Senior Director of Client Engagement

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

📋 Description

• Take ownership of the successful delivery of professional services projects and interim leadership engagements for designated accounts.

• Oversee the initiation of engagements, transition from contract to delivery, development of workplans, project launch, delivery expectations, and resource coordination.

• Create and sustain workplans that align with statements of work, client priorities, milestones, resources, and expected outcomes.

• Determine resource needs and collaborate with Resource Management and Services leadership on staffing solutions.

• Guide, mentor, and lead assigned project teams.

• Track milestones, deliverables, risks, dependencies, client issues, project scope, resources, and overall project progress.

• Manage project closure, document lessons learned, and identify opportunities for future delivery enhancements.

• Handle a portfolio of simultaneous client engagements.

• Act as the primary point of contact for professional services delivery within assigned accounts.

• Cultivate relationships with client sponsors, executives, project leaders, and stakeholders.

• Facilitate client meetings and project reviews; communicate updates, confirm priorities, collect feedback, and address concerns.

• Assist clients in overcoming obstacles and linking project activities to institutional objectives.

• Direct consultants assigned to projects and provide performance feedback to the relevant Services or Resource Management leaders.

• Engage in consultant identification, interviewing, and selection processes.

• Oversee engagement financial performance, including revenue recognition, forecasting, delivery efficiency, scope, utilization, expenses, and gross margin.

• Identify and relay qualified business development leads and assist with proposals, finalist presentations, solution design, and account strategy.

• Recognize recurring delivery challenges and propose enhancements to services, tools, processes, and offerings.

• Collaborate with Client Engagement, Services, Resource Management, Commercial, and other functions.

• Travel to client locations as necessary.

• This position entails 35% billable work.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.

• Over 5 years of experience in professional services, consulting, project/program delivery, or comparable client-services leadership, including managing multiple concurrent client engagements.

• More than 5 years of experience in higher education or in an organization that serves higher education institutions.

• Proven experience in developing and managing project workplans, schedules, deliverables, risks, budgets, forecasts, and engagement economics.

• Demonstrated ability to lead and guide matrixed project teams, including consultants who do not directly report to the position.

• Proven capability to provide clear direction, honest performance feedback, and effective coaching in a professional services context.

• Experience managing senior-level client relationships and engaging directly with executives and other institutional decision-makers.

• Strong business and financial acumen, including understanding professional services revenue, utilization, project economics, forecasting, scope management, and gross margin.

• Demonstrated ability to identify client needs and business opportunities while maintaining appropriate boundaries between professional services delivery and commercial ownership.

• A solid understanding of trends, challenges, operating environments, and opportunities in higher education is strongly preferred.

• Experience leading transformation initiatives within higher education or similarly complex organizations is preferred.

• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and executive communication skills.

• Strong judgment and the ability to navigate competing priorities, organizational dependencies, resource constraints, and complex client situations.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across organizational boundaries and achieve results through collaboration, influence, clear accountability, and timely escalation.

• Strategic and results-oriented mindset.

• Willingness to travel to client sites as needed.

• Preferred: Over 10 years of progressively responsible experience in professional services, consulting, client engagement, or leadership within higher education.

• Preferred: Experience in leading transformation initiatives within higher education or similarly complex organizations.

🏝️ Benefits

• Competitive compensation.

• Comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees.

• Opportunities for professional development.

• Flexibility to work onsite and remotely with clients across the United States and Canada.

• Options for virtual and onsite workplace environments.

• Ability to work from home offices and client sites.

• Full-time and part-time 1099 consulting career opportunities available.

• Participation in charitable fundraising initiatives.