Client Success Manager

The Difference Card; United States; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Difference Card is seeking a Client Success Manager to lead a high-performing team of client success professionals and/or account executives. You will shape client experience, retention, and growth while partnering with brokers to maximize value.

Ideal candidates bring 3+ years in people leadership, strong coaching ability, and a track record of building trust with executives. This role focuses on operational excellence, KPI-driven performance, and scalable processes.

Qualifications

• Leadership experience with results through others.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent mix of education and experience.
• Extensive customer-facing experience with brokers and executives.
• Strong ability to coach, develop, and influence a team.
• Excellent judgment, diplomacy, and communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Word, and Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the team, setting clear expectations and providing feedback.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable culture that supports career growth.
• Drive client success, build loyalty, and reduce churn.
• Lead retention and growth through product adoption and upselling.
• Manage escalations with professionalism and coaching.
• Build relationships with clients and brokers through proactive conversations.
• Attend and lead client and broker meetings to strengthen partnerships.
• Oversee daily operations, service levels, and productivity.
• Develop and monitor KPIs related to performance and client outcomes.
• Coach to performance with regular scorecards and feedback.
• Create ongoing training programs for client-service excellence.
• Identify trends and opportunities to improve the client experience.
• Design processes that drive growth, efficiency, and profitability.
• Forecast staffing needs to maintain service levels.
• Create career pathways for team development.
• Collaborate with internal teams to resolve client issues.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

People leadership

Client experience

Operational excellence

Retention & growth

KPI management

Coaching & mentoring

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MS Office

Job description

At The Difference Card, we’re making healthcare benefits work better—for employers and their employees. Since 2001, we’ve helped organizations build smarter, more cost-effective health plans, delivering an average net savings of more than 18% for our clients. Our innovative solutions combine flexible plan design, healthcare reimbursement, risk management, and wellness strategies to create greater value for everyone.

With a national presence and a people-first approach, we partner with employers and brokers to make benefits simpler, smarter, and more valuable.

The Opportunity

The Client Success Manager leads, coaches, and develops a high-performing team of Client Success professionals and/or Account Executives while ensuring an exceptional experience for our clients and broker partners. This role combines people leadership, client experience, operational excellence, retention, and growth. You’ll create an environment where team members are supported and empowered to succeed, establish clear performance expectations, and provide the coaching and development needed to build a high-performing team. You’ll also play a key role in strengthening client and broker relationships, resolving escalated issues, improving processes, and identifying opportunities to increase client retention, product adoption, and the overall value of our relationships.

The ideal candidate is a confident and collaborative leader who leads with accountability and integrity, builds trust quickly, exercises sound judgment, and is passionate about developing people and delivering an exceptional client experience.

What You’ll Do

• Lead & Develop the Team: Hire, onboard, coach, develop, and manage a team of individual contributors, including Client Success professionals and/or Account Executives. Set clear expectations, manage performance, provide ongoing feedback, and make employment recommendations when appropriate.
• Create a High-Performing Culture: Foster a collaborative, supportive, and accountable team environment where employees are empowered to grow, perform at their best, and build meaningful careers.
• Drive Client Success: Establish a culture of exceptional client service and ensure the team proactively understands and addresses client needs. Build loyalty, strengthen relationships, and reduce client churn.
• Lead Client Retention & Growth: Establish strategies that support a 95%+ client retention rate while identifying opportunities for product adoption, cross-selling, and upselling that increase the value of existing client relationships and contribute to margin expansion.
• Manage Escalations: Take ownership of complex or escalated client issues, ensuring they are addressed with professionalism, accountability, and integrity. Coach team members through challenging situations and ensure issues are resolved thoughtfully and efficiently.
• Build Client & Broker Relationships: Develop and maintain strong relationships with employer clients, brokers, and key decision-makers through proactive and consultative conversations. Advocate for clients while balancing their needs with the goals of The Difference Card.
• Support Client Meetings: Attend and lead client and broker meetings, both virtually and in person, as needed to strengthen relationships, resolve issues, provide strategic guidance, and support retention.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Oversee daily team operations, including schedules, inbound contact volume across contact center and email channels, service levels, response times, and overall productivity. Ensure the team consistently delivers a positive and efficient client experience.
• Establish & Monitor KPIs: Develop and monitor key performance indicators related to productivity, resolution times, customer satisfaction, quality, retention, and growth. Use performance data to identify opportunities and drive accountability.
• Coach to Performance: Establish individual and team goals and provide ongoing coaching and mentoring to help team members achieve them. Review scorecards, monitor pipelines, assess performance, and provide actionable feedback.
• Build Training & Development Programs: Design, deliver, and continuously improve training programs that equip team members with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to deliver exceptional client service.
• Identify Opportunities for Improvement: Identify, collect, document, and report trends, recurring issues, and opportunities across the department. Translate insights into actionable recommendations that improve the client experience, team efficiency, and business results.
• Design & Implement Solutions: Develop and implement client-focused processes, solutions, and protocols that create long-term value for clients while supporting company goals around growth, service, efficiency, and profitability.
• Plan for Growth: Forecast department resource needs and develop staffing plans that support appropriate service levels, team capacity, and an exceptional client experience.
• Develop Career Pathways: Create career development and progression opportunities that help team members grow within the department and across The Difference Card.
• Collaborate Across the Organization: Partner effectively with internal teams and departments to resolve client issues, improve processes, and ensure the Client Success team has the resources and support needed to succeed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What We’re Looking For

• Minimum of three years of experience in a people-management or leadership role with demonstrated success achieving results through others.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• Extensive customer-facing experience working with brokers, C-suite executives, organizational leaders, and other key decision-makers.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong client relationships.
• Proven ability to coach, develop, motivate, and influence a team.
• Strong negotiation skills and the ability to lead solution-oriented conversations that produce successful outcomes.
• Excellent judgment and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance the needs of clients, employees, and The Difference Card.
• Demonstrated ability to identify process improvements, implement operational efficiencies, and drive meaningful change.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• High level of diplomacy, professionalism, and integrity, particularly when navigating complex client or employee situations.
• Passion for delivering an exceptional customer experience and developing people.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, and Excel.

Success in this role means:

• Your team is engaged and performing: Team members understand expectations, receive meaningful coaching, and have opportunities to grow and develop.
• Clients feel valued and supported: The team consistently delivers proactive, responsive, and exceptional service.
• Client relationships are strong: Clients and brokers view the team as trusted partners and strategic resources.
• Retention remains strong: The team consistently works toward and achieves a 95%+ client retention rate.
• Issues are resolved effectively: Escalations are handled with ownership, urgency, professionalism, and sound judgment.
• Performance is measurable: Team members have clear goals and KPIs, and performance is regularly reviewed and coached.
• The business continues to grow: The team identifies opportunities for additional product adoption, cross-selling, and upselling that increase the value of the client relationship.
• The department operates efficiently: Processes, staffing, and workflows support strong service levels and a consistently positive client experience.
• The team continues to improve: You identify trends and opportunities, turn insights into action, and continuously improve how the department serves clients.