Customer Success Account Manager, Microsoft Elevate

Summary

Microsoft is a technology company whose Elevate organization focuses on education, social impact, workforce systems, and AI-powered customer success. The Customer Success Account Manager leads post-sales delivery and support orchestration for strategic customers, aligning Microsoft and partner resources to achieve business outcomes. The role manages customer relationships, drives product adoption and consumption, coordinates delivery programs, and aligns Microsoft cloud solutions with customer priorities.

Responsibilities

• Builds customer, partner, and internal stakeholder engagement models. Manages and/or supports foundational relationships with key customer stakeholders and technical professionals to enable quality solution delivery and health using partnerships with other account team leaders in collaboration with more experienced colleagues. Develops customer relationships beyond the current Unified Support contract consumers with a focus on understanding business priorities and how they align and realize the business value for customers Microsoft
• Identifies, navigates, communicates, and influences key customer technical and business stakeholders at different levels. Guides and leads conversations to facilitate the achievement of customer business objectives by leveraging their investment in Microsoft. Maps internal roles to customer priorities to action the needs of customers. Holds, maintains, and nurtures internal stakeholder relationships. Learns how to establish executive internal relationships. Develops communication techniques for holding business value conversations at customer executive levels
• Gathers information on the business and Information Technology objectives for customer organizations to identify customer priorities and map them to appropriate solutions. Contributes to the development of a shared customer account plan to support customer objectives using partnerships with other account team leaders
• Identifies actual and potential blockers to consumption through data analysis and feedback from customers. Mobilizes resources to address actual and potential blockers to consumption and associated issues. Holds accountability for identified consumption milestones and their completion. Partners with customer to track progress, resolve blockers, and keeps activities on schedule to ensure meeting consumption milestones. Tracks adoption and usage of Microsoft products and services, works with customers to identify areas where adoption could be improved, and takes action to drive usage. Develops and leverages an understanding of retention and churn in their customer portfolio to begin identifying potential opportunities where retention may become an issue
• Delivers on program planning and customer-facing program reviews, prioritization of engagements, and engagement with key technical and business stakeholders to address agreed-upon customer outcomes and account priorities to deliver ongoing customer success. Applies the use of Microsoft delivery management methodologies, processes, and tools to manage customer operational health. Identifies and mitigates customer blockers by leveraging Microsoft solutions and services, and develops deliverable programs of work with guidance from more experienced colleagues. Orchestrates delivery resources to facilitate value realization with a focus on driving operational health. Performs delivery program reviews with internal stakeholders to ensure alignment on customer outcomes and account priorities. Provides escalation management and communications for delivery programs in the customer account
• Initiates conversations with customers to connect customer objectives and the current Microsoft portfolio of work in the customer account. Adopts the organizational and customer success strategy. Begins to align Microsoft technology and services with the customer goals and objectives. Supports account team planning, promoting business and technical needs for change. Aligns with the account team to link Customer Success Plans (CSPs) with account plan priorities and develop bookable programs of work. Works with their customers to design programs that improve operational health
• Understands, identifies, and aligns Microsoft solutions, and technical capabilities (e.g., Azure, Modern Work, Dynamics) to customer needs and priorities. Leverages technical aptitude and industry awareness to translate customer interactions into customer business impact and value. Identifies customer scenarios and aligns with technical specialists to identify relevant cross-cloud technology solutions. Develops an awareness of the cloud technology marketplace, including Microsoft competitors

Skills

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science or related field AND 2+ years customer success, solution delivery, practice management, customer-facing consulting, or portfolio management experience + OR equivalent experience
• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science or related field AND 5+ years customer success, solution delivery, practice management, customer-facing consulting, or portfolio management experience + OR equivalent experience
• 1+ year(s) relevant work within Education or Non Profit industries
• Microsoft or competitor equivalent (e.g., AWS) certification in relevant technologies (e.g., Azure, 365)
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation certification or equivalent service management certification

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science or related field AND 2+ years customer success, solution delivery, practice management, customer-facing consulting, or portfolio management experience + OR equivalent experience

Nice to Haves

• Bachelor's Degree in Business, Sociology, Psychology, Computer Science or related field AND 5+ years customer success, solution delivery, practice management, customer-facing consulting, or portfolio management experience + OR equivalent experience
• 1+ year(s) relevant work within Education or Non Profit industries
• Microsoft or competitor equivalent (e.g., AWS) certification in relevant technologies (e.g., Azure, 365)
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation certification or equivalent service management certification