Responsible for retention, renewals, and account growth for higher education clients. Lead account strategy, manage renewals and relationships, and ensure customer success through engagement and support.
This role is responsible for owning retention, renewals, and long-term account growth across a defined portfolio of higher education clients. The Account Manager / Customer Success Manager serves as the primary post-sale owner of the client relationship, accountable for renewal outcomes, contract continuity, and long-term value realization across annual and multi-year agreements.
You will partner closely with institutions to drive adoption, demonstrate ongoing value, and lead renewal planning through structured account strategy, QBRs, and value reviews. This role is consultative, commercially accountable, and focused on protecting and growing revenue through strong client partnerships.
Major Responsibilities
- Retention & Renewal Ownership
- Own retention and renewal outcomes for a defined book of business, with direct accountability for renewal rates and churn prevention.
- Lead renewal strategy well in advance of contract end dates, including value articulation, usage analysis, pricing discussions, and renewal recommendations.
- Manage and negotiate renewals across annual and multi-year contracts, partnering with Sales and Legal as needed to close agreements.
- Identify and mitigate renewal risk early through proactive account planning and stakeholder engagement.
- Account Strategy & Relationship Management
- Build trusted advisor relationships with key client stakeholders, including executive and institutional decision-makers.
- Lead structured account planning, including QBRs, success plans, and forward-looking roadmaps tied to renewal outcomes.
- Anticipate client needs and guide institutions in leveraging data and analytics to achieve strategic goals.
- Customer Success & Adoption
- Ensure successful onboarding, adoption, and time-to-value to support long-term retention.
- Monitor account health and usage trends, intervening when engagement or outcomes fall below expectations.
- Partner cross-functionally to resolve issues that could impact renewal or long-term account health.
- Growth & Expansion
- Identify and advance expansion, cross-sell, and upsell opportunities aligned to client needs and institutional priorities.
- Support expansion conversations while maintaining ownership of the overall client relationship.
- Success in this role looks like
- Renewals are planned, not reactive.
- Clients understand and can articulate the value they receive.
- Renewal conversations are calm, informed, and outcome-driven.
- Accounts stay, grow, and renew with confidence.
Education and Experience
- 3+ years of experience in a Customer Success, Account Management, or hybrid CSM/AM role within a SaaS or technology environment.
- Demonstrated experience owning renewals and retention, including renewal planning and pricing discussions.
- Experience managing annual and multi-year contracts strongly preferred.
- Experience supporting higher education or similarly complex, relationship-driven customers preferred.
- Strong communication, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
- Comfortable using data, reporting, and presentations to support renewal and account strategy conversations.
- Highly organized, proactive, and accountable for outcomes.
Lightcast is a global leader in labor market insights with our headquarters located in Moscow, ID (US) and other offices in the United Kingdom, Europe, and India. We work with partners across six continents to help drive economic prosperity and mobility by providing the insights needed to build and develop our people, our institutions and companies, and our communities.
Lightcast is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and does not discriminate on the basis of federally protected statuses. Lightcast has always been, and always will be, committed to diversity of thought and unique perspectives. We seek dynamic professionals from all backgrounds to join our teams, and we encourage our employees to bring their authentic, original, and best selves to work.
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