Director of Customer Success

At Instructure, we believe in the power of people to grow and succeed throughout their lives. Our goal is to amplify that power by creating intuitive products that simplify learning and personal development, facilitate meaningful relationships, and inspire people to go further in their education and careers.
We do this by giving smart, creative, passionate people opportunities to create awesome. And that's where you come in:

We are seeking a Director of Customer Success to lead our NORAM K12 Customer Success team. You'll lead a team of Managers, as well as their Customer Success Managers and Customer Success Associates, to ensure the success of our entire NORAM K12 customer base. This is a highly visible role that partners daily with Sales, Renewals, Marketing, Services, Support, and Product, represents NORAM K12 in global Customer Success strategy, and builds executive relationships with key schools, districts, and states.

You’ll lead the team that shows up as a strategic partner, a trusted thought leader, an advocate, and a connector for every district we serve. That means business reviews worth a superintendent's time, value realization measured against institutional outcomes, and a customer voice that reaches the people building our products. You'll own what that looks like for NORAM K12: the business unit strategy, the team that delivers it, and the cross-functional relationships that make it possible.

What you will be doing:

Leading the NORAM K12 Customer Success team:

• Lead a team of Managers who own the Strategic, Senior, Enterprise, Associate CSM, and CSA segments, coaching them to upskill and grow their teams.

• Own hiring, onboarding, performance, career development, and succession planning for the team, and build a bench that can absorb growth.

• Set the coaching standard: what good looks like in a value conversation, a renewal forecast, a risk escalation, and a Business Review.

• Hold a consistent operating rhythm of 1:1s, team meetings, forecast calls, and business reviews that keeps managers accountable and the team connected.

• Balance workload and territory coverage across the team, and adjust as accounts, tiers, and headcount shift.

• Design the organization: headcount, team structures, segmentation, and reporting lines that fit the strategy.

Setting the NORAM K12 CS Strategy:

• Co-own the go-to-market strategy with the sales leader and cross-functional partners, and shape the strategy so business unit and CS+R priorities are aligned.

• Drive adoption and expansion across the Instructure product portfolio.

• Share accountability for renewal rate, pipeline generation, and non-renewal bookings across the NORAM K12 book, as the result of adoption and value work done well.

• Run an accurate, defensible forecast, and surface risk early enough to intervene.

• Own the quality, cadence, and coverage of business reviews across the NORAM K12 portfolio, and define what a good one looks like.

Serving as a senior customer and market voice:

• Build executive relationships with our most strategic districts, statewide consortiums, and state agencies, and join the conversations where a leader's presence changes the outcome.

• Act as an executive escalation point when needed, and stay the steady voice when a customer situation is tense.

• Serve as a trusted expert on K-12 trends, internally and with customers, including emerging risks and market opportunities: funding cycles, procurement realities, policy shifts, and what districts are being asked to solve.

• Advocate for NORAM K12 customers with Product, Engineering, Support, and Marketing, and translate their needs into priorities those teams can act on.

• Support regional user groups, customer advisory work, and reference and advocacy programs.

Collaborating to shape global Customer Success strategy:

• Partner with the global Customer Success Strategy team to shape plays, playbooks, value frameworks, and enablement, and make sure NORAM K12 realities are built in rather than bolted on.

• Lead the regional rollout of global initiatives, and hold the line on adoption once the launch is over.

• Collaborate with Customer Success leaders in other regions and segments to keep our approach consistent where it should be and different where it needs to be.

• Define what good looks like globally, including expectations and accountability frameworks, and align with peer CS leaders on one vision.

• Own the OKRs for the Customer Success organization, in partnership with other Customer Success leaders.
  

Here is what you will need to know/have:

Successful candidates will have the following education, experience, and skills:

• Experience turning a company vision into work that teams can execute, in a Customer Success, account management, or post-sales organization.

• A track record of leading managers, not only individual contributors, and growing leaders who decide without you.

• Experience building team structures, spans, and segmentation models that fit a strategy, and making the case for changing them.

• Strong leadership presence with both customers and internal executives, including the ability to influence decisions without formal authority.

• Experience forecasting a book of business accurately, and sizing the impact of risk and expansion possibilities.

• Deep knowledge of the K-12 education market, including district and state budget cycles, procurement, funding sources, and how decisions actually get made in a school system.

• Using AI to fundamentally change how teams operate.

• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to work in Gainsight, Salesforce, and reporting tools to turn data into a decision.

• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate customer detail into business impact for executives.

• A calm, decisive presence under pressure, with the judgment to manage ambiguous, high-stakes situations across multiple stakeholders at once.

• Willingness to travel to customer sites, conferences, and team onsites.

• A bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.

Get in on all the awesome at Instructure!

We offer competitive, meaningful benefits in every country where we operate. While they vary by location, here's a general idea of what you can expect:

• Competitive compensation, plus all full-time employees participate in our ownership program - because everyone should have a stake in our success.

• Flexible work culture. Our remote, hybrid and in-office collaboration spaces vary by role, team and location.

• Generous time off, including local holidays and our annual “Dim the Lights” period in late December, when teams are encouraged to step back and recharge based on departmental needs.

• Comprehensive wellness programs and mental health support

• Learning and development resources, including professional development tools and tuition reimbursement, to support your growth

• The technology and tools you need to do your best work

• Motivosity employee recognition program

• A culture rooted in inclusivity, support, and meaningful connection

We believe in hiring great people and treating them right. The more diverse we are, the better our ideas and outcomes.

Instructure is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We comply with applicable employment and anti-discrimination laws in every country where we operate.

All employees must pass a background check as part of the hiring process. To help protect our teams and systems, we’ve implemented identity verification measures. Candidates may be asked to verify their legal name, current physical location, and provide a valid contact number and residential address, in accordance with local data privacy laws.

Any attempt to misrepresent personal or professional information will result in disqualification.