Customer Success Manager - Illinois
Customer Success Manager - Illinois
Summary Alma is a cloud-based student information system (SIS) transforming K-12 education by empowering administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Our mission is to make this essential resource available to every school. We're a passionate team working directly with educators to solve their biggest operational challenges—and we're looking for someone equally committed to their success.
The Role As a Customer Success Manager, you'll be the trusted advisor to school districts, driving both adoption and growth. You'll combine customer advocacy with strategic business development—identifying expansion opportunities, nurturing referral partnerships, and growing your territory. This role is perfect for someone who thrives on building relationships while also driving results.
Travel: Approximately 20%Key Responsibilities
- Customer Ownership & Communication: Serve as a strategic contact for school district customers, providing timely solutions to questions, requests, and escalated issues while keeping customers informed of progress.
- Relationship Management: Understand customer objectives, develop and maintain roadmaps to achieve goals, and lead quarterly business reviews (QBRs) aligned with district priorities.
- Upselling & Expansion: Identify and pursue upselling opportunities based on customer needs and usage patterns. Present new features during QBRs and regular touchpoints to drive account expansion and revenue growth.
- Territory Growth & Lead Generation: Drive territory growth through direct outreach and relationship building. Cultivate referral partnerships with existing customers to generate new leads and expand market presence in your region.
- Adoption & Engagement: Proactively increase feature adoption through demos and trainings. Collect and share customer feedback to identify product opportunities and reduce churn.
- Renewals & Advocacy: Facilitate renewal discussions to establish long-term plans and product fit. Nurture customer success stories through webinars, lunch-and-learns, and conference presentations.
- Relationship Documentation: Track detailed customer interactions and strategic initiatives so sales, product, and marketing teams can access insights and align offerings with customer needs.
- On-site Support: Conduct scheduled training and on-site visits to school districts as needed.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
- Experience in K-12 education environments
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Detail-oriented with excellent organizational and time management abilities
- Proficiency in Excel
Desired Qualifications
- Sales acumen and experience with upselling or account expansion
- Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously
- Analytical mindset with problem-solving capabilities
- Technologically proficient with modern business tools (Google, Slack, JIRA)
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in fast-paced environments
- Passion for customer interaction and community building
What Success Looks Like
In your first 90 days, you'll build strong relationships with key district stakeholders and become the go-to person for Alma questions. Within six months, you'll have identified expansion opportunities, generated referral partnerships, and grown your territory's revenue. Within a year, you'll be known as a trusted partner who genuinely cares about district success while driving meaningful business growth.
Why Join Alma
- Mission-driven work: Every day, you're directly impacting how educators teach and how students learn
- High-growth opportunity: We're expanding rapidly, and your success fuels company growth and your own advancement
- Balanced impact: You'll split your time between supporting customer success and driving new business—the best of both worlds
- Competitive compensation: Base salary $60,000–$70,000 + incentives (OTE: $80,000–$90,000)
- Flexible environment: Work with a collaborative team that values your input and invests in your development
A Note to Applicants:
Studies have shown that people from historically underestimated groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they meet every one of the qualifications described in a job description. We know from experience and past hires that the best person for this role will likely not check every box listed here. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't believe you meet all the qualifications described.
Alma Technologies is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.
Ready to Transform K-12 Education?
If you're energized by building deep customer relationships, love the challenge of helping grow a territory, and have a genuine passion for supporting educators, we'd love to talk. Apply now!