Customer Success Manager for SaaS (EMEA)

At F5, we strive to bring a better digital world to life. Our teams empower organizations across the globe to create, secure, and run applications that enhance how we experience our evolving digital world. We are passionate about cybersecurity, from protecting consumers from fraud to enabling companies to focus on innovation. Everything we do centers around people. That means we obsess over how to make the lives of our customers, and their customers, better. And it means we prioritize a diverse F5 community where everyone can thrive.

We are currently searching for an exceptional Customer Success Team Manager to join our team. If you want to make a difference, take your career to the next level, and work in a highly energetic environment, please send us your CV – we would love to talk.

What will I be doing?

• You will be guiding and leading an exceptional team of customer success managers who are responsible for supporting customers on their SaaS journey with F5, demonstrating value and setting the conditions for ongoing subscription renewal and growth.
• Customer Success collaborates closely with our Sales teams to support customers as they transition from Buy to Own, focusing on ensuring successful onboarding and realization of value.
• You will be hands-on with the coaching and development of the Customer Success Managers on the team as they facilitate the customers’ journey and adoption of F5 solutions.
• You will have the opportunity to define and shape our customer success motions required to support F5’s SaaS customers.

For over 20 years, we have been the industry leader in application delivery. Now, we’re helping our customers thrive with any architecture and across multi-cloud environments. We are the only company in the world that powers applications from development through their entire lifecycle so our customers—enterprise businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands—can deliver differentiated, high-performing, and secure digital experiences that are changing the world.

But our success is not driven solely by what we do. We also care deeply about how we do it. Our culture is how we live, every single day, and it is producing outstanding results—not only for our customers, but also for our employees. We understand that your life is about more than just work, and we are committed to a culture that supports your whole life.

You would join us as a key member of the Customer Success management team providing direct coaching and development to our Customer Success Managers (CSMs). They act as trusted advisors, beginning from the point of sale and extending through onboarding, project success, and renewals.

You would engage and be responsible for overall team management, and the growth and maturity of our Customer Success Managers and our offering. This responsibility requires you to connect with customers and other leaders on high profile and high impacting events during intense and acute situations. You are accountable for operational results such as adoption, expansion, renewals, and customer advocacy.

We'd like you to provide interaction across multiple Global organizations including Sales, Support, Product Development, Product Management, Professional Services, and Training. For this role you will need to be passionate about your goal but flexible in your approach. Customer Success will act as an enabler to ensure our customers remain successful and engaged with our solutions, so they understand the full value of their investment with us.

What will you do?

• Support definition and development of our SaaS Customer Success journeys, motions, and capabilities; drive change management once defined and ensure Customer Success Managers follow to allow for scalable growth.
• Identify key drivers to customer adoption, usage, and retention and build relevant customer success motion.
• Be an active member of our Customer Success management team contributing to achievement of customer advocacy, employee engagement and F5 subscription KPIs.
• Provide leadership for our SaaS Customer Success Managers who embody the LeadF5 behaviours.
• Advocate internally as vital to drive decisions that positively impact customer’s value realization and F5’s subscription KPIs.
• Collaborate across various groups to drive continuous Customer Success maturity.

Leading the team of SaaS CSMs in the EMEA to deliver the below value:

• Ensure that customers derive value from their investment in us, utilize all their subscription(s), identify new opportunities, and collaborate with other stakeholder teams to ensure adoption and a successful renewal.
• Influence future lifetime value through higher product adoption, customer sentiment and overall health scores.
• Drive new business growth through greater advocacy and reference-ability.
• Promote and educate customers on the resources and wider customer communities available.
• Guide our customer through significant service achievements such as onboarding, upgrades, new releases, and new features.
• Aid our team in mapping the right Customer Success motions throughout the customer journey.
• Demonstrate executive level judgment and decision-making when talking to senior leaders.
• “Can do” style and passion to make customers and colleagues successful.
• Passion for leading teams and contributing to the career development of individuals.
• Takes ownership with the natural inclinations to take challenges head on and deliver impact.
• Partner with the field to develop successful account strategies and plans that direct company resources to encourage renewal and return of investment cross pillar.
• Engage and understand our customer’s cloud strategy and guide them by providing resources that can assist their strategic business direction.
• Lead internal relationships to promote customer success activities like onboarding, training, professional services, customer support, renewals, cross-sell/up-sell, advocacy.
• Diligently and consistently ensure CSMs update Gainsight with the customer’s business objectives and any metrics that define success e.g., return on investment.

Industry Knowledge & Eye for Business

• Bias towards data driven decision making that incorporates analytical rigor and managerial judgment.
• Deliver regular business reviews and success plans to senior executives and key business stakeholders.
• Supervise customer usage data, health indicators, renewal dates and growth opportunities and translate into strategies for success.
• Develop an understanding of typical challenges faced by customers and use voice of the customer to appropriately advise F5 features and associated business benefits to address their needs.

Critical Thinking, Innovation & Ability to Deliver Results

• Analyze data to support CSMs in developing a plan for each customer to ensure outcomes are measurable.
• Experience with establishing operational objectives based on budgets, work plans and performance requirements.
• Use customer surveys for product and service feedback to help product management define the product roadmap and build continuous performance improvements across all teams.
• Be an evangelist for F5 aiding in growing the tools and systems required to be successful.
• Involved in developing, modifying, and executing company policies that affect immediate operations and may also have company-wide effect.
• Participate in the development of tools & resources used by the CSM, as well as the engagement points and methods both internal and external to F5.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proven track record in managing and developing employees.
• Strong focus on customer outcomes and Software as a Service (SaaS).
• Experience with customer success management a plus.
• Experience with partner communities a plus.
• Relay sophisticated technical issues to a wide range of audience.
• Communicate fluently in English (written and oral).
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative team environment.

How Do I qualify?

• Showcase 8+ years of management experience in a leadership role.
• BA/BS or equivalent.
• Customer success and/or account management experience would be a plus.
• Demonstrates a bias towards data-driven decision making that incorporates analytical, critical, and creative thinking.
• In-depth understanding and extensive experience of using financial and commercial drivers to inform and challenge strategic plans and decisions.
• Solutions orientated with an entrepreneurial attitude.
• Ability to communicate complex messages clearly and concisely to a variety of audiences and formats (written, verbal) and gain buy-in when needed.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

• Duties are performed in a normal office environment while sitting at a desk or computer table.
• Duties require the ability to utilize a computer, communicate over the telephone, and read printed material.
• Duties may require being on call periodically and working outside normal working hours (evenings and weekends).
• Regular travel may be required and being able to represent F5 in sophisticated customer facing meetings and relationship building.
• Duties may require the ability to travel via automobile or airplane, approximately 30% of the time spent traveling.

The Job Description is intended to be a general representation of the responsibilities and requirements of the job. However, the description may not be all-inclusive, and responsibilities and requirements are subject to change.