Customer Success Manager - EMEA

Cengage

As the Customer Success Manager /for the EMEA region you will play a strategic and hands-on leadership role in shaping the customer experience across our digital learning platforms. You will lead a team of Customer Success Specialists who serve as trusted advisors to educators, librarians, and institutional partners throughout the customer lifecycle from initial engagement and pre-sale consultation to onboarding, training, and long-term support.

This role is central to our mission of empowering educators and learners through innovative digital solutions. You will work closely with regional Sales Managers to align customer success initiatives with sales goals, ensuring that our platforms are not only adopted but embraced by users. Your team will be instrumental in demonstrating product value, driving engagement, and ensuring that customers achieve their desired outcomes.

You will also support and drive the implementation and scaling of customer success strategies. This includes training frameworks, monitoring customer health metrics, and implementing proactive engagement plans to reduce churn and increase satisfaction. This is a highly collaborative role that requires cross-functional coordination with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Technical Support teams. You ll need to be both a strategic problem solver and a tactical executor capable of inspiring your team, optimizing processes, and delivering measurable results in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Key Accountabilities:

People Leadership

• Lead and inspire a team of Customer Success Specialists, fostering a culture of customer-centricity, collaboration, and performance excellence.
• Set clear expectations, manage performance, and support professional development to build a high performing, engaged team.
• Attract, retain, and develop top talent while promoting a positive and inclusive team environment.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Technical Support to ensure a seamless and consistent customer experience.

Pre-Sales Support

• Partner with Sales Managers to support digital sales efforts by aligning customer success activities with sales strategies.
• Guide the team in demonstrating platform capabilities, supporting onboarding conversations, and contributing to deal closure.
• Provide actionable insights into customer needs and feedback to inform sales approaches and product development.

Post-Sales Enablement & Adoption

• Be responsible for the delivery of effective onboarding and enablement plans to ensure customers are confident and successful in using Cengage digital products.
• Support and implement scalable training frameworks, resources, and success plans to drive sustained usage and engagement.
• Monitor customer health and proactively address adoption challenges or satisfaction concerns to reduce churn and enhance retention.
• Support the execution of seasonal customer engagement programs, such as Back-to-School initiatives, in collaboration with Marketing.

Analytics & Reporting

• Track and analyse customer usage data, health metrics, and feedback to identify trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Use data to inform strategy, optimize team performance, and enhance the customer experience.
• Provide regular reporting on customer outcomes, engagement, and success metrics to internal partners and senior leadership.

Skills you will need here:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Customer Success, Account Management, or related roles within the EdTech, SaaS, or publishing industries.
• At least 2 years of experience managing teams, with a proven track record to lead, coach, and develop high-performing individuals.
• Strong understanding of the Higher Education, English Language Teaching (ELT), and/or academic library markets is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated expertise in digital learning tools, customer lifecycle management, and strategies to drive user adoption and engagement.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience with Salesforce, customer success platforms, or Learning Management Systems (LMS) is highly desirable.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PowerBI