Lead Account Manager

Account Management Team Lead, Client Success

The Account Management Team Lead serves as a player-coach within the Client Experience organization, balancing direct account ownership with day-to-day leadership responsibilities for the Account Management team. This role is responsible for managing a portfolio of assigned client accounts while providing coaching, guidance, and operational support to Account Managers. The Team Lead serves as the first point of escalation for complex client issues, reinforces service standards, promotes accountability, and works closely with leadership to drive a consistent, proactive client experience. The ideal candidate demonstrates exceptional relationship management skills, leadership potential, operational discipline, and a commitment to developing others while maintaining a high level of personal performance.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Client Relationship Management

· Maintain ownership of a designated portfolio of client accounts.

· Develop trusted relationships with key client stakeholders.

· Conduct regular client outreach, business reviews, and strategic account discussions.

· Identify opportunities to strengthen client satisfaction, engagement, and retention.

· Monitor client health and proactively address concerns before they become escalations.

· Serve as an advocate for clients while balancing organizational priorities and objectives.

Team Leadership and Coaching

· Provide day-to-day guidance and support to Account Managers.

· Conduct regular one-on-one coaching sessions focused on development, problem-solving, and accountability.

· Assist with onboarding and training of new Account Managers.

· Reinforce department policies, procedures, service standards, and engagement expectations.

· Share best practices and facilitate knowledge transfer across the team.

· Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Escalation Management

· Serve as the first level of escalation for complex client concerns and service issues.

· Partner with internal departments to coordinate resolution of high-priority matters.

· Ensure client concerns are addressed promptly and professionally.

· Track recurring issues and communicate trends to leadership.

· Assist with root cause analysis and corrective action planning when needed.

Operational Excellence

· Monitor adherence to established client engagement standards and account management procedures.

· Review CRM documentation for consistency, quality, and completeness.

· Ensure account activities, client communications, action items, and commitments are documented appropriately.

· Support quality assurance efforts and workflow standardization initiatives.

· Assist leadership in implementing process improvements designed to increase efficiency and service quality.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

· Partner closely with Sales, Implementation, Member Services, Payroll, Operations, and other departments to support client needs.

· Facilitate effective communication between internal stakeholders.

· Ensure client expectations remain aligned with operational capabilities and service delivery.

· Support smooth transitions between implementation and ongoing account management.

Workforce and Portfolio Management

· Assist leadership with account assignment recommendations and workload balancing.

· Monitor team capacity and identify resource constraints or support needs.

· Provide input regarding staffing needs, training opportunities, and operational priorities.

· Support departmental initiatives designed to improve scalability and consistency.

Reporting and Analysis

· Review account health indicators, client feedback, service trends, and retention risks.

· Assist in preparing client reports, business reviews, and operational summaries.

· Identify patterns and trends that may require management attention.

· Support leadership through data-driven recommendations and frontline insights.

Continuous Improvement

· Contribute to the development of policies, procedures, playbooks, and training materials.

· Recommend improvements based on client feedback and operational observations.

· Participate in strategic initiatives that strengthen the Client Experience organization.

· Champion adoption of new processes, tools, and best practices

Minimum Qualifications

· Bachelor's degree in Business, Communications, Healthcare Administration, Marketing, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience.

· Minimum of five (5) years of experience in account management, customer success, client services, healthcare, insurance, employee benefits, or a related client-facing role.

· Minimum of one (1) year experience serving in a lead, mentoring, coaching, training, or informal leadership capacity.

· Demonstrated experience managing complex client relationships and escalated customer situations.

· Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

· Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.

· Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

· Proficiency with Microsoft Office and CRM platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

· Experience using Salesforce or similar CRM platforms.

· Experience supporting employer groups, healthcare programs, employee benefits, insurance, payroll services, or related industries.

· Prior experience conducting client business reviews and executive-level presentations.

· Experience developing training materials, standard operating procedures, or process documentation.

· Supervisory or team leadership experience in a customer-facing environment.

· Experience working in a fast-paced, growth-oriented organization.

Core Competencies

Leadership

Influences and develops others through coaching, mentorship, accountability, and example.

Relationship Management

Builds trust and credibility with clients, team members, and internal stakeholders.

Communication

Communicates clearly and effectively across all levels of the organization and with external clients.

Problem Solving

Evaluates issues thoughtfully and develops practical, client-focused solutions.

Accountability

Assumes ownership of responsibilities and follows commitments through completion.

Collaboration

Works effectively across departments to achieve organizational goals.

Adaptability

Maintains effectiveness in a dynamic and evolving business environment.

Operational Discipline

Promotes consistency, process adherence, and high-quality execution.

Physical Requirements

· Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer.

· Ability to communicate effectively by phone, video conference, and email.

· Ability to lead meetings and presentations with clients and internal teams.

· Occasional travel may be required based on business needs.

Success Measures

Performance in this role may be evaluated based on:

· Client retention within assigned accounts.

· Team client retention performance.

· Client satisfaction and feedback results.

· Completion of client engagement cadence requirements.

· Escalation resolution effectiveness.

· CRM documentation quality and compliance.

· Team coaching and development activities.

· Successful onboarding of new team members.

· Contribution to process improvement initiatives.

· Cross-functional partnership effectiveness.

· Achievement of departmental service and engagement objectives.