Lead Customer Success Manager

<div class="content-intro"><div> <div class="standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_>_*]:min-w-0 gap-3 !gap-3.5"> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">What We Do</span></h3> <pre><span style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Insurance is a $10T industry still running on PDFs, email threads, and manual reconciliation. Ascend is changing that. We built the first and only complete financial operations platform purpose-built for insurance — combining AI-powered accounting automation, payments, and premium financing in a single vertically integrated solution. In five years, we've become the market leader: over 4,000 businesses, including more than half of the 50 largest brokers in the country, trust Ascend to bring clarity to complex accounting operations — from collection to close.</span></pre> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">How We Do It</span></h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Ascend automates the financial operations that insurers, MGAs, and agencies run every day — and embeds directly into the transactions where money actually moves.</span></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">AI is driving the cost of software toward zero. The companies that win won't just sell tools — they'll capture value at the point of the transaction itself. Ascend is built for exactly that moment. Our customers don't just adopt software; they unlock measurable efficiency with a proven 5–7x return on investment.</span></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Our 70+ person team, based in San Francisco and Columbus, brings together deep expertise in insurance, fintech, and AI to build infrastructure the industry has never had.</span></p> <h3 class="text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Why We Do It</span></h3> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The insurance industry intermediates trillions of dollars — and almost none of that infrastructure was built for the modern era. Legacy systems aren't just inefficient; they're a ceiling on what the industry can become.</span></p> <p class="font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Ascend's mission is to become the leading financial automation platform for insurance by 2030 — powering the financial operations of the entire industry and transforming the way trillions of dollars move. We're not building another point solution. We're building the financial backbone of insurance.</span></p> </div> </div> <div class="h-8">&nbsp;</div></div><p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Your Role</strong> </span><br><br><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We are looking for a relationship driven, strategically minded Customer Success Manager to lead and scale our post-implementation Customer Success function. This role will own the end to end lifecycle of Ascend's highest value customers, serving as a trusted advisor to C-suite and senior stakeholders while driving strong adoption, retention, and expansion. You'll balance hands-on account management with long-term strategic thinking by building repeatable motions, surfacing customer insights, and partnering cross-functionally to influence product direction and drive durable growth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Responsibilities will include</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Objective #1: In your first 30 days, you will:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Dive deep into Ascend's product, customer segments, and current Customer Success processes and tools</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Build foundational relationships with internal partners across Sales, Product, and Product Support</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Begin developing your approach to managing relationships and driving value for sophisticated insurance organizations</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Objective #2: In your first 60 days, you will:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Own a portfolio of mid-market and enterprise customers, running regular touch-points with executive stakeholders and day to day users</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Develop a strong understanding of your customers' workflows, goals, and success metrics with actionable insights to improve adoption and outcomes</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Lead core customer operations including business reviews, feature rollouts, and coordination of complex issues with Product Support</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Objective #3: In your first 90 days, and beyond, you will:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Fully own the post implementation customer lifecycle including renewals and expansion motions in partnership with Sales and Product</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Act as the voice of the customer internally by surfacing trends, risks, and opportunities to inform product and process decisions</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Help define and refine scalable Customer Success best practices that enable Ascend to deliver a world class enterprise customer experience</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Mentor and provide guidance to junior Customer Success team members, helping to elevate the overall team's effectiveness and consistency</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>You might be a good fit if you are / have</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">4+ years of experience in related roles</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Prior experience managing high value enterprise customer relationships in B2B SaaS or Fintech environments</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Experience managing or mentoring teammates, with an ability to influence without direct authority across cross-functional teams</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Comfortable operating in the ambiguity and pace of a high growth startup</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to navigate executive level conversations and complex subject matter</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A consultative, relationship first approach to customer success with a proven track record of renewals and expansion</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Demonstrated ability to build and improve scalable processes, playbooks, or CS programs — not just execute within them</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Background in insurance, financial services, or fintech is a plus</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Base Salary Range: $120,000-145,000</strong></span></p><div class="content-conclusion"><h3><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>All roles at Ascend are 5 days a week onsite at our beautiful office in SoMa!&nbsp;</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Benefits</strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">100% health premiums covered for you and your dependents</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">401k with employer matching options</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A fast growing team with an emphasis on promoting from within 80% of all hires in the last 12 months have already been promoted!&nbsp;</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Unlimited PTO</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Company paid commuter benefits</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Parental and family leave</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Lunch everyday</span></li> <li style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Dog-friendly office!</span></li> </ul> <h3><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>Equal Opportunity</strong></span></h3> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We are committed to equal opportunity employment and embrace diversity within our organization. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">We encourage candidates to apply even if their experience doesn't precisely match this opportunity. We value diversity and are dedicated to equal opportunity employment.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p></div>