At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and innovate Professional Services across EMEA, focusing on AI-driven customer engagements.
- Company: Join Zendesk, a global leader in customer experience software.
- Benefits: Enjoy a hybrid work model, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Embrace a diverse and inclusive workplace with excellent career advancement opportunities.
- Why this job: Shape the future of services with cutting-edge AI technology and make a real impact.
- Qualifications: 15+ years in SaaS, with strong leadership and consulting experience.
The predicted salary is between 113400 - 138600 £ per year.
We’re looking for a Senior Director to lead Professional Services across EMEA. You will own the regional services business and guide a team responsible for shaping, selling, and delivering high‑value customer engagements. You will evolve our services model toward AI‑enabled, outcome‑driven engagements. That means starting with the customer’s business goals, defining measurable outcomes, and selecting the right combination of expert consulting, repeatable methods, automation, and AI. You will help customers realize value faster while building a scalable, high‑quality, and financially healthy services organization. You will partner closely with Sales, Product Management, Engineering, Finance, Customer Success, and global Professional Services leaders. You’ll bring customer needs into the company, help shape the solutions we take to market, and ensure our teams can deliver what we promise.
What you’ll do
- Lead the EMEA Professional Services business.
- Own the strategy, performance, and growth of the EMEA Professional Services organization.
- Lead Engagement Managers, consultants, and their managers; set clear expectations for customer outcomes, delivery quality, and business performance.
- Build a strong leadership culture through coaching, mentoring, and developing managers and senior individual contributors.
- Plan for organizational growth, including hiring, skills development, succession, and capacity.
- Serve as an executive sponsor for strategic and complex customer implementations, building trusted relationships with customer executives and delivery teams.
- Build an AI‑enabled, outcome‑driven services model.
- Establish an engagement approach that begins with customer goals and measurable business outcomes, rather than focusing solely on activities, hours, or implementation milestones.
- Work with customers and internal teams to define success measures, value milestones, and a practical path from deployment to realized value.
- Apply AI and automation thoughtfully across scoping, delivery, knowledge management, quality assurance, and reporting to improve speed, consistency, and insight.
- Guide teams in identifying where AI can augment expert work, improve customer experiences, and reduce repetitive effort while maintaining appropriate human judgment and delivery quality.
- Develop repeatable service offers and delivery patterns that combine advisory expertise, implementation, optimization, and ongoing value realization.
- Use engagement data and customer feedback to assess outcomes, identify delivery risks, and continuously improve the services portfolio.
- Partner across the business.
- Work proactively with Sales to qualify opportunities, shape solutions, scope services, support proposals, and align commitments with delivery capacity and customer outcomes.
- Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering to bring customer needs, implementation insights, and recurring friction points into product planning and solution design.
- Partner with Customer Success to create continuity from implementation through adoption, optimization, and value realization.
- Work with Finance on forecasting, margin management, planning, and business reviews.
- Coordinate closely with Professional Services leaders in other regions to align methods, standards, and global customer delivery.
- Represent Professional Services in executive and cross‑functional planning, helping the company make informed decisions about customer commitments and investment priorities.
- Collaborate with Partner ecosystem to maintain a healthy Partner portfolio.
- Deliver high‑quality, scalable services.
- Establish clear methods for discovery, solution design, scoping, staffing, governance, risk management, delivery, and closeout.
- Ensure projects are appropriately staffed, actively managed, and delivered on time and within budget, with quality and customer expectations maintained.
- Build frameworks for portfolio forecasting, resource allocation, utilization, and capacity planning as the business scales.
- Maintain a quality assurance model that supports consistent delivery across teams, countries, partners, and engagement types.
- Identify delivery risks early, align stakeholders on mitigation, and resolve escalations with sound judgment.
- Use operational and customer data to improve predictability, delivery effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
- Own business and financial performance.
- Own the regional Professional Services P&L, including revenue, margin, pipeline, forecasting, and annual and quarterly targets.
- Monitor the financial and operational indicators of a services business, using them to guide investment, prioritization, and corrective action.
- Balance growth, delivery quality, customer outcomes, and commercial discipline.
- Ensure services are scoped and priced appropriately, with delivery plans that support both customer value and sustainable margins.
What you bring
- 15+ years of experience in SaaS or technology, including 10+ years hiring, leading, and mentoring teams; enterprise SaaS experience is preferred.
- Significant leadership experience running a Professional Services, consulting, implementation, or technology delivery organization.
- A record of selling and delivering large, complex, enterprise‑grade consulting engagements and solutions.
- Experience owning a services P&L and managing revenue targets, margins, forecasting, pipeline, and business performance.
