Senior Manager, Accounting Innovation
The Senior Manager, Accounting Innovation is responsible for enhancing the customer journey and driving accounting innovation for customers in a manner that shapes BlackLine's vision to become the model customer-centric SaaS company. This individual works with the CSO to develop, communicate, and execute programs that will optimize the customer experience and are tied to BlackLine's strategic objectives. The Senior Manager, Accounting Innovation passionately champions best-in-class solutions across BlackLine's business units, products and services, resulting in business growth, optimized product use, market-leading customer loyalty and advocacy, internal team alignment and high engagement from all BlackLiners.
Responsibilities:
- Enable and Optimize the Voice of the Accountant (VoA) Program
- Develop and maintain several mechanisms, including the Customer Advisory Board and the Internal Accountant Advisory Board, to effectively infuse the voice of the innovative accountant in the aligned cross-functional strategic objectives of the company
- Gather, synthesize and communicate insights from passive and active listening mechanisms such as the user advisory groups, customer visits, and surveys
- Identify meaningful customer insights that help the business evolve their respective disciplines (Marketing, Product, the Customer Team and Sales) with a keen understanding of customers' wants and needs
- Develop, monitor and maintain a closed loop feedback process which includes actionable recommendations that promote the Voice of the Accountant
- Promote/Encourage an Accounting Transformation for Customers/Prospects
- Partner with selected customers to help them see the possibilities of a finance transformation and define a roadmap with BlackLine as the foundation to complement their ERP
- Lead and assist customers along their finance transformation journey, ensuring that BlackLine is optimized and that there is an optimal customer focused partnership for key customers
- Identify and drive messaging that makes compelling arguments for the adoption of BlackLine.
- Monitor and measure success with metrics that demonstrate improvement in churn and attrition, new product adoption and BlackLine's Net Promoter Score.
- Track effectiveness of customer/prospect visits, CPE and other events
- Lead initiative for BlackLine Distinguished Awards Program
- Identify and initiate business development opportunities such as Retired Public Accounting Partners Referrals
- Support CSO's Brand as Recognized Accounting Transformation Expert and BlackLine Spokesperson
- Maintain current, up-to-date knowledge of what's going on in the world of accounting including challenges and available solutions
- Identify speaking opportunities at Accounting Transformation Events (non-BlackLine specific)
- Maintain Anonymous Accountants social media initiative
- Partner with Marketing on webinars, YouTube videos and other digital marketing efforts
Qualifications:
- 5-7 years' experience in a customer-facing leadership role
- 5-7 years' experience with BlackLine, a plus
- 7+ years' domain experience in accounting, auditing and/or finance
- An intense customer focus, intellectual curiosity and ability to convert customer signals to a clear, concise story
- A hunger for leading accounting transformation activities
- Demonstrated ability to build relationships and trust with clients, while identifying and assessing client opportunity and risk
- Highly skilled at problem solving and providing customer focused solutions
- Executive-level communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively navigate and mediate conflict and foster honest dialogue
- Ability to quickly grasp and distinctly explain technological and business concepts