Director of Client Services in Toronto

The Portfolio Lead is a critical, people-managing leadership role within our Engagement Track of the Customer Services Organization. Responsible for the strategic health, commercial success, and operational excellence of a dedicated customer portfolio. In this role, you are considered the “CEO” of your assigned portfolio. You command end-to-end responsibility for the people, their performance, portfolio financials, customer outcomes, and the overall account health associated with your book of business.

You will lead, mentor, and scale a high-performing team of 7 to 9 (or up to 10) Engagement Managers (EMs), acting as an internal “knowledge multiplier” who owns team enablement, professional development, and program/project management practices. Accountable for aggregate customer health, renewals, and expansion revenue, you will partner closely with Sales leadership and operate as the primary point of escalation for accounts within your portfolio.

This role demands a sophisticated blend of commercial acumen, people leadership, and a hands-on understanding of the Medallia platform to drive customer retention and growth.

• Commercial & Delivery Ownership: Own aggregate customer health, retention, renewals, and expansion revenue for assigned accounts.
• Sales Partnership: Align services delivery directly with Sales leadership and Account Executives to protect retention and unlock growth whitespace.
• Value Realization Framework: Institutionalize Medallia’s framework to ensure Engagement Managers (EMs) map technical execution directly to client business outcomes.
• Technical Authority & Vision: Maintain hands-on platform mastery to lead C-suite “art of the possible” discussions, validate client investments, and govern multi-year roadmaps.
• Team Scale & Management: Recruit, mentor, and scale a team of 7–10 Engagement Managers, overseeing performance, program management standards, and team utilization.
• Coaching & Onboarding: Build structured onboarding and provide continuous, active coaching on account strategy, complex problem-solving, and career growth.
• Executive Advisory: Build long-term partnerships with C-level stakeholders and coach EMs through sensitive, high-stakes client conversations.
• Escalation Ownership: Act as the primary leadership escalation point for portfolio-level risks, aligning internal teams and clearing roadblocks to protect delivery outcomes.
• “One Medallia” Governance: Enforce consistent delivery standards, operating rhythms, and governance reviews (including CCP and account reviews) across the portfolio.
• Cross-Functional Orchestration: Partner with Product, Sales, and Support to resolve systemic blockers, secure root-cause fixes, and scale best practices globally.

Benefits: Work from home opportunities.

Qualifications:

• Proven track record in Professional Services, Management Consulting, or high-touch Customer Success/Account Management in the SaaS industry.
• People Leadership: At least 3+ years in a people management role successfully managing and developing high-performing team members (preferably leading 7+ direct reports).
• Education: Bachelor’s degree, with a demonstrated interest in technology, comfort with technical concepts, and a commitment to self-guided learning.
• Commercial Acumen: Strong experience running a portfolio of accounts, driving renewals, and identifying expansion opportunities within a technology or SaaS environment.
• Strategic Advisory & Thought Leadership: Ability to think strategically about complex business challenges, with a focus on the “why” behind program development over the technical “how” of platform implementation.
• Influential & Coaching Leadership: Widely recognized as a coach and role model. Proven ability to lead, motivate, and guide cross-functional teams and external partners through influence rather than direct authority.
• Sophisticated Communication: Exceptional executive presence, verbal/written communication, and the ability to persuade senior stakeholders, adapting approaches in real-time to synthesize complex information.
• Problem Solving & Analytical Thinking: Ability to develop actionable, unique insights or frameworks that become foundational to our customers’ business or worldview, or shape our best practices.
• Domain Expertise: Familiarity with Customer and Employee Experience (CX/EX) and/or the Medallia platform (such as Medallia Experience Cloud) is highly preferred.