Senior Manager, Strategic Customer Success

At Vanta, our mission is to help businesses earn and prove trust. We believe that security should be monitored and verified continuously, and we empower companies to practice better security and prove it with ease. Vanta has a kind and talented team, and while some have prior security experience, many have been successful at Vanta without it.

As the Senior Manager, Strategic Customer Success, you will lead a team of experienced CSMs supporting Vanta’s largest, most complex customers. You will be accountable for driving measurable customer outcomes, retention, and long-term partnership value — while building a high-performing team that operates with clarity, consistency, and strategic focus.

This role goes far beyond people management. You will be expected to operate at multiple altitudes: diagnosing systemic issues, defining strategy, building scalable processes, coaching your team, and influencing senior executives both internally and externally. You’ll apply GRC fluency or learning agility, strong judgment, and data-driven decision making to guide customers through complex compliance and risk landscapes.

This role is ideal for a leader who thrives in ambiguity, identifies problems early, drives solutions without escalation, and models resilience in a fast-moving environment.

What you’ll do:

Lead & Develop a High-Performing Team

• Hire, mentor, and develop a team of Strategic CSMs, creating a culture of accountability, ownership, and customer obsession.

• Build clear operating rhythms, expectations, and success metrics that enable consistent performance and scalable excellence.

• Coach your team to operate as trusted advisors who guide customers through complex GRC and security programs.

Demonstrate Strategic Ownership

• Diagnose challenges across the strategic customer segment and proactively design solutions, not just escalate them.

• Define and evolve Vanta’s upmarket success motion — including onboarding methodology, strategic planning, risk identification, and value realization.

• Operate at multiple altitudes: zoom out to identify systemic issues, and zoom in to solve root causes with precision.

Drive Data-Informed Customer Outcomes

• Use data to understand portfolio health, forecast risks, and drive prioritization for your team.

• Translate insights into clear action plans for adoption, expansion, and retention motions.

• Partner with RevOps to refine metrics, dashboards, and performance inspection mechanisms.

Apply GRC Expertise or Learning Agility

• Advise CSMs and customers on complex frameworks, risk programs, and best practices.

• Demonstrate strong domain curiosity and the ability to quickly absorb new information and translate it into customer strategy.

Influence Cross-Functionally

• Collaborate deeply with Sales, Account Management, Product, and Marketing to drive alignment around customer needs and business priorities.

• Represent the voice of strategic customers to influence product roadmap and cross-functional improvements.

• Participate in executive-level customer conversations and Vanta roadmap discussions.

Model Leadership Judgment & Resilience

• Guide your team through complex escalations with clarity, steadiness, and principled decision-making.

• Help the team remain focused and productive through change, setbacks, and ambiguity.

• Champion an iterative, learning-oriented culture — one that embraces experimentation and improvement.

Engage Strategically With Customers

• Travel for onsite engagements, executive business reviews, and strategic partnership meetings (approximately 25–40%).

• Strengthen executive alignment and ensure customers understand the business value Vanta delivers.

What We’re Looking For:

Experience & Background

• 7+ years leading customer-facing or consulting teams (Customer Success, Account Management, or similar) supporting Enterprise or Strategic accounts.

• Demonstrated expertise in GRC or security compliance — or a proven ability to rapidly gain domain mastery in complex, regulated environments.

• Track record of owning strategic problems, building scalable solutions, and driving outcomes independently.

Leadership Capabilities

• Strategic Ownership: Identifies the work that matters most and drives it forward without waiting for direction.

• Data Literacy & Business Acumen: Uses metrics to diagnose performance, set priorities, and communicate impact.

• Leadership Judgment: Makes balanced, principled decisions that account for customers, the business, and the team.

• Communication & Influence: Brings clarity to complexity; aligns stakeholders across levels and functions.

• Resilience & Iteration Speed: Responds to challenges with composure, resourcefulness, and a bias for forward movement.

• GRC Fluency or Learning Agility: Advises credibly on compliance and risk or demonstrates structured domain curiosity.

Skills & Attributes

• Exceptional critical thinking, structured problem-solving, and situational awareness.

• Comfort leading teams through uncertainty and change.

• Strong executive presence and experience in high-stakes customer conversations.

What you can expect as a Vantan:

• Industry-competitive compensation

• 100% covered medical, dental, and vision benefits with dependents coverage

• 16 weeks fully-paid parental Leave for all new parents

• Health & wellness and remote workplace stipends

• Family planning benefits through Carrot Fertility

• 401(k) matching

• Flexible work hours and location

• Open PTO policy

• 11 paid holidays in the US

• Offices in SF, NYC, London, Dublin, and Sydney

To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base pay ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar-stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors and may vary based on candidate location, skills, depth of work experience, and relevant licenses/credentials.

At Vanta, we are committed to hiring diverse talent of different backgrounds and as such, it is important to us to provide an inclusive work environment for all. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender identity, age, religion, sexual orientation, veteran or disability status, or any other protected class. As an equal opportunity employer, we encourage and welcome people of all backgrounds to apply.

About Vanta

We started in 2018, in the wake of several high-profile data breaches. Online security was only becoming more important, but we knew firsthand how hard it could be for fast-growing companies to invest the time and manpower it takes to build a solid security foundation. Vanta was inspired by a vision to restore trust in internet businesses by enabling companies to improve and prove their security. From our early days automating security monitoring for compliance standards like SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001 to creating the world's leading Trust Management Platform, our vision remains unchanged.

Now more than ever, making security continuous—not just a point-in-time check— is essential. Thousands of companies rely on Vanta to build, maintain and demonstrate their trust— all in a way that's real-time and transparent.