Customer Account Manager – SLED

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

📋 Description

• Oversee the post-implementation customer relationship, recurring-revenue strategy, and customer continuity for large and intricate Public Sector and Education accounts.

• Act as a strategic partner for customers and steward of revenue.

• Manage renewals, retention, churn risk, expansion prospects, and complex customer needs across Zayo's offerings.

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

• Create multi-year account, renewal, and network strategies.

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

• Lead complex, multi-service, multi-location, or multi-year renewals, including RFP/RFQ responses and executive business reviews.

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

• Identify and promote growth opportunities in collaboration with Sales.

• 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 saving, replacement, portability, migration, network redesign, relocation, decommissioning, and contract restructuring.

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

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

• Advise clients 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 actionable account strategies.

• Lead customer business reviews and executive engagements.

• Mentor less-experienced CAMs and contribute to the development of renewal playbooks, training, negotiation practices, and operating standards.

⛳️ Requirements

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

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

• Demonstrated experience in handling complex, strategic, or high-revenue customer relationships involving multiple stakeholders and extended buying cycles.

• Expertise in the E-rate program, including the ability to align Zayo services and customer strategies with E-rate funding cycles, eligible service categories, application timelines, and related procurement requirements.

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

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

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

• Strong 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.

• Capability 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.

• A 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 positions may qualify for a discretionary annual incentive plan.

• Sales positions may be eligible to participate in a sales incentive plan.

• Health insurance coverage.

• Life insurance benefits.

• Disability retirement plans available.

• Paid time off benefits.

• Comprehensive Health, Dental & Vision Insurance.

• Retirement 401(k) Savings Plan.

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

• Reasonable accommodations provided as part of the employment selection process.