Director of Customer Success and Operations, Handshake
+ Equity.
More information about location
3 days a week in office
College career network and job board
Be an early applicant
College career network and job board
501-1000 employees
Be an early applicant
+ Equity.
More information about location
3 days a week in office
501-1000 employees
Company mission
To democratize access to opportunity and ensure any student can build a great career no matter who they know, where they live or what school they attend.
Role
Who you are
- You are a seasoned leader with a proven ability to manage and mentor customer success teams in dynamic, growth-focused environments
- You excel in balancing strategic vision with hands-on operational management, and you’re an exceptional communicator, skilled at conveying complex ideas clearly to diverse audiences
- With strong experience in scaling and developing teams, particularly during growth phases, you drive operational excellence through efficiency and data-driven decision-making
- Your collaborative approach ensures alignment of customer success with broader company goals, making you the ideal candidate to lead and elevate our customer success efforts
- Over 10 years of experience in Customer Success, including more than 5 years leading teams in SaaS environments, with a focus on customer retention and revenue growth
- Proven track record in managing and developing teams in high-growth, dynamic settings, including experience in managing team leaders
- Skilled in balancing strategic vision with hands-on operational management, driving both long-term success and daily operational efficiency
- Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to lead complex discussions and build strong relationships across multiple functions
- Proficient in Salesforce, data analytics tools, and productivity platforms, with a strong ability to drive data-informed decision-making within the team
- Adept at navigating ambiguity and thriving in a dynamic work environment, with the agility to pivot quickly in response to shifting business priorities
What the job involves
- As the Director of Customer Success and Operations, you will play a pivotal role in our European leadership team, unifying and leading our customer success and operations teams across both Education and Employer business segments
- Your strategic direction and operational leadership will drive customer satisfaction, retention, and revenue growth
- By aligning our customer success efforts with broader business objectives and collaborating closely with Sales, Product, and Marketing teams, you will help shape the customer experience and set the foundation for Handshake to become the leading early career network in Europe
- Provide strategic and operational leadership to customer success teams across the Education and Employer business, as well as the operations team, ensuring alignment and collaboration toward shared goals
- Motivate, mentor, and develop team members, fostering their growth and guiding their professional development
- Oversee operations to ensure efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and seamless support across both Employer and Education Success functions
- Develop and implement strategies focused on retention, customer satisfaction, adoption, and revenue growth, in alignment with company objectives
- Lead strategic planning and set quarterly and annual OKRs
- Collaborate with Sales, Product, and Marketing teams to align customer success initiatives with broader business objectives
- Build processes and identify tools to enhance quality and operational efficiency
Our take
The three founders of Handshake established their company in an attempt to eliminate inequality and make the student hiring landscape fairer. The Handshake platform acts as a LinkedIn for college students, pairing students from every walk of life with more than 650K employers, including the entire Fortune 500, which includes Google and Nike.
The graduate recruitment platform is open to any student with a valid @.edu email address, with more than 12 million active users from thousands of colleges and universities. With a student-first philosophy, the company generates revenue from both universities and employers rather than students.
Valued at $3.5B, Handshake has gained traction in a competitive market, although it has strong competition from recruiting giants LinkedIn and Indeed. It stands out, however, by helping students build new relationships and skills, rather than simply making connections to people they already know.
Steph
Company Specialist
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)
Jan 2022
$200m
SERIES F
May 2021
$80m
SERIES E
Total funding: $434m
Company benefits
- 💰Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company
- 🍼16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents
- 💝Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support
- 💻Handshake offers $500/£360 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home
- 📚Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000/£1,500 stipend for you to grow your skills and career
- 🏦Pension Scheme: Handshake will provide you with a workplace pension, where you will make contributions based on 5% of your salary. Handshake will pay the equivalent of 3% towards your pension plan, subject to qualifying earnings limits 🇬🇧
- 🏝Up to 25 days of vacation to encourage people to reset, recharge, and refresh, in addition to 8 bank holidays throughout the year 🇬🇧
Company HQ
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Articles
Leadership
Garrett Lord
(Co-Founder & CEO)Majored in Computer Science at Michigan Technological University. Interned at Palantir Technologies before co-founding Handshake in 2012.
Ben Christensen
(Co-Founder)Graduated from Michigan Technological University with a degree in Computer Networking & Systems Administration. Interned at Target and worked as a Developer at Up and Running Software. Was part of Arbor Networks' ASERT Security Research team.
Scott Ringwelski
(Co-Founder)Attained a degree in Computer Software Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Co-founded Handshake in 2012.
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