Strategic Customer Success Advisor

Introduction

With deep technology multi-domain expertise and an understanding of customer challenges, Advisors leverage their strategic leadership, executive presence, and operational capabilities to help customers meet their Technology Business Management (TBM), Agile and/or FinOps business objectives while driving operational excellence and program governance. Advisors engage broadly across organizations, focusing on C-Level executives and other Tech and Business leaders.

CSAs are customer-directed specialists solely focused on creating wildly successful customers through large scale programs involving change management, innovation, and developing processes and capabilities that make the Apptio Solutions indispensable. For all levels of customer TBM, Cloud, and/or Agile maturity, CSAs help accelerate, and mature practices related to the Apptio Solutions which encompasses Business and IT Strategy, Technology & Operational Management, and Financial Performance Management.

Your role and responsibilities

The Executive Customer Success Advisor (CSA) will be responsible for providing consultative guidance to our most strategic customers to ensure successful adoption and expansion of the Apptio product suite. By developing and maintaining a high level of customer engagement, the CSA will partner with Account Management, the Customer Success Manager, and other team members or partners assigned to the account to foster long-term strategic relationships to ensure every customer realizes full value from their investment with Apptio.

• Drive user adoption across the customer organization by understanding their specific challenges and helping them to operationalize and realize benefit from their deployed Apptio solution
• Understand and document customer process workflows that apply to Apptio solutions and implement strategies that integrate Apptio to those processes
• Identify risks to the customer achieving their stated business goals and develop then execute appropriate mitigation plans
• Mentor customers' ability to become "insight hunters" by helping them uncover nuggets of information that will drive measurable value
• Co-create a personalized Customer Adoption roadmap that aligns corporate goals, what is possible, key business initiatives, KPI's, and a practical implementation timeline
• Serve as liaison between our customers and various Apptio teams to ensure that needs / requirements critical to customer success are understood and effectively communicated, including gathering customer product feedback to shape product roadmap development

• Evangelize Technology Business Management (TBM), and FinOps
• Engage regularly with customers via workshops, operational, and business reviews to evaluate needs and strategic direction and align with a clear roadmap
• Use storytelling to highlight customer value augmented with technical expertise by demonstration in the product
• Find, mentor, and develop process owners into TBM and/or FinOps Champions
• Align customers to the growing TBM and FinOps market and the standards being developed to support consistency and success in rolling out Apptio Solution Processes. Standards such as those vetted and published by the TBM Council
• Provide timely account or executive summary status reports both to customers and Apptio management
• Develop and maintain long-term relationships with stakeholders in the account portfolio, where appropriate, by networking between customers, partners, and Apptio

• Develop internal and external facing collateral (content) to:

• Support customer adoption efforts
• Expand the knowledgebase & best practices leveraged by Apptio Teams
• Continuously improve the maturity of our customer base in best practices related to the Apptio solutions/suite of products

• Contribute internally to the Customer Success organization by sharing technical / domain knowledge and advancing best practices and advisory skills, including but not limited to:

• Lead and contribute to internal projects and initiatives
• Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for specific domain or process area
• Contribute thought leadership and best practice on how to "Run IT Like a Business"

• Have a minimum of 10+ years' experience of Program Management, Portfolio oversight, or Consulting experience that was customer executive facing with cloud-based/SaaS solution offerings.
• Specific knowledge and application of cloud, public cloud, technology services, and financial management including budgeting, cost allocations, capital & operating expense handling, program portfolio management, and application/ infrastructure/services/product support.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate, present, and influence credibly and effectively at the executive and all levels of a customer's organization
• Working knowledge of TBM, FinOps, portfolio management and technology delivery frameworks and methodologies (i.e., ITIL, Waterfall, Agile etc.)

• Specific knowledge and application of either Cloud computing, and/or Scaled Agile Framework.
• Operational knowledge of IT Portfolio management including traditional and agile delivery methodologies including SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban.
• Master's in Business Administration (MBA)
• Most successful candidates having 15+ years in Big-4 consulting, or within the IT Finance and/or technology industry as CIOs/SVPs/Directors

• Healthcare benefits including medical & prescription drug coverage, dental, vision, and mental health & well being
• Financial programs such as 401(k), cash balance pension plan, the IBM Employee Stock Purchase Plan, financial counseling, life insurance, short & long- term disability coverage, and opportunities for performance based salary incentive programs
• Generous paid time off including 12 holidays, minimum 56 hours sick time, 120 hours vacation, 12 weeks parental bonding leave in accordance with IBM Policy, and other Paid Care Leave programs. IBM also offers paid family leave benefits to eligible employees where required by applicable law
• Training and educational resources on our personalized, AI-driven learning platform where IBMers can grow skills and obtain industry-recognized certifications to achieve their career goals
• Diverse and inclusive employee resource groups, giving & volunteer opportunities, and discounts on retail products, services & experiences