About the Role
The Account Management Lead will provide operational and commercial leadership across Zeraki's Account Management function, leading multiple teams and ensuring that our customers achieve measurable value from Zeraki's products.
The role sits at the intersection of customer success, commercial growth and people leadership. You will lead and develop the Account Management team, strengthen customer retention and expansion, drive commercial performance, and ensure consistent execution of Account Management practices across the business.
As Zeraki continues to scale, this role will be critical in translating business strategy into disciplined execution while building high-performing teams and developing the next generation of commercial leaders. The role is also designed as a key leadership step within Zeraki's Account Management career path, with the opportunity to grow into broader functional leadership as the business scales.
Requirements
Key Responsibilities
The Account Management Lead will be responsible for:
Leadership & Team Development
Lead, coach and develop the Account Management team.
Establish clear performance expectations and accountability across the function.
Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching and talent discussions.
Develop succession plans and build a strong pipeline of future Account Management leaders.
Drive employee engagement and a high-performance culture across the function.
Customer Success & Portfolio Management
Oversee customer success performance across multiple portfolios and teams.
Monitor customer health, retention trends and key customer success metrics.
Lead strategic customer engagements and Executive Business Reviews where required.
Identify customer risks and ensure appropriate mitigation and recovery plans are implemented.
Champion customer-centricity and ensure customers consistently derive value from Zeraki's products.
Commercial Performance & Revenue Growth
Drive customer retention, renewal and expansion performance.
Improve Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR).
Identify and drive expansion, upsell and cross-sell opportunities across customer portfolios.
Partner with Finance to improve collections performance.
Strengthen commercial forecasting and revenue visibility.
Operational Excellence & Governance
Standardize Account Management processes and ways of working across teams.
Ensure strong CRM governance, data quality and reporting discipline.
Improve operational efficiency and consistency across customer portfolios.
Review team and territory allocation to ensure effective resource utilization.
Strategic Escalation & Risk Management
Lead the resolution of high-impact customer escalations.
Coordinate cross-functional teams to resolve complex customer issues.
Identify emerging customer and commercial risks and ensure timely escalation where required.
Cross-Functional Leadership
Partner with Sales on customer handovers, enterprise account planning and expansion opportunities.
Partner with Customer Support on escalations and service-level performance.
Work with Product to translate customer insights into product adoption and improvement opportunities.
Partner with Finance on revenue forecasting, collections and contract administration.
Collaborate with Marketing on customer advocacy, success stories and reference programmes.
Candidate Profile
Education
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Marketing, Education, Economics, Information Systems or a related discipline.
Experience & Skills
We are looking for someone with:
3–5 years of progressive experience in Account Management, Customer Success, Sales, Relationship Management or Commercial Operations.
At least 2 years' experience leading customer-facing teams.
Proven experience managing enterprise or strategic customer portfolios.
A strong track record in customer retention, revenue growth and commercial performance.
Experience working in SaaS, EdTech, Telecommunications, Financial Services or other technology-enabled businesses is highly desirable.
Strong experience using CRM systems and data to drive commercial decisions.
Strong understanding of revenue management, forecasting and commercial performance.
Core Capabilities
We are looking for a leader who demonstrates:
Commercial & Technical
Customer Success Strategy
Strategic Account Management
Commercial Leadership
Revenue Growth Management
Financial & Commercial Analysis
CRM & Pipeline Management
Business Forecasting
Data Analytics
Change Management
Leadership
Coaching & Mentoring
Strategic Thinking
Talent Development
Executive Communication
Organizational Planning
Conflict Resolution
Influence Without Authority
Behavioural
Integrity
Love of Learning
Highest Standards
Deliver Results
Hire & Develop the Best
Manage Through Trust
Empathy
Have Backbone; Disagree & Commit.
What we offer
A leadership role with significant exposure to customer success, commercial strategy and cross-functional decision-making.
An opportunity to build and develop high-performing commercial teams.
A clear career path within Zeraki's Account Management leadership structure.
Our culture
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 & Develop the Best, Manage Through Trust, Empathy, and Have Backbone; Disagree & 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. Copy
About the Company
Zeraki is a pioneering EdTech startup on a mission to redefine education across Africa. Our innovative technology tools are designed to make learning more accessible, effective, and engaging for parents, teachers, and students alike. At the heart of Zeraki is a deep-rooted passion for harnessing the power of education to unlock the potential of the continent's youth and drive transformative change. Zeraki proudly serves over 2.7 million users in 10 countries, establishing itself as one of Africa's leading EdTech companies.
Our commitment to excellence and innovation has not gone unnoticed. Zeraki was the proud recipient of the African Union Commission Innovating Education in Africa Award in 2022. Zeraki is one of three EdTech companies participating in the 2024 cohort of the EY AI SDG Accelerator and is also part of the 2024 cohort of the Microsoft Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact Program. Through these accolades and partnerships, Zeraki continues to shape the future of learning in Africa, demonstrating the transformative role of technology in education.