- Strong knowledge of services portfolio management, resource allocation, capacity planning, and delivery economics.
- Experience building repeatable engagement and delivery models that can scale across a growing customer base.
- Experience applying AI and automation to services delivery, customer reporting, or operating processes, with a practical focus on measurable value.
- The ability to manage complex, multi‑stakeholder enterprise relationships and communicate confidently with both customer executives and solution architects.
- Strong judgment and influence across organizational levels and functions, including Sales, Finance, Product, and Engineering.
- The ability to connect detailed operational issues to broader business priorities and act with initiative in changing conditions.
- A collaborative leadership style, with a track record of building accountable teams and developing strong managers.
- Willingness to travel approximately 20-25% nationally and internationally.
Senior Director, Services Consulting, EMEA in London employer: Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK)
Zendesk is an exceptional employer that champions innovation and inclusivity, making it a prime choice for professionals in the tech industry. With a strong focus on employee growth, our hybrid work culture fosters collaboration while allowing flexibility, ensuring that team members can thrive both personally and professionally. As the RVP of Sales Engineering, you will lead a talented team in a dynamic environment, directly influencing the future of AI-driven customer experiences for some of the world's largest brands.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Director, Services Consulting, EMEA in London
✨Tip Number 1: Get Involved in Consulting Case Competitions
Look for case competitions hosted by universities and consulting firms. They’re a fab way to showcase your problem-solving skills and meet industry players. Plus, winning one can seriously boost your CV, which we know is key when applying for roles like Senior Director, Services Consulting, EMEA at Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK)!
✨Tip Number 2: Leverage Alumni Networks
Tap into your university’s alumni network; many consultants love to help out new talent. Reach out to alumni who are working in management consulting, they might have insider knowledge about openings at firms like Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK) or be willing to refer you for that Senior Director, Services Consulting, EMEA position!
✨Tip Number 3: Attend Industry Events and Conferences
Keep an eye on management consulting events, workshops, or panels. These are prime opportunities to network with top professionals and get your name out there. You might even bump into someone from Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK) who’s on the lookout for their next Senior Director, Services Consulting, EMEA star!
✨Tip Number 4: Polish Your Consulting Skills Online
Engage with online platforms that offer consulting simulations or courses. Prove your chops by completing relevant projects — this not only beefs up your experience but also gives you concrete examples to chat about during interviews for that full-time Senior Director, Services Consulting, EMEA role at Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK)!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Director, Services Consulting, EMEA in London
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Problem-Solving Skills:In management consulting, it's all about problem-solving—so make sure your CV highlights your analytical and critical thinking skills. Include examples from your studies or previous roles where you tackled complex issues or came up with innovative solutions. Quantify your achievements whenever possible to demonstrate your impact!
Tailor Your Cover Letter:Your cover letter is your chance to explain why you're a perfect fit for the consulting world. Focus on your motivation for joining the industry and how your skills align with the requirements of the role at Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK). Remember to mention any relevant coursework or projects that showcase your understanding of strategic frameworks or business models!
Highlight Team Experience:Consultants often work in teams, so it's vital to showcase your collaborative skills. Include experiences where you've worked effectively with others, whether in academic group projects or internships. Discuss your role in the team and how you helped achieve common goals, demonstrating you can thrive in a consultancy environment.
Professionalise Your Online Presence:Make sure your LinkedIn and any other professional profiles are up to date, reflecting your career aspirations in management consulting. Connect with industry professionals and follow relevant groups—show you’re serious about entering this field. Applying through our website is a great way to get noticed, so showcase your personality and enthusiasm there!
How to prepare for a job interview at Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK)
✨Master the Case Study Game
In management consulting, case study interviews are all the rage. Make sure to practice structuring your thoughts and analysing data on the fly. Use resources like example case studies to get comfortable with frameworks and solutions. Remember, it’s not just about getting the right answer but showcasing your thought process, so talk us through your reasoning!
✨Know Your Numbers
Be prepared for some numerical and analytical questions. Brush up on your mental math and be ready to interpret data from charts or graphs. We might throw some business scenarios at you that require a quick turnaround on numerical analysis, so practice these skills to feel confident and swift!
✨Show Your Leadership Flair
As this is a full-time role, we want to see your potential as a seasoned consultant. Be ready to discuss experiences where you've led a project or a team. Think about times you've influenced decisions or navigated challenges—this is your chance to show how you can thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
✨Be a Cultural Fit
We’re not just looking for brains; we want to see if you vibe with our company culture at Zendesk UK Ltd ( UK). Prepare to share how your values align with ours. Have a think about what makes a great team environment for you and how you can contribute to that. A good cultural fit goes a long way in management consulting!