The Service Delivery Director is a senior individual contributor responsible for serving as the primary business relationship and contract management lead for assigned strategic customer engagements. This role acts as the central point of accountability for maintaining alignment between the customer and the company, ensuring contractual commitments are understood and managed, and coordinating the operational, commercial, and governance activities required to support successful service delivery.
This role does not have direct people management responsibilities. Instead, the Service Delivery Director works cross-functionally with Customer Success, Professional Services, Support, Product, Finance, Legal, Revenue Operations, and executive stakeholders to ensure customer obligations, risks, dependencies, decisions, change requests, and commercial matters are proactively managed and clearly communicated.
The ideal candidate is a highly organized, commercially aware service delivery professional with strong executive presence, exceptional communication skills, and the ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:Customer Relationship & Governance Management
- Serve as the primary business contact and relationship lead for assigned strategic customer engagements.
- Establish and maintain strong working relationships with customer stakeholders, including executive sponsors, operational leaders, and cross-functional partners.
- Support and facilitate customer governance forums, including executive business reviews, operational governance meetings, escalation calls, and Steering Committee sessions.
- Ensure alignment between customer expectations, contractual commitments, and internal operating teams.
- Drive proactive communication regarding service delivery status, risks, decisions, timelines, and dependencies.
Contract & Commercial Management
- Manage day-to-day administration of customer contracts, including obligations, deliverables, commitments, renewals, milestones, service levels, and key contractual dates.
- Coordinate contract modifications, scope adjustments, approvals, and related documentation with internal stakeholders and customer counterparts.
- Monitor and manage commercial matters including change requests, service impacts, scope clarification, financial implications, and contract compliance.
- Partner with Legal, Finance, Customer Success, and operational teams to ensure contractual and commercial alignment.
- Maintain accurate documentation of customer commitments, approvals, obligations, and operational dependencies.
Risk, Issue & Escalation Management
- Identify, monitor, and coordinate resolution of risks, issues, blockers, dependencies, and service delivery concerns.
- Facilitate timely escalation and cross-functional decision-making when customer delivery, timelines, scope, cost, or customer satisfaction are impacted.
- Ensure operational and contractual risks are surfaced early and managed proactively.
- Coordinate mitigation plans and ensure accountability for follow-through across internal and external stakeholders.
Cross-Functional Operational Coordination
- Partner with Customer Success, Professional Services, Support, Product, Finance, Legal, and executive teams to ensure alignment on customer responsibilities and delivery expectations.
- Coordinate operational handoffs, ownership clarity, communication paths, and governance structures across teams.
- Help maintain alignment between the agreed operating model and actual execution.
- Ensure customer-facing teams understand commitments, service expectations, escalation paths, and contractual responsibilities.
Documentation & Operational Discipline
- Maintain clear and organized documentation related to customer governance, decisions, approvals, risks, actions, changes, and contractual commitments.
- Track and manage key action items, dependencies, milestones, and follow-ups across multiple stakeholder groups.
- Support operational consistency and governance discipline across strategic customer engagements.
- Prepare executive-level summaries, governance materials, and customer communications as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Technology, Operations, or related field preferred.
7+ years of experience in Service Delivery, Customer Success, Strategic Account Management, Professional Services, Contract Management, or related customer-facing operational roles.
Strong understanding of SaaS, enterprise software, managed services, or technology delivery environments.
Experience managing executive customer relationships and participating in governance, escalation, or Steering Committee meetings.
Ability to interpret contractual obligations and coordinate operational execution against customer commitments.
Strong commercial acumen, including understanding of scope management, change requests, approvals, financial impacts, and operational risk management.
Excellent written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills.
Strong organizational and operational discipline with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders simultaneously.
Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive accountability without direct management authority.
Experience working in highly matrixed and fast-paced environments preferred.
KEY COMPETENCIES:
Executive presence and stakeholder management
Contract and commercial management
Operational coordination and governance
Risk identification and escalation management
Cross-functional collaboration and influence
Organizational discipline and follow-through
Strategic communication and relationship management
Problem-solving and decision facilitation
SUCCESS MEASURES:
Customer and internal stakeholders maintain clear alignment on responsibilities, expectations, governance structure, and operating model.
Contractual obligations, key milestones, deliverables, and required actions are proactively tracked and managed.
Change requests, commercial discussions, and approvals are coordinated efficiently and effectively.
Risks, issues, and dependencies are identified early and resolved with appropriate urgency.
Governance meetings are organized, productive, and focused on outcomes and decision-making.
Service delivery execution remains aligned with scope, timeline, financial expectations, and customer commitments.
Cross-functional teams operate with strong communication, accountability, and operational clarity.
Strategic customer relationships remain stable, collaborative, and solution-oriented.
