Senior Director, Customer Success

Job Description

Senior Director, Customer Success – Commercial Segment

The Senior Director, Customer Success leads the strategic direction, execution, and growth of Zendesk’s Commercial segment through a high-performing team of Customer Success leaders and professionals. This executive role is responsible for shaping the vision, scaling programs, and driving outcomes that enable Commercial customers to achieve measurable business value and foster long-term partnership with Zendesk. The Senior Director is a critical organizational leader, collaborating across functional lines and operating as a senior advocate for both the customer and Zendesk’s business imperatives.

The Senior Director’s core mission is to ensure the Commercial segment accelerates product adoption, maximizes customer satisfaction, and expands account value—by driving strategic initiatives at scale, nurturing executive relationships, and developing next-generation customer success practices aligned with Zendesk’s growth objectives.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Define and execute the long-term vision for Customer Success in the Commercial segment, aligning with Zendesk’s corporate strategy and revenue objectives.
• Operate as a senior leader in the CS organization, partnering with executive stakeholders across Sales, Product, Marketing, and Services to amplify customer impact and drive company-wide alignment.
• Serve as an executive sponsor for high-value Commercial customers, earning trust with C-suite stakeholders and strengthening strategic partnerships.

Operational Excellence & Team Development

• Lead, scale, and mentor a team of Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and frontline leaders; foster a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous development.

• Oversee resource planning, organizational design, and capacity modeling to meet evolving business and customer demands.

• Set clear team objectives, coach direct reports, and create leadership succession plans to ensure long-term organizational strength.

Customer Outcomes & Portfolio Management

• Own customer health and value delivery for the entire Commercial portfolio, ensuring consistent risk management, opportunity identification, and expansion across accounts.

• Drive the design and execution of scalable Customer Success programs, onboarding models, and lifecycle management strategies tailored for the Commercial segment.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Collaborate at a senior level with Sales, Renewals, Professional Services, Product, and Support to develop and deliver integrated customer strategies.

• Champion the voice of the customer in product innovation, sales strategy, and customer experience design.

Data-driven Improvement & Advocacy

• Define, track, and report on portfolio-level KPIs—customer health, adoption, NPS, renewal/expansion rates—and leverage insights to drive continuous improvement.

• Promote the adoption of customer success technologies and best practices for operational efficiency and enhanced customer insight.

Thought Leadership & Market Awareness

• Stay ahead of industry trends, competitor movements, and advancements in AI-powered customer experience solutions.

• Represent Zendesk’s Customer Success vision at executive briefings, industry forums, and customer events.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 12+ years of relevant experience, with at least 5 years in Customer Success or related leadership roles at the Director level or above within enterprise SaaS or technology organizations.

• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale customer success/engagement teams and managing managers/leaders in a high-growth SaaS environment.

• Proven track record of strategic ownership for a customer portfolio or segment, including risk management, growth, and executive relationship development.

• Deep expertise in customer success frameworks, digital adoption at scale, health metrics management, and lifecycle engagement models.

• Exceptional executive communication, negotiation, and change management skills.

• Strong cross-functional influencing capability at the senior leadership/executive level.

• Proficiency with customer success and CRM platforms (Gainsight, Salesforce, or similar) and data analytics for operational leadership.

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.

• Strong financial acumen; demonstrated ability to plan, manage budgets, build business cases, and measure financial impact of customer success initiatives.

The US annualized OTE (On Target Earnings) range for this position is $257,000.00-$385,000.00 with a pay mix of 70/30 (base/commission). This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.