Customer Account Manager – SLED

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Texas.

📋 Description

• Oversee post-implementation customer relationships, recurring revenue strategies, and customer continuity for large and intricate Public Sector and Education accounts.

• Cultivate and sustain operational, commercial, and executive relationships with Public Sector and Education clients and account teams.

• Design multi-year account, renewal, and network strategies based on customer priorities, service requirements, contract statuses, funding cycles, procurement schedules, competitive risks, and financial exposure.

• Take ownership of revenue safeguarding, churn management, renewal execution, and expansion strategies for designated accounts.

• Lead complex renewals, RFP/RFQ submissions, and executive business reviews involving multiple services, locations, or years.

• Formulate and implement customer strategies that align with E-rate funding cycles, eligible service categories, RFP timelines, budget cycles, and procurement needs.

• Identify and promote growth opportunities with Sales by understanding infrastructure requirements, funding availability, upcoming procurements, technology initiatives, and service expansion possibilities.

• Navigate state contract vehicles, cooperative purchasing programs, education consortiums, and other public-sector procurement methods.

• Manage churn forecasts and mitigation strategies while balancing customer outcomes with pricing discipline, contract terms, margins, capital recovery, and long-term account value.

• Develop and negotiate strategies for save, replacement, portability, migration, network redesign, relocation, decommissioning, and contract restructuring.

• Provide senior commercial judgment on credits, ETL, portability, contract exceptions, rate adjustments, renewal pricing, and revenue treatment.

• Coordinate customer requirements and decisions across Sales, Sales Engineering, Finance, Billing, Legal, Deal Management, Service Assurance, Service Delivery, Product, and Operations.

• Advise customers on Zayo services and their alignment with Public Sector and Education requirements, procurement processes, and funding programs.

• Monitor funding, procurement, and market conditions, translating changes into account strategies.

• Lead customer business reviews and executive engagements focused on service performance, business priorities, upcoming procurements, renewal readiness, funding opportunities, and future network needs.

• Mentor junior CAMs and contribute to the development of renewal playbooks, training, negotiation practices, and operational standards.

⛳️ Requirements

• Generally, 6+ years of experience in Customer Retention, Strategic Account Management, Client Services, Sales, or a similar customer-facing role; senior positions typically require 8+ years.

• Proven success in managing large, complex SLED accounts, including public-sector, government, education, K-12, higher education, or similarly procurement-intensive organizations.

• Demonstrated experience in managing complex, strategic, or high-revenue customer relationships with numerous stakeholders and lengthy buying cycles.

• In-depth knowledge of the E-rate program, including the capacity to align Zayo services and customer strategies with E-rate funding cycles, eligible service categories, application timelines, and related procurement requirements.

• Strong understanding of SLED procurement processes, including RFP/RFQ development, formal bidding procedures, state contract vehicles, cooperative purchasing programs, and education consortiums.

• Familiarity with state and local government purchasing environments and the ability to navigate intricate procurement, contracting, budgeting, and approval processes.

• Advanced experience in renewals, retention, commercial negotiations, RFP/RFQ responses, contract execution, and revenue preservation.

• Comprehensive understanding of churn, gross and net revenue retention, renewal performance, discount performance, and recurring revenue management.

• Significant telecommunications/digital infrastructure experience is preferred.

• Exceptional executive-level communication, presentation, negotiation, and facilitation skills.

• Strong analytical, organizational, project management, and problem-solving abilities.

• Capacity to manage complex timelines and multiple competing priorities.

• Ability to collaborate effectively across Sales, Sales Engineering, Finance, Legal, Operations, Service Delivery, Product, and other cross-functional teams.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in Business, Sales, Public Administration, Education, or a related field is preferred.

• Willingness and ability to travel based on customer and business requirements.

🏝️ Benefits

• Non-sales roles may qualify for participation in a discretionary annual incentive program.

• Sales roles may be eligible for a sales incentive plan.

• Health insurance coverage.

• Life insurance benefits.

• Disability retirement plans.

• Paid time off.

• Excellent health, dental, and vision insurance options.

• Retirement 401(k) Savings Plan.

• Generous paid time off policy, including paid parental leave.