Principal Customer Success ManagerRemote US THE ROLEAs a Principal Customer Success Manager (CSM) at Certinia, you are the trusted strategic advisor and partner for our most complex and high-value customers. You are responsible for leading the post-sale customer journey, leveraging product expertise to connect customer business outcomes to Certinia's product capabilities,and ensuring they realize the full value of their investment in our products. This role requires a unique blend of technical expertise, strategic account management, and a passion for building lasting relationships.
WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS ROLE - Drive Value Realization: You will lead strategic initiatives to ensure our customers are successfully adopting and expanding their use of Certinia's products. This includes facilitating executive-level business reviews and collaborating with stakeholders to align on long-term goals.
- Manage Risk and Escalations: You'll be responsible for our most complex accounts, proactively identifying and mitigating risks. When critical issues arise, you will lead the charge in managing escalations, driving cross-functional resolution, and communicating with executives to protect the customer relationship.
- Provide Strategic Guidance: You will act as a key advisor, offering functional expertise on standard configurations and best practices. You'll also answer "how-to" questions and troubleshoot common user issues, ensuring a smooth and effective customer experience.
- Build and Grow Strategic Relationships: You will cultivate strong, strategic relationships with senior and executive stakeholders within your accounts. You'll understand their long-term objectives and act as a strategic partner, collaborating with the Account Executive to craft and execute a comprehensive account plan for growth, renewal, and advocacy.
1. Strategic Account & Relationship Management- Establish and maintain executive-level relationships (C-Suite, SVP) across the customer's organization, acting as a trusted advisor and business consultant.
- Develop and execute a Strategic Account Plan for each assigned customer, aligning their business goals with the utilization and capabilities of our SaaS platform.
- Lead quarterly and bi-annual Executive Business Reviews (EBRs), presenting data-driven insights on realized value, strategic progress, and future roadmap alignment.
2. Value Realization & Adoption- Proactively monitor and analyze customer health, usage data, and business KPIs to identify risks and opportunities for greater platform adoption and utilization.
- Partner with the customer's executive sponsors to define and track clear, measurable success metrics (Value Drivers) post-implementation.
- Identify business process gaps and advocate for solutions that leverage our product to deliver tangible Return on Investment (ROI).
3. Strategic Growth & Expansion- While not responsible for the renewal transaction (managed by Finance), the PCSM is accountable for the renewal readiness of the account, ensuring high satisfaction and deep product adoption.
- Actively identify and qualify potential upsell, cross-sell, and expansion opportunities within the strategic account base based on observed customer needs and strategic plan alignment.
- Collaborate closely with the Sales team to architect and hand off qualified opportunities for revenue generation.
4. Cross-Functional Leadership & Advocacy- Serve as the voice of the strategic customer internally, collaborating with Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Sales to influence product development and go-to-market strategies.
- Drive continuous process improvement within the Customer Success organization based on feedback and challenges from the most complex enterprise accounts.
- Lead resolution of complex account issues, leveraging internal resources (e.g., Technical Success, Support) to deliver exceptional service.
WHAT YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE- Proven Experience: You have a strong background in customer success, account management, or a related field, with a track record of managing complex enterprise accounts.
- Strategic Acumen: You can develop and execute strategic account plans that align with customer goals and drive value. You're comfortable mapping out executive stakeholders and influencing decision-makers.
- Problem-Solving Skills: You are a natural problem-solver who can quickly diagnose issues, provide effective technical guidance, and lead resolution efforts for critical escalations.
- Excellent Communication: You are an expert at communicating with all levels of an organization, from end-users to C-suite executives. You can clearly articulate a customer's needs and provide concise updates on complex issues.
- 10+ years of progressive experience in Customer Success, Account Management, or Strategic Consulting, with at least 5 years dedicated to managing multi-million dollar enterprise accounts in a B2B SaaS environment.
- Proven ability to operate as a Principal/Senior CSM within a matrixed organization, driving initiatives without formal authority.
- Deep expertise in developing and presenting business cases, ROI analysis, and value-based consultative strategies to C-level executives.
- Exceptional executive presence, communication, and presentation skills (written and verbal).
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Technology, or a related field.
WHAT ELSE WOULD BE GREAT - Experience with Certinia products. or a strong understanding of professional services automation (PSA), enterprise resource planning (ERP), or customer relationship management (CRM) software.
- Experience working in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
- Experience working with Salesforce and the Salesforce ecosystem.
