VP of Client Relationships

Cayuse; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive Medical Benefits (PPO + HS

Vision, Dental, STD covered

Unlimited PTO + Holidays

Remote Work Stipend

401k with Employer Matching

Job summary

Cayuse is seeking a VP, Client Relationships to lead our strategic account organization, renewals, and expansion for a growing client base. You will guide a team of Customer Success and Strategic Account Managers, own GRR and NRR targets, and collaborate with Finance and Legal on contract renewals and terms.

The role requires executive-level relationship skills, strategic thinking, and a track record in leading multi-level enterprise teams in SaaS deployments.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in enterprise software sales, customer success, or related roles.
• 5+ years leading managers in a matrix enterprise account team.
• Proven track record with GRR/NRR targets and renewal growth.
• Executive presence with strong negotiation and communication skills.
• Experience influencing C-suite decisions and enterprise governance.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Customer Success and Strategic Account Managers.
• Own renewals, expansion, forecast accuracy and pipeline health.
• Guide executive sponsors through business reviews and roadmaps.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to align product strategy with client needs.
• Drive platform adoption, value realization, and customer satisfaction.
• Manage risk, escalations and at-risk accounts with recovery plans.

Skills

Executive relationship management

C-suite influence

SaaS sales leadership

Strategic account management

Team leadership

Forecasting & analytics

Negotiation

CRM proficiency

Communication

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or related field

MBA preferred

Tools

CRM (Salesforce)

Job description

The exciting world of scientific research is fueled by people with a passion for solving complex problems. At Cayuse, we are committed to our customers' success by empowering organizations to conduct globally connected research that advances their impact on science, discovery and society. We build on that commitment with proven, integrated and easy-to-use technology that delivers exceptional value, and world class service and support that accelerates outcomes.But we are more than just an empowering platform powered by advanced technologies. We are a collaboration of exceptional, highly skilled people with multi-disciplinary expertise, and are building our team to support our ambitious growth plans. Cayuse's foundational strength comes from our customer and employee focused values and commitment to industry-leading solutions. It's an exciting time to become a key member of our growing team.Cayuse is seeking a Vice President, Client Relationships to lead our strategic account organization and own the renewals, account planning and revenue we retain and grow from our existing customer base. This high impact leadership role leads a team made up of Customer Success Managers and Strategic Account Managers, carries an expansion quota and is accountable for Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR). The VP is the customer's ultimate advocate and strategic advisor, guiding clients through platform optimization, expansion and multi-year adoption lifecycles.The ideal candidate is an executive-level relationship builder who can influence C-suite stakeholders, orchestrate a broad internal matrix, and lead and develop a team to deliver measurable client outcomes. This role requires equal parts strategic thinking, commercial discipline and hands on leadership.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Customer Success Managers and Strategic Account Managers, setting clear portfolio, coverage and performance expectations.
• Build the hiring, onboarding, and career-development plan for the team and retain top talent.
• Establish a consistent operating rhythm for account planning, forecast reviews, customer health reviews, and business at risk reviews.
• Oversee tool and process development to optimize team reach and performance.

Strategic Account & Relationship Governance

• Serve as executive sponsor for our largest enterprise accounts, building trusted relationships with executive sponsors in Enterprise Research Administration.
• Lead high-profile Customer Business Reviews (CBRs), Steering Committees, and multi-year technology roadmap sessions focused on business outcomes and ROI.
• Guide enterprise customers through platform and landscape updates, ensuring their corporate strategy maps to Cayuse's product roadmap.

Commercial Growth, Renewals & Risk Mitigation

• Own GRR and NRR for the strategic account portfolio, and carry an expansion quota covering cross-sell, upsell and renewal growth.
• Own contract renewals, including renewal forecasting, timing, pricing and terms and negotiation, working with Finance and Legal.
• Build and manage the expansion pipeline with Revenue Operations, including accurate forecasting to leadership and CRM hygiene.
• Lead escalations and recovery plans for Business-at-Risk (BAR) accounts.

