<h2>About the Role</h2>Zeraki's Head of Account Management leads the department that owns our relationship with every school after its first renewal — the more than 8,500 schools that make Zeraki what it is. You will own renewals, churn, cross-sell and upsell, net revenue retention, renewal collections and customer satisfaction across the installed base, and the strategy, structure and people that deliver them. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will lead the entire Account Management organisation: Senior Regional Account Managers, Regional Account Managers and Account Management Leads, and through them every Senior Account Manager and Account Manager. This is a head-of-department role in the full sense, and the commercial counterpart to the Head of Sales. You decide how Zeraki segments and serves its customers, how renewals are forecast and protected, how single-product schools become platform customers, and how the voice of the customer reaches every decision the company makes. Recurring revenue is the foundation of Zeraki's business; you are its guardian and its growth engine.<h2>Requirements</h2> What You Will Do 01 Protect the base — renewals and churn · 25% of role Good looks like: renewals are forecast 90 days out, churn is explained before it happens and no major account is lost by surprise. <ul><li>Own renewals and churn across the installed base: ≥97% retention, 100% of renewals started on time and no lapses.</li><li>Build the renewal engine — forecast, early-warning risk flags, recovery plays and a named owner for every renewal.</li><li>Retain 100% of Zeraki's top accounts, and examine every churned school for its root cause.</li></ul>Own renewals and churn across the installed base: ≥97% retention, 100% of renewals started on time and no lapses.Build the renewal engine — forecast, early-warning risk flags, recovery plays and a named owner for every renewal.Retain 100% of Zeraki's top accounts, and examine every churned school for its root cause. 02 Grow the base — cross-sell, upsell and NRR · 20% of role Good looks like: expansion is planned, not hoped for — and schools adopt more of the platform every year. <ul><li>Own expansion revenue and net revenue retention: ≥110% across the base, with every region above 100%.</li><li>Deliver the department's cross-sell and 3X upsell targets — around 30 product additions per Account Manager a year — and raise multi-product adoption.</li><li>With Marketing and Sales, design installed-base programmes that move single-product schools to full platform customers.</li><li>Grow the share of company revenue that comes from existing customers.</li></ul>Own expansion revenue and net revenue retention: ≥110% across the base, with every region above 100%.Deliver the department's cross-sell and 3X upsell targets — around 30 product additions per Account Manager a year — and raise multi-product adoption.With Marketing and Sales, design installed-base programmes that move single-product schools to full platform customers.Grow the share of company revenue that comes from existing customers. 03 Know every account — segmentation and health · 10% of role Good looks like: every account has an owner, a health score and a plan. <ul><li>Define customer segmentation and tiering across 8,500+ schools, so attention matches value and complexity.</li><li>Build one account-health model — usage, adoption, satisfaction and payment behaviour — used by every team.</li><li>Keep Zeraki coherent across markets: consistent where it must be, local where it should be.</li></ul>Define customer segmentation and tiering across 8,500+ schools, so attention matches value and complexity.Build one account-health model — usage, adoption, satisfaction and payment behaviour — used by every team.Keep Zeraki coherent across markets: consistent where it must be, local where it should be. 04 Collect and forecast · 10% of role Good looks like: renewal revenue is predictable and paid. <ul><li>Hold renewal and upsell collections at or above 95% without damaging relationships.</li><li>With Finance and Data, build a forecast tied to renewals, expansion, collections and NRR — accurate within ±5%.</li><li>Govern Cost of Retention and the efficiency of the department, including accounts per Account Manager.</li></ul>Hold renewal and upsell collections at or above 95% without damaging relationships.With Finance and Data, build a forecast tied to renewals, expansion, collections and NRR — accurate within ±5%.Govern Cost of Retention and the efficiency of the department, including accounts per Account Manager. 05 Lead the leaders · 15% of role Good looks like: every region has a strong leader and a ready successor, and Account Management is a career people choose. <ul><li>Lead, coach and review Senior Regional Account Managers, Regional Account Managers and Account Management Leads through regular one-on-ones, field visits and documented feedback.</li><li>Run fair, evidence-based quarterly reviews and calibration; keep at least two ready successors and a visible path for Specialist Track experts.</li><li>Own hiring, onboarding and training, and build a customer-first culture of empathy, proactivity and results.</li></ul>Lead, coach and review Senior Regional Account Managers, Regional Account Managers and Account Management Leads through regular one-on-ones, field visits and documented feedback.Run fair, evidence-based quarterly reviews and calibration; keep at least two ready successors and a visible path for Specialist Track experts.Own hiring, onboarding and training, and build a customer-first culture of empathy, proactivity and results. 