Account Manager

Element451

About The Position

Element451 is seeking an Account Manager to manage large, complex institutional partnerships for its AI-powered CRM and Admissions Marketing Platform serving colleges and universities. The Account Manager is the primary contact for strategic accounts and owns the full account lifecycle, including contract execution, implementation, customer adoption, retention, and expansion. The role is accountable each quarter for renewals, Net Revenue Retention (NRR), and upsell quota. The Account Manager partners with school and state-system stakeholders to understand institutional goals, provide strategic consulting for student engagement and enrollment, and lead project execution and platform implementation. The role works closely with Customer Success Managers, Engagement Strategists, and internal sales, product development, and support teams to deliver client outcomes. It also develops managed-services documentation, processes, and playbooks covering discovery, requirements gathering, current-state analysis, audits and benchmarks, and future-state process design.

Requirements

At least 7 years of experience in a customer-facing role; SaaS experience is ideal.
Proven success managing and growing high-value, strategic accounts.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
Excellent communication, relationship-management, and presentation skills.
Strategic thinking and the ability to develop and execute customer success plans.
Bachelor’s degree required.
Ability to build client trust and exceed customer expectations.
Ability to understand client business needs and goals, drive customer satisfaction and retention, and collaborate effectively with internal teams.

Nice To Haves

Experience in SaaS environments.
Experience with customer success methodologies and tools such as Salesforce or Gainsight.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary point of contact for strategic client relationships at school and state-system levels, including the System Office.
Partner with client teams to identify and prioritize needs and objectives.
Provide strategic consulting for student engagement, including personalized communications, targeted outreach campaigns, lead generation, and application management.
Oversee implementation and management of client contracts across participating schools to support customer satisfaction and platform adoption.
Lead day-to-day client project execution with Customer Success Managers and Engagement Strategists.
Monitor project activities, resources, and timelines, and develop project plans with client teams.
Ensure adherence to KPIs, including on-time delivery, NPS scores, and product usage.
Conduct client discovery and use findings to implement, set up, and configure the Element451 platform, including student journeys, communication workflows, AI tools, and system integrations.
Document current processes and map best practices for desired future-state processes aligned with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Continuously optimize and recommend improvements to student journeys, communication plans, and enrollment processes within the platform.
Assess institutional recruitment and enrollment processes and identify improvement opportunities and best practices.
Provide stakeholders with regular project updates, progress reports, and presentations on status and outcomes.
Collaborate with internal sales, product development, and customer support teams to ensure seamless service delivery.
Maintain an updated resource schedule and provide reports and updates to leadership.
Develop managed-services documentation, processes, and playbooks for discovery and requirements gathering, current-state analysis, client audits and benchmarks, and future-state process design.
Manage account renewals, Net Revenue Retention, upsell quota, customer retention, and account expansion.
Develop strategic account plans and identify growth opportunities within accounts.
Analyze data and metrics to track progress and outcomes.
Provide leadership and guidance to junior team members.
Stay current on industry trends and best practices.