Account Planning & Customer Health Management

• Own account planning: ensure every strategic account has a documented plan covering goals, stakeholders, adoption, risks, and expansion opportunities and review plans with the team on a regular basis.
• Own customer health management across the portfolio: define health scoring and early-warning signals (adoption, engagement, support trends, sentiment) and make sure the team acts on them with clear playbooks for at-risk and expanding accounts.
• Use account health reviews to drive renewal, risk and expansion plans.

Value Realization & Platform Adoption

• Partner with client business units post-implementation to maximize feature adoption and subscription value.
• Advise clients on operational readiness, change management, and governance best practices to sustain high user engagement.
• Establish, track, and interpret adoption and engagement metrics to address customer friction points proactively.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Mobilize and orchestrate teams across Product Management, Delivery Consultants, and Elite Support to resolve escalations.
• Capture client feedback, telemetry, and capability gaps and surface them to Product and Engineering to influence the roadmap.
• Contribute to company go-to-market planning, including retention and expansion targets, coverage models, and pricing and packaging input.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in enterprise software sales, customer success, strategic client delivery, or key account management.
• 5+ years leading managers or multi-level, highly matrixed enterprise account teams, including hiring, coaching and developing Customer Success Managers and Strategic or Key Account Managers.
• Proven experience steering Tier 1 SaaS/cloud deployments (e.g., enterprise research administration, ERP, HCM, SCM, or financial suites).
• Demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding retention (GRR/NRR) and expansion quota targets, and of building customer health management programs.
• Advanced executive presence, with masterful negotiation, critical thinking, and communication skills and a record of influencing C-suite decisions under pressure.
• Understanding of global IT ecosystems, implementation lifecycles, global system integrators (SIs), and enterprise governance models.
• Financial data literacy: comfort with SaaS financial metrics, forecasting, data analytics, and performance KPIs.
• Experience selling into higher education, healthcare, research organizations, or similarly complex enterprise environments strongly preferred.
• Willingness to travel 30-50% for customer on-sites and executive reviews.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment where priorities, opportunities, and resource needs can shift.
• Proficiency with CRM platforms (Salesforce preferred) and familiarity with modern sales methodologies (e.g., MEDDPICC, Challenger, GAP Selling).
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline; MBA or equivalent advanced degree highly preferred.
• Certifications such as MEDDPICC, Challenger, GAP Selling, PMP, or Workday Deployment Methodologies are a major asset.

How You'll Be Measured

• Gross and net revenue retention: GRR and NRR across the strategic account portfolio, against quarterly and annual targets.
• Expansion: attainment of the team's expansion quota, and the size, quality, and velocity of the cross-sell and upsell pipeline, including forecast accuracy.
• Renewals: on-time renewal rate and renewal forecast accuracy.
• Customer health and risk management: health coverage and outcomes, and early identification and resolution of Business-at-Risk accounts.
• Account planning: coverage and quality of account plans across strategic accounts.
• Value realization: adoption and engagement KPIs, plus client satisfaction (NPS and CSAT).
• Executive engagement: depth of C-suite relationship coverage and quality of CBRs and Steering Committees.
• Team leadership: performance, development, engagement, and retention of the Customer Success Managers and Strategic Account Managers.
• Cross-functional impact: effectiveness in resolving escalations and the quality of client feedback surfaced to Product.

Benefits

• Competitive Medical Benefits (PPO + HSA available)
• Vision, Dental, Short-Term Disability fully covered by Cayuse
• Unlimited PTO + Holidays + Flexible Work Schedule
• Remote Work Stipend
• Equal Paid Parental Leave
• 401k with Employer Matching
• Quarterly Wellness Reimbursement
• Remote Work Environment, supporting the Ultimate Employee Experience

Cayuse does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or any Cayuse employees. Cayuse is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.

Our culture is one of inclusion and belonging where everyone feels respected, treated justly, supported and nourished. We all share responsibility for creating and sustaining a work environment where differences are celebrated and we are empowered to strive for excellence. We're proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively seek to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse and talented workforce.