Manager, Customer Success Manager

Sphera is a leading global provider of enterprise software and services that enables companies to manage and optimize their environmental, health, safety and sustainability. Our mission is to create a safer, more sustainable and productive world.

Sphera is a portfolio company of Blackstone, a U.S.-based alternative asset investment company that focuses on private equity, technology and innovation, and more. Blackstone businesses succeed through strong partnerships, a personalized approach and a commitment to exceptional performance with uncompromising integrity. Sphera and Blackstone are leaders in the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) space.

We are guided by our core values of Customer Centricity, Accountability, Bias to Action, Innovation, and Collaboration. These values help us recruit the right talent to join our rapidly expanding team of around the globe. It is important to us that each and every Spherion is not only eager to challenge themselves and knows how to get work done but is an awesome addition to our company culture.

You will be responsible for leading a team of approximately 8 Customer Success Manager, while partnering closely with Sales, Product, Support, Professional Services, and other cross-functional teams. 

This is a leadership role combining people leadership, customer strategy, operational excellence, retention, and growth. You will establish a high-performing, customer-centric culture across the EMEA Customer Success organisation and ensure our teams are proactively managing customer relationships, driving adoption, reducing churn, and identifying opportunities for expansion. 

The ideal candidate will have significant experience leading Customer Success teams within a complex B2B SaaS environment, a proven track record managing enterprise customers, and the ability to operate strategically while remaining close to customers and their teams. 

Responsibilities 

Customer Success Leadership 

• Lead and manage the EMEA Customer Success organisation, providing direction, coaching, and support to approximately 8 Customer Success Managers. 

• Directly manage approximately seven Customer Success leaders/managers and ensure consistent leadership, performance management, and development across the wider team. 

• Establish and maintain a high-performing, accountable, and customer-centric culture across the EMEA organisation. 

• Set clear objectives, KPIs, and performance expectations for the Customer Success team. 

• Coach and develop team members, identifying opportunities for career development, succession planning, and capability building. 

• Ensure consistent Customer Success processes, methodologies, and best practices are adopted across EMEA. 

• Partner with senior leadership to develop and execute the regional Customer Success strategy in alignment with Sphera’s broader business objectives. 

Customer Retention & Growth 

• Own and drive the EMEA Customer Success strategy to maximise customer retention, satisfaction, and lifetime value. 

• Establish proactive strategies to identify and mitigate churn risks across the customer base. 

• Oversee customer health, engagement, adoption, renewal, and expansion metrics and ensure appropriate action is taken. 

• Partner closely with Sales and Account Management teams to identify and execute cross-sell and upsell opportunities. 

• Support the team in developing strong account strategies for strategic and enterprise customers. 

• Ensure customers consistently realise measurable business value from Sphera’s solutions. 

Customer Relationship Management 

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key strategic and enterprise customers, acting as an executive-level escalation point where appropriate. 

• Ensure CSMs develop trusted-advisor relationships and a deep understanding of customers’ businesses, industries, objectives, and challenges. 

• Oversee executive business reviews and strategic customer engagements for key accounts. 

• Ensure customer feedback, market insights, and emerging risks are effectively communicated to senior leadership and relevant internal stakeholders. 

• Develop strategies to strengthen customer advocacy and engagement across the EMEA customer base. 

Customer Adoption & Value Realisation 

• Ensure customers have effective onboarding and success plans aligned to their business objectives. 

• Drive consistent adoption and utilisation of Sphera’s products across the customer lifecycle. 

• Ensure CSMs are proactively demonstrating the value and business outcomes delivered through Sphera’s solutions. 

• Identify trends and opportunities to improve product adoption, customer engagement, and overall customer experience. 

• Partner with Product and other internal teams to ensure customer feedback is incorporated into product and service improvements. 

Operational Excellence, Data & Reporting 

• Establish and monitor key Customer Success metrics, including retention, churn, renewal performance, customer health, adoption, and expansion. 

• Use CRM and Customer Success platforms such as Salesforce, Clari, Vitally or similar tools to drive data-informed decision making. 

• Develop and maintain accurate forecasting and reporting for the EMEA Customer Success organisation. 

• Identify trends and patterns across customer data and translate insights into actionable strategies. 

• Continuously improve Customer Success processes, systems, and ways of working to increase team effectiveness and customer outcomes. 

• Provide regular updates and insights to senior leadership on the health and performance of the EMEA customer portfolio. 

Cross-Functional Leadership 

• Partner closely with Sales, Professional Services, Support, Product, Engineering, Marketing, and Finance to deliver a seamless customer experience. 

• Establish strong collaboration between Customer Success and Sales to ensure effective account planning, renewals, and expansion. 

• Work with Product and Engineering teams to escalate customer issues, product gaps, and feature requests and ensure appropriate follow-up. 

• Collaborate with Professional Services and Support to ensure successful implementation, adoption, and ongoing customer engagement. 

• Represent the voice of the customer within Sphera and influence internal priorities based on customer needs and market trends. 

Team Development & Talent Management 

• Recruit, onboard, and retain high-performing Customer Success talent across EMEA. 

• Develop clear career paths and growth opportunities for the Customer Success organisation. 

• Conduct regular performance reviews and provide ongoing coaching and feedback. 

• Identify capability gaps and implement training and development programmes to strengthen the team. 

• Create an environment that promotes collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and customer focus. 

Qualifications 

• 8-12+ years of experience in Customer Success, Account Management, or a related customer-facing function, preferably within B2B SaaS. 

• Significant experience leading and developing Customer Success teams, including managers and senior individual contributors. 

• Proven experience managing complex enterprise and strategic customer relationships. 

• Demonstrated track record of improving customer retention, adoption, satisfaction, and expansion. 

• Strong commercial understanding with experience partnering with Sales on renewals, cross-sell, and upsell opportunities. 

• Experience operating within a complex, global SaaS organisation and working effectively across multiple functions and geographies. 

• Strong understanding of Customer Success methodologies, customer health metrics, lifecycle management, and value realisation. 

• Experience using CRM and Customer Success platforms such as Salesforce, Clari, Vitally, or similar. 

• Exceptional leadership, coaching, communication, and stakeholder management skills. 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with the ability to translate customer and business data into actionable strategies. 

• Ability to operate strategically while maintaining a strong understanding of day-to-day customer and team needs. 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience. 

What Success Looks Like 

• A high-performing, engaged, and accountable EMEA Customer Success organisation. 

• Strong customer retention and renewal performance across the region. 

• Increased product adoption and measurable customer value. 

• Strong identification and execution of expansion opportunities in partnership with Sales. 

• Consistent Customer Success processes and standards across EMEA. 

• Strong executive relationships with strategic customers. 

• Clear visibility into customer health, risks, opportunities, and team performance. 

• A strong pipeline of Customer Success talent and future leaders within the organisation. 

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Sphera is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all colleagues.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the job and the general nature and level of work performed by job holders within this job. This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, skills, efforts, duties, responsibilities or working conditions associated with the position.