Implementation Lead

Element451

$100K — $120K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Education, Government & Non-Profit
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 4-8 years in SaaS implementation, project delivery, or customer onboarding roles.
  • Proven multitasker, capable of running several implementations simultaneously.
  • Experience working with both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Strong project management skills including risk handling and effective communication.
  • Familiarity with CRM/marketing automation implementations; higher education experience preferred.
  • Preference for candidates with experience in a scaling organization.

Responsibilities

  • Own the entire implementation delivery process from kickoff to go-live and transition.
  • Develop and oversee project plans, coordinating milestones and execution rhythms.
  • Ensure project timelines are adhered to by driving accountability across teams and stakeholders.
  • Lead structured discovery processes to clarify customer goals and success metrics.
  • Translate customer requirements into a phased implementation plan with a realistic timeline.
  • Maintain a go-live checklist covering all essential readiness factors.
  • Proactively identify and mitigate risks, ensuring scope control and transparency.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive training and development programs.
  • Opportunities for career advancement in a scaling environment.
  • A supportive and collaborative team culture.
  • Access to cutting-edge tools and resources for implementation success.
Full Job Description
The Role

As an Implementation Lead, you are the delivery owner for all customer implementations. You lead the implementation program end to end, including project plan, timeline, stakeholder alignment, and launch readiness, and are accountable for ensuring the platform is successfully adopted to achieve the customer's defined goals at handoff to Customer Success. You keep projects moving, decisions crisp, and go-lives predictable.

This is a customer-facing role for someone who blends strong program leadership with enough platform fluency to guide solution direction, make tradeoffs, and coordinate effectively across teams.
What You'll Own

Go-live delivery ownership
  • Own implementation delivery from kickoff through go-live and transition to Customer Success
  • Build and manage the project plan: milestones, dependencies, decisions, and weekly execution rhythm
  • Drive accountability across internal teams and customer stakeholders to keep timelines on track

Discovery, solution direction, and decision-making
  • Lead structured discovery to clarify goals, workflows, stakeholders, constraints, and measurable success criteria tied to customer outcomes
  • Translate requirements into a phased implementation approach and realistic timeline
  • Partner with Integrations Architect and Product as needed on complex design decisions

Launch readiness and risk management
  • Maintain a clear go-live checklist: UAT completion, data readiness, approvals, training coordination, and communications
  • Identify risks early (scope creep, stakeholder misalignment, data delays) and implement mitigation plans
  • Ensure scope is controlled and tradeoffs are made transparently when needed
  • Ensure go-live criteria include both technical readiness and alignment to intended customer outcomes

Outcome validation and value alignment
  • Ensure the configured product supports the customer's primary use cases and defined success criteria
  • Validate, with the customer, that key workflows and capabilities are live, usable, and aligned to their goals
  • Confirm readiness not just for go-live, but for value realization post-launch

Cross-functional coordination and customer experience
  • Lead customer working sessions and executive updates with confidence and clarity
  • Coordinate with Adoption & Enablement and Integrations specialists to ensure all workstreams land cleanly
  • Provide clear validation of how the implementation supports the customer's goals, including any gaps, risks, or dependencies for achieving outcomes
What You Bring
  • 4-8 years in SaaS implementation, project delivery, or customer onboarding (PM, Implementation Manager, Professional Services, TPM, etc.)
  • Proven ability to run multiple implementations at once with strong stakeholder management
  • Comfort working with technical and non-technical audiences (Enrollment Ops, IT, leadership)
  • Excellent project discipline: timelines, risks, communication, and follow-through
  • Familiarity with CRM/marketing automation implementations (higher ed experience a strong plus)
  • Experience in a scaling environment is a plus
How We Measure Success
  • Early value realization signals (e.g., initial usage, workflow adoption, or goal alignment within first 30-60 days)
  • On-time go-live rate and predictable delivery outcomes
  • Implementation cycle time without quality tradeoffs
  • Risk management quality: fewer avoidable delays/escalations
  • Handoff quality score: CS confirms the implementation is positioned to achieve stated customer goals
  • Customer experience: post-implementation CSAT and stakeholder confidence
Our Values
  • Impactful not Immediate
  • Progress before Perfection
  • Learners before Masters
  • Together not Alone
  • Customer Success not Support
Our Interview Process

Our process is rigorous and designed to be a real signal, for you and for us. Expect a live working session grounded in a realistic implementation scenario, not take-home busywork or trivia. You will show how you run discovery, structure a plan, manage risk, and communicate with customers and cross-functional partners.

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