Summary

Our Customer Success team is focused on creating engaged customer advocates who are maximizing the value of their Guidewire investments. The Customer Success Director is a leadership-focused role, reporting to the Vice President of Customer Success, that combines regional team portfolio management and individual customer management. This role is ideal for a strategic leader that fosters a growth mindset alongside a customer-centric culture. The Customer Success Director will oversee the strategy, execution and performance of a regional customer success team focused on driving engagement, satisfaction, retention and growth. We expect our customers will see their Success Manager as a trusted advisor and true partner – encouraging customers to adopt solutions that help them achieve their business goals, advocating for their needs back to other Guidewire teams, and helping to find new ways to derive value from their Guidewire investment. The end goal is a set of delighted customers that renew their subscriptions and are eager to expand the footprint of the Guidewire solutions within their organization.

The Regional Lead, Customer Success Director will spend approximately 75% of their time directly managing a team of Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and 25% of their time on their assigned portfolio of customers.

The job location is in the United States and is focused on supporting Guidewire InsuranceSuite customers.

Job Description

Team Management (75%):  

Develop and execute strategic plans for portfolio level engagement, growth and profitability

Drive cross-functional collaboration to accelerate adoption and value of current and future solutions

Lead and enable a team of CSMs to successfully achieve KPIs

Coach, mentor and manage team performance and skill development 

Promote operational excellence in portfolio, account and team management

Provide leadership support and oversight for team and customer needs 

Develop key customer relationships within your teams portfolio of customers

Understand customer priorities and identify common themes to report out and action

Customer Management (25%): 

Develop strategic account plans that expand the relationship and promote growth

Identify and pursue expansion opportunities aligned to customer goals

Create trusted partnerships that result in engaged, customer advocates

Lead executive level engagements focused on value creation

Define and execute a renewal strategy that promotes growth and mitigates risk

 

Responsibilities:

Understand customer priorities and facilitate engagements to meet customer needs, align our overall strategies, and create meaningful relationships

Recognize incremental sales opportunities across Guidewire solutions and partner with sales to ensure the customer objectives and value proposition are at the forefront

Develop strong partnerships by providing positive customer experiences that drive mutual success and creates customer advocates

Engage with customers to develop deep understanding of customer’s product experience and strategic business needs

Know the customer “inside and out” and foster positive relationships with key customer stakeholders at senior and C-Suite level

Serve as the voice of the customer and customer advocate to facilitate feedback and influence on Guidewire products and services

Provide early insight and adoption recommendations for new products and product features

Encourage adoption of Guidewire solutions to help customers achieve their business goals and maximize the value of their investments 

Take the lead in driving to a successful conclusion any customer issues or situations, involving other departments and individuals as necessary

Create and manage customer success plans and account plans to manage external and internal relationships and strategies

Facilitate executive discussions including business reviews, roadmap reviews, and strategic alignment

Develop a deep and cross-functional understanding of the key business challenges and opportunities of your customers and portfolio

Introduce new features and best practices to customers according to their business needs

Ensure visibility of program and customer health both internally and with customer teams

Manage commercial aspects of account relationships post initial sale, including defining a renewal strategy that promotes growth and mitigates risks 

Execute and manage contract negotiations as required 

 

Required Skills/Experience:

10+ years relevant experience (e.g., customer success, account management, sales, technology consulting or related position)

5+ years management experience in related fields

Knowledge of the P&C insurance space, industry trends and challenges, and the fundamental economics of an insurance company

Passion for solving problems, thinking creatively, and delivering results

Ability to build and manage C-suite relationships at customers

Capable of quickly building trust and establishing deep relationships 

Ability to effectively connect and communicate with both business & IT stakeholders

Executive leadership and communication experience, showing the ability to define a vision, build a persuasive business case, establish personal credibility, resolve conflicting views and engender honest feedback and appraisal

Demonstrated ability to work on multiple initiatives or accounts simultaneously under pressure

Demonstrated account planning and management skills, including estimations, budgets, forecasting and coordination of multiple work streams

Ability to travel as needed to client locations, industry events and company initiatives

 

Desired Skills:

Knowledge of or experience with Guidewire InsuranceSuite is preferred

Experience working with cloud-native solutions and/or cloud technologies for mission-critical applications

Demonstrated coaching and change management experience – not just defining a plan but executing that plan successfully and adapting to obstacles or shifts in business priority

How Success is Measured - in both Regional Portfolio & Assigned Customers 

Financial: 

% Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) Growth

Meeting Retention Targets / Mitigating Churn Risk

Opportunity Influence & Increased Product Penetration  

Customer Relationships

NPS / CSAT  

Sentiment & Health

Referencability / Advocacy

Success Planning

The US base salary range for this full-time position is $144,000 - $216,000 + bonus + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

Disability Accommodations and Guidewire’s Appeals Process. Guidewire provides accommodations to the hiring process to create a fair opportunity for candidates with disabilities to contend for open positions. Accommodation requests should be directed to Accommodations@guidewire.com. If things do not go as hoped, we invite you to use our appeals process. Guidewire promises to independently review any denied accommodation and any decision not to offer you the position. The appeals process is the same in either case. Within five business days of receiving a notice of denial of an accommodation, or receiving a notice of your non-selection for a vacancy, e-mail Accommodations@guidewire.com to make an appeal. Guidewire will assign a new decision-maker to review the request and/or hiring decision, who will then notify you in writing of a decision within 10 business days.

About Guidewire

Guidewire is the platform P&C insurers trust to engage, innovate, and grow efficiently. We combine digital, core, analytics, and AI to deliver our platform as a cloud service. More than 540+ insurers in 40 countries, from new ventures to the largest and most complex in the world, run on Guidewire.

As a partner to our customers, we continually evolve to enable their success. We are proud of our unparalleled implementation track record with 1600+ successful projects, supported by the largest R&D team and partner ecosystem in the industry. Our Marketplace provides hundreds of applications that accelerate integration, localization, and innovation.

For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com and follow us on Twitter: @Guidewire_PandC.

Guidewire Software, Inc. is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to an inclusive workplace, and believe that a diversity of perspectives, abilities, and cultures is a key to our success. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship, marital status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or disability. All offers are contingent upon passing a criminal history and other background checks where it's applicable to the position.