06 Own the most important relationships · 10% of role Good looks like: Zeraki's biggest customers stay, grow and speak for us. <ul><li>Act as the final escalation point for critical customer situations — assembling the cross-functional response and engaging school owners, boards and officials directly.</li><li>Act as executive sponsor for Zeraki's largest school networks and institutional accounts.</li><li>Turn customer outcomes into references, case studies and referral programmes that help Sales win.</li></ul>Act as the final escalation point for critical customer situations — assembling the cross-functional response and engaging school owners, boards and officials directly.Act as executive sponsor for Zeraki's largest school networks and institutional accounts.Turn customer outcomes into references, case studies and referral programmes that help Sales win. 07 Bring the customer into every decision · 10% of role Good looks like: when Zeraki decides, someone has asked “how will this affect the schools we already serve?” — and answered it with evidence. <ul><li>Bring the voice of the customer into product, pricing and go-to-market decisions, with facts, not alarms.</li><li>Partner with Sales on handover, Support on service quality, Product on roadmap and launches, and Finance on billing.</li><li>Run the department's operating system — CRM compliance at 100%, SLA compliance at or above 95%, QBRs as a discipline — and an AI-enabled model with firm controls on data quality and privacy.</li></ul>Bring the voice of the customer into product, pricing and go-to-market decisions, with facts, not alarms.Partner with Sales on handover, Support on service quality, Product on roadmap and launches, and Finance on billing.Run the department's operating system — CRM compliance at 100%, SLA compliance at or above 95%, QBRs as a discipline — and an AI-enabled model with firm controls on data quality and privacy. What Success Looks Like First 90 days <ul><li>Time in schools with principals and bursars, and with Sales, Support, Finance and country teams</li><li>An audit of the whole base: account health, renewals, collections and at-risk revenue</li><li>Customer segments mapped and tiering agreed</li><li>Renewal, forecast and QBR rhythm agreed and running</li><li>The first department operating plan, and a clear list of what to stop, build and automate</li></ul>Time in schools with principals and bursars, and with Sales, Support, Finance and country teamsAn audit of the whole base: account health, renewals, collections and at-risk revenueCustomer segments mapped and tiering agreedRenewal, forecast and QBR rhythm agreed and runningThe first department operating plan, and a clear list of what to stop, build and automate First six months <ul><li>One account-health model used by every team</li><li>Renewals forecast 90 days ahead, within ±5% accuracy</li><li>Every at-risk account with a documented recovery plan</li><li>One shared handover standard live with Sales</li><li>Every leader coached, with quarterly objectives in place</li></ul>One account-health model used by every teamRenewals forecast 90 days ahead, within ±5% accuracyEvery at-risk account with a documented recovery planOne shared handover standard live with SalesEvery leader coached, with quarterly objectives in place First 12 months <ul><li>Churn at or below 3% and net revenue retention at or above 110%</li><li>A repeatable renewal and cross-sell playbook across school segments</li><li>Collections at or above 95% without damaging relationships</li><li>A strong bench: at least two ready leaders</li><li>Account Management trusted as a strategic department, not a service desk</li></ul>Churn at or below 3% and net revenue retention at or above 110%A repeatable renewal and cross-sell playbook across school segmentsCollections at or above 95% without damaging relationshipsA strong bench: at least two ready leadersAccount Management trusted as a strategic department, not a service desk What You Bring Experience <ul><li> 8+ years in account management, customer success, sales, relationship management or commercial operations, including at least 4 years leading managers or multiple customer-facing teams.</li><li>A track record of building — or materially improving — an account management or customer success department, and owning retention, expansion and revenue-forecast outcomes.</li><li>Proven experience managing enterprise or strategic customer portfolios, and a demonstrable contribution to net revenue retention.</li><li>Experience designing operating rhythms, segmentation, account-health models and CRM discipline across multiple teams or regions.</li><li>Comfort with cohorts, forecasting and the economics of retention and expansion, and with presenting them to a CEO and Board.</li><li>A bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce, Marketing, Education, Economics, Information Systems or a related field; an MBA or senior customer-success certification is an advantage.