Team Manager, Customer Success – Higher Education

Pearson

About The Position

The Team Manager, Customer Success will lead a team of Customer Success Specialists (CSS) and serves as a critical member of the Pearson Customer Success leadership team. This role is dedicated to protecting the base of existing customers by retaining and renewing business through deep partnership with Higher Education educators. As an outcome-based leader, you are responsible for ensuring your team drives revenue retention not just through reactive support, but by ensuring value realization. You will coach your team to anticipate the needs of the educator, providing a proactive engagement model that ensures a seamless, frictionless experience with our products and platforms. The Team Manager reports directly to the Head of Customer Success.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree is required for this role.
5+ years of experience in Customer Success or Account Management, with at least 2+ years of direct people management experience and a track record of aligning performance for success.
Experience in a highly matrixed organization with demonstrated success managing against revenue retention and renewal targets.
A leadership style defined by setting, measuring, and analyzing metrics to clearly indicate what success looks like and proving team delivery through results.
A proven track record of using data as a primary driver for team improvements and customer outcomes. You have deep experience in identifying patterns and trends within a book of business to proactively shift strategy and mitigate risk.
A demonstrated ability to gain deep knowledge of complex software and the skill to communicate that value to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
The ability to communicate effectively with internal stakeholders to bridge the gap and demonstrate how the CS team drives success.
Proficiency in using CRMs (e.g., Salesforce) and Customer Success Platforms to track team KPIs, manage data integrity and provide accurate team insights to executive leadership.
The agility to lead a team through a fast-paced environment, navigating organizational growth, process evolution, and the scaling of department operations.
A strong empathy for the challenges faced by Higher Education educators and a passion for revenue growth.
Developing and Leveraging Relationships
Analytical Skill and Learning Agility
Emotional Intelligence & Awareness
Communication and Collaboration

Responsibilities

Lead and Develop a High-Performing Team: Build, manage, and mentor a team of CSSs who support Higher Education customers, providing the ongoing coaching, feedback, and development necessary to help your team deliver exceptional customer outcomes.
Protect and Grow the Revenue Base: Drive the strategy for revenue retention by overseeing your team’s portfolio and ensuring a proactive approach to renewals in partnership with Sales.
Drive Strategic Performance through Data: Utilize advanced monitoring and analysis of key metrics, patterns, and trends to proactively address potential issues and develop data-backed strategies that ensure portfolio health.
Serve as a Product & Value Champion: Develop deep platform expertise to serve as the strategic “go-to” for your team, translating product capabilities into actionable value propositions that drive educator adoption and long-term success.
Deliver Actionable Business Intelligence: Establish and track performance benchmarks for renewals and retention, translating customer data into early-warning signals that allow the team to intervene and secure a seamless customer experience.
Drive Organizational Alignment: Lead the charge in unifying our internal stakeholders by establishing business reviews with Sales Leaders and other teams to demonstrate the impact of Customer Success and create a unified front to protect the base.
Deliver Proactive Value Realization: Guide the team beyond “how-to” resolution, ensuring educators realize the full potential and ROI of our tools in their courses.
Design the Department’s Future: Execute the current vision while helping to design and build the future workflows, processes, and playbooks of the Customer Success Function.