Senior Director, Retention Partnerships & Best Practices

Role Description

The Retention Partnerships & Best Practices Sr. Director is responsible for driving the adoption, consistency, scalability, and continuous improvement of Compass Group's retention strategies, tools, and methodologies across sectors. This role serves as the liaison between the core retention strategy, Strategic Alliance sector retention teams, operators, and enterprise resources to ensure retention programs are implemented effectively and deliver measurable business outcomes.

• Build strong partnerships across sectors.
• Identify and scale successful retention practices.
• Establish a consistent retention operating model that improves account health management, increases contract extensions, and protects revenue.
• Act as the bridge between retention strategy and field execution.
• Ensure insights, tools, resources, and best practices are translated into action across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Sector Partnerships & Relationship Management
  • Serve as a strategic partner to sector retention teams and operational stakeholders.
  • Build trusted relationships that foster collaboration, alignment, and shared accountability for retention outcomes.
  • Understand sector-specific retention challenges, opportunities, and priorities.
  • Gather and communicate sector feedback to support the evolution of retention strategies, tools, and programs.
• Retention Excellence, Consistency & Scalability
  • Drive consistency and scalability of retention processes, tools, playbooks, and best practices across sectors while respecting sector-specific business needs.
  • Support the implementation and adoption of enterprise retention methodologies, including Account Health Scores and Retention Risk Factors.
  • Identify opportunities to streamline processes and scale successful retention approaches across the organization.
  • Promote alignment around retention priorities, processes, and performance measures.
• Best Practices & Knowledge Management
  • Identify, document, and disseminate successful retention strategies, interventions, and client engagement practices.
  • Maintain and evolve a centralized repository of retention resources, templates, playbooks, and tools.
  • Facilitate cross-sector collaboration and sharing of lessons learned.
  • Lead communities of practice, retention forums, and best-practice discussions to encourage continuous learning and innovation.
  • Partner with the Retention Training & Development team to ensure best practices are incorporated into training and learning programs.
• Adoption & Continuous Improvement
  • Monitor adoption and utilization of retention tools, methodologies, and resources.
  • Facilitate portfolio reviews and discussions focused on retention risks and opportunities.
  • Partner with sector teams to identify barriers to adoption and develop improvement plans.
  • Recommend enhancements to retention programs, processes, and resources based on stakeholder feedback, performance trends, and business outcomes.
  • Support change management efforts related to retention initiatives and new capabilities.
• Program Support & Governance
  • Support retention governance processes and enterprise retention initiatives.
  • Track and communicate progress against retention objectives and adoption goals.
  • Collaborate with VP of Analytics & Transformation and Retention Training & Development teams to ensure alignment between insights, resources, training, and execution.
  • Contribute to strategic planning and roadmap development for the Core Retention organization.
  • Support the measurement and communication of retention program impact and business value.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in account retention, client relationship management, operations, business transformation, customer success, strategic program management, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining partnerships across multiple business functions and stakeholder groups.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide initiatives that drive adoption, process improvement, or organizational change.
• Strong facilitation and communication skills with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Experience developing and implementing best practices, operational frameworks, or scalable business processes.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and complex projects in a matrixed environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate data and insights into action.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, Hospitality, Organizational Development, Communications, or a related field.
• Experience within Compass Group or a multi-unit, service-oriented, hospitality, foodservice, healthcare, education, or facilities management environment.
• Experience supporting client retention, contract renewals, customer success, or account management functions.
• Knowledge of account health scoring, retention strategies, risk management frameworks, or customer lifecycle management.
• Experience with change management, training adoption, or organizational effectiveness initiatives.
• Familiarity with CRM platforms, business intelligence tools, reporting platforms, and learning management systems.
• Advanced degree (MBA or related field) preferred.

Core Competencies

• Relationship Building & Influence
• Strategic Thinking
• Collaboration & Partnership
• Change Leadership
• Knowledge Sharing & Continuous Improvement
• Program & Project Management
• Communication & Facilitation
• Analytical & Business Acumen

Benefits

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Life Insurance/ AD
• Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan
• Paid Time Off
• Paid Parental Leave
• Holiday Time Off (varies by site/state)
• Personal Leave
• Associate Shopping Program
• Health and Wellness Programs
• Discount Marketplace
• Identity Theft Protection
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)