</li></ul> 8+ years in account management, customer success, sales, relationship management or commercial operations, including at least 4 years leading managers or multiple customer-facing teams.A track record of building — or materially improving — an account management or customer success department, and owning retention, expansion and revenue-forecast outcomes.Proven experience managing enterprise or strategic customer portfolios, and a demonstrable contribution to net revenue retention.Experience designing operating rhythms, segmentation, account-health models and CRM discipline across multiple teams or regions.Comfort with cohorts, forecasting and the economics of retention and expansion, and with presenting them to a CEO and Board.A bachelor's degree in Business, Commerce, Marketing, Education, Economics, Information Systems or a related field; an MBA or senior customer-success certification is an advantage. What we are looking for <ul><li> A builder of customer departments — you have turned retention and expansion into disciplined, forecastable routines.</li><li> A customer success strategist — you can tell an account problem apart from its symptom.</li><li> Commercially accountable — you never hide behind relationship goodwill where revenue evidence is needed.</li><li> A leader of leaders — you coach managers to build strong teams of their own.</li><li> Field-rooted — you go to schools; customers cannot be understood through dashboards alone.</li><li> An exceptional communicator — equally credible in a principal's office, a finance review and a board room.</li><li> AI-fluent and values-led — you use AI for real leverage, and integrity and empathy show up in every relationship.</li></ul> A builder of customer departments — you have turned retention and expansion into disciplined, forecastable routines. A customer success strategist — you can tell an account problem apart from its symptom. Commercially accountable — you never hide behind relationship goodwill where revenue evidence is needed. A leader of leaders — you coach managers to build strong teams of their own. Field-rooted — you go to schools; customers cannot be understood through dashboards alone. An exceptional communicator — equally credible in a principal's office, a finance review and a board room. AI-fluent and values-led — you use AI for real leverage, and integrity and empathy show up in every relationship. Where you might be coming from You may be a Head of Customer Success, Head of Account Management, Key Accounts Director or Regional Account Management leader who has built and scaled a team in SaaS, EdTech, fintech, banking or telecoms. Your title matters less than whether you can connect account health, renewals, expansion, collections and commercial outcomes — through other leaders. What This Role Is Not <ul><li> Not a support desk — It exists to make customers successful, not to answer tickets.</li><li> Not only relationship management — Goodwill must connect to retention, adoption and revenue.</li><li> Not only renewals — Retention without growth, or growth without health, is not success.</li><li> Not the Head of Sales — Sales wins new schools and owns them to first renewal. You keep and grow them from there.</li><li> Not the Product Manager — Product owns scope and priorities. You bring the customer's voice to them.</li><li> Not a firefighter — You lead the hardest escalations, but you build the system that prevents them.</li></ul> Not a support desk — It exists to make customers successful, not to answer tickets. Not only relationship management — Goodwill must connect to retention, adoption and revenue. Not only renewals — Retention without growth, or growth without health, is not success. Not the Head of Sales — Sales wins new schools and owns them to first renewal. You keep and grow them from there. Not the Product Manager — Product owns scope and priorities. You bring the customer's voice to them. Not a firefighter — You lead the hardest escalations, but you build the system that prevents them.<h2>What We Offer</h2>● A chance to contribute to a mission-driven company that's making a real difference in education across Africa.● A collaborative, inclusive, and dynamic work environment where your input is valued.<h2>Our Culture</h2>At Zeraki, our culture defines how we work, how we make decisions, and how we succeed together. We are united by eight core values: Integrity, Love of Learning, Highest Standards, Deliver Results, Hire &amp; Develop the Best, Manage Through Trust, Empathy, and Have Backbone; Disagree &amp; Commit. We act with integrity, doing what is right and taking ownership of our actions. We have a love of learning, staying curious and continuously seeking to improve. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, continually raising the bar in the quality of our work, and we deliver results by taking ownership, acting with urgency, and following through on our commitments. We hire and develop the best, surrounding ourselves with exceptional people and creating opportunities for them to grow and excel. We manage through trust, giving people the context, freedom, responsibility, and accountability to do their best work. We lead with empathy, creating an environment where people are respected, supported, and able to thrive. And we have backbone, disagree and commit - we speak up when we disagree, challenge ideas respectfully, and once a decision is made, commit fully to making it successful. Together, these values create a culture of freedom and responsibility, high performance, continuous learning, and meaningful impact, empowering every Zerakian to Be Extraordinary.