Principal Customer Success Manager-US

Principal Customer Success Manager

Remote US

WHO WE ARE

Certinia (formerly FinancialForce) delivers a Services-as-a-Business platform that powers and connects all aspects of services operations, from services estimation and delivery to customer success management and financial planning and accounting. The company's Professional Services Automation (PSA), Customer Success, and ERP solutions—delivered on Salesforce’s leading cloud platform—provide services businesses with the intelligence and agility to deliver high-quality services, elevate customer experiences and accelerate growth.

Headquartered in Austin Texas, with offices around the world, Certinia is backed by Haveli Investments, General Atlantic and Salesforce Ventures. For more information, visit www.certinia.com.

THE ROLE

As 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.

• 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.

• 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).

• 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.

• 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.