Senior Manager, Customer Success (Secondary and Postsecondary Education Accounts)

The National Student Clearinghouse is a nonprofit organization that provides essential data and services for higher education institutions. They are seeking a Senior Manager, Customer Success who will lead a team of Account Managers to enhance customer relationships, drive retention, and ensure a high-quality customer experience across the lifecycle of their services.

Responsibilities:

• Evaluate and monitor the state of the account, including strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement
• Engage in meaningful discussions with clients to help uncover their challenges, concerns, and pain points
• Share this information across the organization to help in tailoring products/services to meet client needs, driving customer loyalty, and increasing sales
• Partner with your regional peer and sales leadership to collaboratively and proactively determine the key priorities for the customer-facing business
• Monitor customer engagement, to help keep that customer on board and up-sell / cross-sell other products and services to them
• Stay closely aligned with sales, marketing, and Customer Care to ensure a coordination that maximizes the customer relationship to ensure a unified approach that delivers consistent messaging
• Identify issues/roadblocks relating to customer engagement internal to the Clearinghouse as well as externally with customers and work across the organization to drive them to resolution
• Create a roadmap of actionable strategies and initiatives to achieve the defined goals and objectives
• Track and measure the success of the Account Managers and customers against key performance metrics to ensure continuous improvement and accountability
• Lead as an effective change agent within the department
• Adjust team priorities to meet goals and commitments
• Respond effectively to changing demands to reallocate and reprioritize resources as needed
• Inspire, coordinate and closely collaborate with the Account Managers, who manage client relationships to ensure they are aligned to the client relationship strategy and deliver a consistent client experience
• Serve as the primary point of escalation for assigned clients on customer related issues and questions
• Act as a liaison to internal support teams such as Operations, Finance, Sales teams and Customer Care to ensure efficient, effective resolution
• Support the Account Managers as they prepare for and attend onsite meetings and conferences
• Maintain a high-level view of the entire customer experience, monitoring issues affecting specific geographies and proactively managing future risk accordingly
• Develop and maintain a productive team environment that supports retention of clients, utilization and growth of services
• Drive customer excellence by supporting and supervising the team to ensure that contracted services are delivered
• Work with the Account Managers to develop and present service utilization reviews to clients
• Gather, evaluate, and report performance metrics to identify and correct key issues that may affect client satisfaction and/or Clearinghouse program success
• Meet with customers on a regular basis to monitor the team's performance, virtually and onsite
• Expand and promote Clearinghouse services which may include attending and/or presenting at Clearinghouse Academies (sales and training sessions), conferences, and individual school visits to address client questions or concerns
• Identity, develop and implement best practices around client communication and sharing of client information internally
• Contribute to the development of Account Managers through hands-on coaching, mentoring and management
• Demonstrate the management and/or senior leadership competencies: Making Complex Decisions, Being Flexible and Adaptive, Build Collaborative Relationships, Focusing on Performance, and Optimizing Diverse Talent
• Build a team-based environment that aligns with company values, ways of working, and competencies
• Ensure employees comply with company policies, procedures and regulations, while meeting established goals
• Recruit and select the best talent to help optimize skills and experiences
• Motivate and manage staff to maximize productivity and efficiency
• Provide direction to team members, including feedback to support personal and career development and ongoing improvement
• Develop and manage career development and advancement and define and monitor training and development plans to support job and career satisfaction
• Coach, mentor, and ensure staff are adequately trained and provide guidance, as needed
• Monitor and provide feedback on performance including annual reviews, rewards, and compensation structure

Requirements:

• Bachelors degree in business, education, marketing, or any related field. A combination of education and experience including military service will also be considered
• 8 years of direct and relevant progressively responsible experience in customer success or account management (strongly preferred), or sales, or partnership management
• 5 years of direct people management experience, including hiring, coaching, and performance management
• Prior experience within the education industry, with a strong understanding of the higher and/or secondary education landscape and its evolving challenges and opportunities
• Experience working directly and successfully with clients to resolve problems and/or inquiries
• Experience in a fast-paced environment, effectively balancing multiple customer inquiries and adapting to changing priorities
• Experience effectively operating across organizational boundaries
• Experience successfully managing and providing resolutions to escalated client inquiries
• Demonstrated commitment to client satisfaction, with strong time management and prioritization skills, and a high level of attention to detail across complex, high-impact workstreams
• Advanced competency with Salesforce (or similar CRM platforms) and the Microsoft Office Suite, with the ability to leverage tools and data to drive team performance and business insights
• Self-starter with a strong sense of ownership, motivation, urgency, and drive; demonstrated ability to lead effectively under pressure, navigate ambiguity, and maintain professionalism in highly demanding or escalated situations
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with strong executive presence and presentation capabilities; demonstrated ability to communicate effectively and influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization
• Proven track record of developing and sustaining strategic, trust-based relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including senior leadership
• Positive, resilient, and professional demeanor, with the demonstrated ability to lead through change and adapt quickly within a dynamic, fast-paced industry and environment
• Demonstrated ability to align teams and broader organizational stakeholders around key goals and objectives, driving accountability, execution, and measurable business outcomes
• Demonstrates the Clearinghouse's core competencies: customer focus, optimizes work processes, communicates effectively, collaborates, and is open and authentic
• Must live within a commutable distance to Herndon, VA or in one of the Clearinghouse's approved States for hiring purposes
• Must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. We do not intend to sponsor external applicants for work visas, and may consider sponsorship only if no qualified candidates can be found who are authorized to work without sponsorship
• Must be at least 18 years old
• Demonstrated experience leading and developing relationship management, account management, and/or marketing and sales professionals, with a focus on driving team performance and customer outcomes
• Experience working within higher and/or secondary education administration (college or university setting), or within a technology service provider supporting higher and/or secondary education institutions; familiarity with the features, benefits, and value proposition of Clearinghouse services strongly preferred
• Background in postsecondary administration or demonstrated knowledge of higher and/or secondary education operations, including institutional priorities, decision-making structures, and stakeholder dynamics
• Willingness and ability to travel and engage in face-to-face customer interactions on a regular basis (at least quarterly), with a proven ability to build and strengthen client relationships in both virtual and in-person environments
• Strong familiarity with the challenges, trends, and operational needs of higher and/or secondary education institutions, including the ability to translate customer needs into actionable strategies and solutions
• Bilingual proficiency in Spanish preferred, with the ability to effectively communicate and build relationships with diverse client populations