Strategic Customer Success Manager

Role

The Strategic CSM manages both the day-to-day operational and long term strategic business relationship with Zuora’s key strategic customers. They play a pivotal role in ensuring that Zuora is viewed as and remains a strategic technology and business partner. The Strategic CSM promotes adoption of Zuora products and services and positions Zuora to meet the current and future business requirements of our customers. The Strategic CSM will also play a critical role in managing customer escalations and proactively communicating upcoming product changes and enhancements. Cultivating key customers as Zuora advocates in the Zuora community and subscription economy is a requirement for this role. Finally, the Strategic CSM helps drive customers’ business initiatives and optimize their processes aligned with Zuora’s technology  to drive the growth and expansion of customer's business and the resulting growth of Zuora’s footprint and volume of business. 

The Strategic CSM will have excellent working relationships with other representatives of Zuora who will be active within their account(s). Specifically, a strong collaborative partnership with the Sales Account Executive is key to this role. The Strategic CSM is a positive advocate for the customer within Zuora and will be a professional representative at all times in this post-sale role.

Responsibilities

• Dedicated full-time Executive level asset for Strategic Accounts
• Trusted Advisor for key business owners and executives including CxOs
• Partners with CxO’s to develop a transformation roadmap
• Cultivate relationships with key customer roles from functional owners to senior management 
• Proactively communicate relevant application, infrastructure, and product changes
• Work with customer to optimize usage of Zuora including but not limited to: business process optimization, performance monitoring, training, and user adoption
• Possesses the ability to interface with C-level executives to drive program strategy and ROI
• Proactively identify where and how Zuora capabilities can deliver incremental business value
• Frequent multi-level communications through executive business reviews, QBRs, etc.
• Aligns the customer  roadmap to Zuora current capabilities and future product direction
• Recommend solutions to changing client requirements and emergent problems by carefully identifying and assessing all risks and benefits of possible approaches
• Build account expansion plan with Account Executive with clear objectives, requirements and action plan that delineates roles, responsibilities and target timelines with the aim of driving value within their current contract with Zuora.
• Ensure satisfactory resolution of Zuora-related technical issues, including coordination of cross-departmental Zuora resources (e.g., support tickets, Professional Services engagements) and partners
• Make recommendations and manage communication plans between Zuora and its clients’ organizations
• Drives adoption through innovation, product demonstration and customer alignment
• Identify and cultivate opportunities to grow Zuora’s footprint within existing customer accounts. Coordinate with Sales Account Executive to support active sales campaigns 
• Serves as a liaison to other Zuora  resources in Product, Services, and Sales, as needed
• Serves in a ‘boundary spanning role’ across internal and external functions and partners
• Active participation in Governance and Steering committees
• Defines and executes a Success Plan addressing conflict along the way

Qualifications

• 4 year degree in a technology and or business related field
• Strong business acumen and ability to provide sound business judgment
• 7 years customer-facing experience in customer success, technical sales, or professional services
• Experience in the high tech industry, preferable in a Software as a Service (SaaS) environment
• Strong account management, client service and/or management consulting experience
• Successful candidates must have strong communication and problem solving skills, customer focus and results orientation
• Executive presence. Comfort with ambiguity and C-level communication
• Proven ability to present technical concepts effectively to diverse stakeholder groups and to engage effectively with senior executives of large enterprises on both technical and business topics
• In depth knowledge of scalable Enterprise web applications (CRM, CPQ, ERP, GL)
• Experience working with a cross-functional and geographically dispersed team and customer base. 
• Travel up to 40% of the time (including some possible international travel)