Customer Success Manager (German speaking)

About Pleo

Messy spend management is tricky business. And tedious processes are a lose-lose situation for all involved, not just finance. At Pleo, we're changing that. We build spend solutions that make managing money seamless, empowering, and surprisingly effective for finance teams and employees alike - with a vision to help all businesses ‘go beyond’.

The word ‘Pleo’ actually means ‘more than you’d expect’, and living by that mantra has been the secret to our success over the last 10 years.

Now, we’re at a pivotal moment in our journey; every move we make has a direct impact on our 40,000+ customers, our business, and our collective success. We need people who take pride in uncovering customer needs, who turn complex problems into simple solutions, challenge the way things are done (respectfully), and always aim high. With great ambitions driving us forward, we can’t say we’ve got this whole thing figured out. And frankly, that’s half the fun! What we can say is that we’re a driven, progressive, and, importantly, a kind bunch of 850+ people from over 100 nationalities, all committed to delivering the future of business spending, together.

About the role

We're looking for a German-speaking Customer Success Manager to join our Customer Experience team at Pleo. In this role, you'll help own a portfolio of customers to drive adoption and deliver measurable outcomes and be part of the Customer Success Management team as we scale our proactive relationship management and data-driven interventions. If you're excited about optimising customer journeys and solving complex process pain points and are passionate about fintech and customer excellence, then this is the opportunity for you!

Who you'll be working with and reporting to

You'll report to our Customer Experience Country Manager and work closely with teams in Product, Support and Implementation. Our team is highly collaborative and dedicated to securing renewals and preventing churn through strategic coordination.

What you'll be doing

As a Customer Success Manager, you will:

• Drive adoption, leading targeted enablement and one-to-many programmes to ensure customers are getting maximum value from the Pleo product.

• Align customer objectives with product capabilities, setting clear milestones and KPIs to track progress.

• Use health scores and product adoption metrics to proactively identify risks and execute mitigation plans to prevent churn.

• Ensure stakeholders are prepared for upcoming product releases and process updates through clear, structured communication.

• Categorise and disseminate customer insights to Product and Operations to inform service improvements and the product roadmap.

Tech stack context: We currently have automated health scoring, and you can expect to work with the following tech stack: HubSpot, Vitally, Slack, and Notion.

What you bring

You'll thrive in this role if you have:

• Demonstrable experience and impact equivalent to 2+ years in Customer Success roles.

• Fluency level in German and English (both required for the role).

• A proactive and goal-oriented mindset, driving your own tasks to meet targets without constant supervision.

• Strong consultative skills and the ability to be a trusted business advisor to customers.

• An open, positive, and contagious energy that influences both customers and colleagues.

• A true enjoyment for helping others scale and improve, dedicated to customer growth.

• Excellent empathy and communication skills, capable of connecting with customers on an emotional level.

• A passion for continuous improvement, always seeking to optimise processes and results.

• Experience in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with varied tasks, from customer calls to internal product meetings.

How you'll develop in this role

In your first 6 months at Pleo, you'll:

• Lead the adoption strategy for your assigned portfolio to drive measurable impact in customer health and product usage.

• Collaborate with the product team by sharing customer feedback to improve our product and services.

• Grow your skills in fintech best practices, taking on new challenges as Pleo continues to scale.

We’re committed to helping you develop your career, whether that means taking on bigger projects, stepping into leadership, or acquiring new skills in customer success.

This role is a good fit for you if

• You enjoy the balance of high-level strategy and hands-on execution.

• You are data-driven and like using metrics to tell a story and drive your daily priorities.

• You are used to managing a high-volume customer portfolio while maintaining consistent engagement across all accounts.

This role is NOT a good fit for you if:

• You prefer reactive support over proactive, long-term relationship management.

• You find it challenging to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes or manage cross-functional dependencies.

• You prefer a stable, predictable routine over a fast-paced, evolving environment.

The location

Please note: We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role in any of the listed locations.

Show me the benefits!

• Your own Pleo card (no more out-of-pocket spending!)

• Lunch is on us - with catering in our Lisbon, Copenhagen and London offices or a monthly lunch allowance paid directly together with your salary in other markets

• Private health insurance to ensure you’re fit in body and mind to do your best work

• We offer 25 days of holiday + your public holidays

• Option to purchase 5 additional days of holiday through a salary sacrifice

• Access to Myndup for free mental health and well being support

• Paid parental leave - we want to make sure that we're supportive of families and help you feel that you don't have to compromise your family due to work

The Interview Process:

• Intro call: A 30 minute chat with our Talent Acquisition Partner to discuss the role and your experience

• Hiring Manager Interview: A deeper dive into your Customer Success experience and how you manage portfolio of customers

• Challenge and Team Interview: We will send you a take home test and invite you to present during a 60 minute team interview. This is an opportunity to show us how you would handle a real world customer health scenario

• Bar Raiser : A final interview with our Director of Customer Success

Transparency is important to us so we also wanted to share some insights about what we’re looking for in applications to ensure you can set yourself up for success!

Last time we hired a Customer Success Manager, we received a large number of applications but only a few were selected for an intro call. Some of the key reasons why previous candidates didn’t make it past the application screening stage include:

• CV writing and content: it was very clear that many of the CVs we saw were very generic and AI generated. There is no issue with leveraging AI to help with CV writing, there was little indication of what real impact the candidates had in their previous experience. You might have heard of the “Achieved X, as measured by Y, by doing Z” formula (credit Laszlo Bock ~2014), this is a great way to give a clear picture of what you have actually worked on. A link to the company websites of your previous roles is also a huge help!

• Application care: every single application we receive is reviewed by a human (yes, hundreds of them) because we believe that candidates' efforts should be matched by an equal level of human care. This means that we expect a similar level of attention put into your application. Read and answer the application questions carefully, they make a huge difference in our decision-making process.

• Profile to role fit: highlight most important aspects of the role, points that might get misunderstood, any specific industry requirements etc.

About your application

• English first. Since it's our company language, please submit your application in English. You’ll be using it a lot if you join us.

• A fair look for everyone. Our talent team reads every single application to ensure the process is fair. To keep things running smoothly, we only accept applications through our system—our support team can’t pass on calls or emails.

• Diversity drives us. We can only reach our goals if our team reflects the world around us. That starts with you hitting apply, even if you don't tick every single box. We encourage people from all backgrounds and experiences to join us.

• Interview at your best. We want you to feel comfortable throughout the process. If you have any accessibility requirements or need a specific format, email View email address on click.appcast.io. We’ll design a process that works for you.

• Your data is safe. When you apply, we process your personal data as a data processor. For more information on how Pleo processes personal data, read our Privacy Policy here.

• Applying for multiple roles? Nothing is stopping you, and we assess every role independently. However, we do look for alignment, so make sure you can explain why your interest and experience are right for each specific role.

• Reapplying. If you’re applying for the same role again, please wait six months from your last decision before hitting submit.