Manager of Strategic Customer Success

Sprout Social, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Flexible PTO & parental leave

Equipment provided

Wellness programs

Grow@Sprout education programs

Diversity & inclusion initiatives

Mentorship programs

CSR program

Office locations in Chicago & Seattle

Job summary

Sprout Social, Inc. is seeking a Manager, Customer Success, Strategic to lead a high-value team and drive retention and portfolio growth. The role collaborates with Sales, Renewals, Onboarding and Product to execute segment strategy with rigor.

You will coach senior CSMs, align priorities, and leverage AI-enabled workflows to enhance research, account prep, and communication while maintaining strategic oversight.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in Customer Success or account management owning strategic or enterprise books.
• Proven ability to retain and grow high-value accounts.
• Experience coaching managers and leading teams.
• Proficiency applying generative AI to improve productivity.
• Strong communication and executive presence

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of tenured Strategic Customer Success Managers overseeing a high-value book of business.
• Translate segment strategy into clear priorities and ensure repeatable execution.
• Own retention, risk management, and expansion targets with proactive playbooks.
• Engage with customer executives to reinforce value and support strategic renewals.
• Collaborate with Sales, Renewals, Onboarding and Product to unblock hurdles.
• Monitor and report metrics across retention, growth, adoption and health scores.

Skills

People leadership

Customer Success experience

Generative AI proficiency

Commercial & operational track record

SaaS knowledge

Executive coaching

Sales background

Risk & influence skills

Travel ability

Tools

Salesforce

Gainsight

Tableau

Job description

• Sprout Social is looking to hire a Manager, Customer Success, Strategic for the Sales & Customer Experience team
• At Sprout Social, our Sales and Customer Experience team is the driving force behind how today’s most innovative brands use Sprout to power the future of customer connection. We sell and support the leading social intelligence platform for businesses, helping organizations unlock the full value of social data to drive strategic decisions. Through powerful social intelligence and trusted partnership, we enable teams to build authentic relationships and drive meaningful business impact
• In this role, you will collaborate with the brightest minds in the industry to support global giants like Salesforce, Airbnb, and Equifax. Just as importantly, we believe in the power of our people. You’ll find a culture that honors your ambition, encourages you to explore new horizons, and provides the framework for you to build a career that matters. If you’re ready to champion innovation and accelerate your impact, this is where you can do your best work
• As Manager, Customer Success, Strategic, you will lead a team of tenured Strategic Customer Success Managers overseeing a high value book of business. Your focus is bringing segment strategy to life with operational rigor, ensuring repeatable team execution, and driving retention and portfolio growth
• Lead & Develop Senior Talent: Direct and coach an experienced team of CSMs through 1:1s, call reviews, and account planning. Build individualized growth paths, clear operational roadblocks, and set clear performance expectations
• Drive Operational Rigor & Execution: Translate segment strategy into clear priorities. Establish and refine team operating standards—including Mutual Success Plans, Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), account health scoring, and CRM discipline - to ensure consistent performance across the portfolio
• Own Retention, Risk, & Expansion: Deliver on team retention and quota targets. Pressure-test expansion pipelines, coach opportunity qualification, establish early risk-detection mechanisms, and lead structured save plans for escalating accounts
• Serve as an Executive Escalation Point: Directly engage with customer executives to reinforce value, support strategic renewals, and articulate social intelligence ROI for C-level audiences
• Champion AI Innovation: Incorporate generative AI into your workflow and guide the team in using AI tools to streamline research, account prep, and communication without losing strategic oversight
• Lead Through Change & Cross-Functional Alignment: Guide the team through evolving go-to-market motions with clarity. Partner with Sales, Renewals, Onboarding, and Product to unblock technical hurdles and advocate for customer needs internally
• Monitor & Report Performance: Track and report key metrics across retention, growth, adoption, and health scores to diagnose portfolio trends and optimize resource allocation
• Within 1 month, you’ll plant your roots, including:
• Complete Sprout Social’s new hire training & onboarding program alongside other new Sprout team members. You’ll gain a broader understanding of our products and how your role fits into the organization
• Make a plan with your manager to set initial priorities, align on expectations for your role, plant goalposts for your career, and learn about Sprout’s approach to Customer Success
• Meet 1:1 with your team of CSMs and begin reviewing account portfolio health, Mutual Success Plans, and current forecast projections
• Shadow current QBRs, account planning sessions, and cross-functional syncs with Sales and Renewals partners to map key stakeholder workflows
• Within 3 months, you’ll start hitting your stride by:
• Build connections with members from other teams through active networking and community building
• Begin active strategic coaching in 1:1s—focusing on executive presentation, risk mitigation, and embedding AI-enabled workflows
• Within 6 months, you’ll be making a clear impact through:
• Have your first performance conversation with your manager, where you’ll discuss your accomplishments in your role and work together to build goals for your professional growth
• Consistently meet or exceed team retention targets
• Build individualized career development and stretch plans tailored to senior/tenured ICs on your team
• Synthesize customer and team feedback to influence cross-functional partners in Product, Professional Services, and GTM leadership
• Within 12 months, you’ll make this role your own by:
• Serve as a recognized mentor and internal advocate for cross-functional collaboration and strategic account excellence
• Surprise us! Use your unique ideas and abilities to change your team in beneficial ways that we haven’t even considered yet
• Of course what is outlined above is the ideal timeline, but things may shift based on business needs and other projects and tasks could be added at the discretion of your manager

Benefits

• Insurance and benefit options that are built for both individuals and families
• Progressive policies to support work/life balance, like our flexible paid time off and parental leave program
• High-quality and well-maintained equipment—your computer will never prevent you from doing your best
• Wellness initiatives to ensure both health and mental well-being of our team
• Ongoing education and development opportunities via our Grow@Sprout program, employee-led diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and mentorship programs for aspiring leaders
• Growing corporate social responsibility program that is driven by the involvement and passion of our team members
• Beautiful, convenient and state-of-the-art offices in Chicago’s Loop and downtown Seattle, for those who prefer an office setting

The ideal candidate is an experienced people leader who thrives on operational discipline and is energized by complex, high-stakes customer relationships. You bring strong business acumen, sound judgment under pressure, and a genuine enthusiasm for the work—staying motivated and forward-looking through ambiguity and difficult stretches, and bringing your team with you

• Risk & Influence Skills: Exceptional communication and negotiation skills, with the ability to influence key stakeholders and maintain sound judgment under pressure
• People Leadership: 1+ years of experience leading client-facing teams, with a track record of coaching, performance management, and developing high-tenured individual contributors serving matrixed enterprise clients
• Customer Success Experience: 6+ years in Customer Success or account management, with direct experience owning a strategic or enterprise book of business
• Generative AI Proficiency: Hands-on experience applying generative AI tools (e.g., for research, account prep, communication) to optimize personal and team productivity
• Commercial & Operational Track Record: Proven success driving retention and growth targets, paired with strong business acumen across renewals, negotiations, process refinement, and project management
• Travel: Ability to travel for customer on-sites within the U.S. 4+ times per year
• SaaS & Tooling Expertise: Experience in SaaS/subscription business models, with fluency in tools like Salesforce, Gainsight, Tableau, or similar CRM/BI platforms
• Executive Coaching: Experience coaching CSMs on C-suite presentations and value-based ROI selling
• Sales Background: Previous experience in direct account management or sales roles