Customer Success Manager (Scaled Portfolio)

The Role

As a Customer Success Manager at Newsela, you will own and grow a large portfolio of customers, driving measurable outcomes across retention, adoption, and expansion.

You will operate like the CEO of your book of business -  managing 150–300 accounts with urgency, focus, and accountability. This is a high-volume, outcomes-driven role that blends Customer Success with an account management mindset. Success is defined by impact: helping more teachers and students succeed while meaningfully growing the business.

You will prioritize the highest-impact work, proactively engage customers through calls and meetings, and use data and systems to identify risks and opportunities early. You will proactively anticipate issues and take direct ownership to solve root causes, influence outcomes, and consistently raise the bar on results.

This role requires strong judgment, autonomy, and execution discipline. You’ll be trusted to make decisions, adapt quickly, and drive measurable business results across your portfolio.

What You’ll Do

• Own a portfolio of 150–300 customers with clear accountability for retention, adoption, and expansion outcomes
• Proactively engage customers through calls, meetings, and scaled campaigns to drive value and momentum
• Monitor health signals, usage data, and renewal indicators to prioritize the highest-impact actions
• Lead renewal strategy and execution, reducing risk and securing long-term partnerships
• Identify and drive expansion opportunities in partnership with Sales
• Run efficient, scalable motions (segmentation, automation, 1:many engagement) to maximize reach and impact
• Conduct discovery to understand goals, align on outcomes, and position Newsela as a strategic partner
• Solve root causes of customer challenges rather than addressing surface-level symptoms
• Maintain accurate forecasting, planning, and execution tracking in our systems
• Leverage core tools (ex. Salesforce, Gainsight, Gong, Salesloft) to manage your book of business with consistency, operational rigor, and clear process adherence
• Continuously seek feedback and improve your approach to raise the bar on performance and outcomes

How You’ll Work (Our Norms in Action)

At Newsela, Customer Success Managers create impact and execute like owners. In this role, you will:

Drive Impact

• Focus on outcomes that matter most for customers and the business
• Measure success through adoption, retention, and growth - not activity alone
• Push yourself to continually improve results and expand your impact
• Build strong cross-functional relationships to unlock opportunities for more teachers and students

Execute Like an Owner

• Act with direct ownership of your portfolio and results
• Communicate clearly, directly, and follow through on commitments
• Prioritize with urgency and adapt quickly as needs change
• Solve problems at the root cause
• Hold yourself accountable for outcomes and continuously raise the bar for yourself and others

Why You’ll Love This Role

You’ll have real ownership and autonomy -  not just tasks, but outcomes. Your work will directly influence how educators and students experience Newsela while contributing meaningfully to company growth.

This role offers the opportunity to:

• Run your own business within your book of accounts
• Develop strong commercial and operational skills
• Influence strategy and customer outcomes at scale
• See the tangible impact of your work on both learning and revenue

If you thrive in fast paced environments, enjoy pairing strong customer relationships with a clear focus on retention and growth, and take pride in delivering measurable results, you’ll excel here

Why You’re a Great Fit

• 2+ years of experience managing a large or high-volume portfolio of accounts
• Proven success owning renewals, retention, or expansion targets
• Comfortable making frequent proactive calls and running many customer conversations weekly
• Strong prioritization skills and ability to manage 150–300 accounts effectively
• Data-driven and outcomes-focused; you measure success and adjust quickly
• Experience with scalable or tech-touch customer motions
• Direct, clear communicator who builds trust quickly
• Naturally takes ownership and follows through on commitments
• Proactively seeks feedback and continuously improves
• Skilled at diagnosing root causes and solving problems independently
• Track record of meeting or exceeding goals/OKRs
• Experience with Gong, Salesloft,