Senior Director, Customer Success

Job Description

Senior Director, Customer Success – Commercial Segment

The Senior Director, Customer Success leads the strategic direction, execution, and growth of Zendesk’s Commercial segment through a high-performing team of Customer Success leaders and professionals. This executive role is responsible for shaping the vision, scaling programs, and driving outcomes that enable Commercial customers to achieve measurable business value and foster long-term partnership with Zendesk. The Senior Director is a critical organizational leader, collaborating across functional lines and operating as a senior advocate for both the customer and Zendesk’s business imperatives.

The Senior Director’s core mission is to ensure the Commercial segment accelerates product adoption, maximizes customer satisfaction, and expands account value—by driving strategic initiatives at scale, nurturing executive relationships, and developing next-generation customer success practices aligned with Zendesk’s growth objectives.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Define and execute the long-term vision for Customer Success in the Commercial segment, aligning with Zendesk’s corporate strategy and revenue objectives.
• Operate as a senior leader in the CS organization, partnering with executive stakeholders across Sales, Product, Marketing, and Services to amplify customer impact and drive company-wide alignment.
• Serve as an executive sponsor for high-value Commercial customers, earning trust with C-suite stakeholders and strengthening strategic partnerships.

Operational Excellence & Team Development

• Lead, scale, and mentor a team of Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and frontline leaders; foster a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous development.

• Oversee resource planning, organizational design, and capacity modeling to meet evolving business and customer demands.

• Set clear team objectives, coach direct reports, and create leadership succession plans to ensure long-term organizational strength.

Customer Outcomes & Portfolio Management

• Own customer health and value delivery for the entire Commercial portfolio, ensuring consistent risk management, opportunity identification, and expansion across accounts.

• Drive the design and execution of scalable Customer Success programs, onboarding models, and lifecycle management strategies tailored for the Commercial segment.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Collaborate at a senior level with Sales, Renewals, Professional Services, Product, and Support to develop and deliver integrated customer strategies.

• Champion the voice of the customer in product innovation, sales strategy, and customer experience design.

Data-driven Improvement & Advocacy

• Define, track, and report on portfolio-level KPIs—customer health, adoption, NPS, renewal/expansion rates—and leverage insights to drive continuous improvement.

• Promote the adoption of customer success technologies and best practices for operational efficiency and enhanced customer insight.

Thought Leadership & Market Awareness

• Stay ahead of industry trends, competitor movements, and advancements in AI-powered customer experience solutions.

• Represent Zendesk’s Customer Success vision at executive briefings, industry forums, and customer events.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 12+ years of relevant experience, with at least 5 years in Customer Success or related leadership roles at the Director level or above within enterprise SaaS or technology organizations.

• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale customer success/engagement teams and managing managers/leaders in a high-growth SaaS environment.

• Proven track record of strategic ownership for a customer portfolio or segment, including risk management, growth, and executive relationship development.

• Deep expertise in customer success frameworks, digital adoption at scale, health metrics management, and lifecycle engagement models.

• Exceptional executive communication, negotiation, and change management skills.

• Strong cross-functional influencing capability at the senior leadership/executive level.

• Proficiency with customer success and CRM platforms (Gainsight, Salesfo