Street: Global provider of commercial skills including e-commerce, data analytics and digital marketing skills to businesses.

With a $350 million ARR and 40% year-on-year growth, QA is a household name for learning and e-learning in the UK and Europe, while the US team operates like a start-up within the larger business on the back of the Cloud Academy and Circus Street acquisitions.

Global Employees: 4,500

US Employees: 80

Funding Stage & Investors: Private Equity-backed by CVC Capital Partners

Role Overview:

You will be the main owner of strategic client accounts responsible for developing strong multi-threaded relationships, platform adoption & learning content consumption, customer satisfaction, revenue retention, and growth via expansion leads and advocacy initiatives.

You will be responsible for setting up curriculums and programs with these clients, so need to have a curiosity and interest in our content, product offerings and how these solve for client needs. You should be able to define and communicate clients’ digital skills gaps and training goals and act as an expert in the digital landscape and be able to talk to clients with authority around the training that we provide.

You will also need to demonstrate that you can lead on program design to ensure high engagement rates of our products and content, to drive value and success. You will need to demonstrate an analytical and creative mindset to finding solutions that drive success and high engagement rates across our client base.

The Sr. CSM will embed themselves in the client organization as a trusted/strategic advisor, deepening relationships with program owners, sponsors, advocates, and key subject matter experts to achieve success goals and prove ROI.

Key Responsibilities:

• Client Onboarding & Training: Facilitate effective onboarding and training for new users.
• Customer Success Strategy: Develop and deploy customer success strategies tailored to client needs. Understand customers’ business value drivers and success criteria to develop account plans that achieve mutual success.
• Learning Strategy: Define and communicate clients’ digital skills gaps and training goals and act as an expert in the technical & digital landscape and be able to talk to clients with authority around the training that we provide. Set up curricula in partnership with the Go-to-Market Consultancy Team.
• Relationship Management: Embed yourself as a strategic advisor, build rapport and understand needs for all key stakeholders up and across all relevant functions. Leads Business Reviews and regular meetings to drive success and measurable outcomes that prove ROI.
• Platform Adoption: Drive license activation and high engagement with our product and content.
• Value Management: Proactively manage and demonstrate value for our clients through data-driven storytelling and consultative selling.
• Revenue Retention & Renewals: Manage revenue retention and ensure high net and gross retention rates.
• Growth Strategy: Partner with Account Executives to identify and pursue expansion opportunities.
• Financial Management: Understand and navigate enterprise dynamics, budgeting cycles, procurement processes, forecast revenue attainment, and have a gap plan to address potential revenue churn.

Key Performance Indicators

• Gross Retention Rate (GRR)
• Net Retention Rate (NRR)
• Customer Success Qualified Leads (CSQL)
• Customer Retention
• Adoption Metrics
• Satisfaction & ROI Impact

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Experience: Proven track record in onboarding, driving user adoption, developing mutual success plans, managing revenue retention and renewals. Experience with expansion leads and partnering on growth strategies.
• Skills: Strong in proactive value management, consultative selling, and creating business cases for executives, renewal negotiations, and qualifying expansion lead opportunities. Has gravitas, poise, passion and an executive presence when engaging with senior leaders.
• Knowledge: Foundational familiarity with Cloud Platform, Cyber Security, IT Service Management,Dev Ops, E-Commerce to engage with Technology, Product and Marketing functional leaders about learning goals.
• Curiosity & Learning: Demonstrable proof of recent learning (e.g., vendor certification, university course). Analytical with a data-driven mindset.

Background:

We’re looking for individuals who may bring any combination of the following:

• Experience managing customer relationships in IT, Product, Engineering, Marketing, and/or Learning & Development functions.
• Experience from top tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, or Google (or their partners).
• SaaS providers such as Rackspace, VMware/Broadcom, or Digital Ocean.
• SaaS companies in the EdTech space, such as Udemy or Pluralsight.
• Consulting firms like Big 5, either as a past customer, or if you worked for them, particularly in software development, DevOps, or solution architecture.
• Managed services experience with a media/marketing agency.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a rapidly growing team in a startup-like environment within a larger established company.
• Work on the cutting edge of tech-enabled learning and development solutions.
• Collaborate with Fortune 500 clients and drive real business outcomes.
• You’re excited to make an impact on people and business transformation.

Compensation

• $130-$175k OTE range. Final determination is dependent on experience and market.
• 70% base /30% variable. Variable tiered payout based on revenue retention target achievement.
• CSMs generate expansion leads (CSQLs), receiving % of expansion deal value (uncapped).

Travel

• Visit customers monthly.

Employee Benefits

• 4 weeks of vacation per year, goes up to 5 weeks after 2 years
• 5 sick days
• 2 volunteer days
• 3 professional development days
• 12 US holidays
• 3% match on the 401k, goes up to 4% after two years, no vest
• Medical, dental and vision through Aetna - basic plans paid by the company for the employee, there is an employee contribution if premium plan is chosen and/or family members added
• FSAs, HSA (with one medical plan), supplemental insurances
• $30/month cell phone reimbursement
• $200 equipment stipend every two years
• Pre-tax commuter benefits to those based out of NYC office