Job Description

As an Associate Renewals Manager, you will manage and optimize the contract renewal process for a portfolio of North America SMB SaaS customers. This role requires strong relationship-building skills, a customer-centric mindset, and the ability to navigate data, product insights, and value positioning to drive successful renewal outcomes. You’ll collaborate closely with Sales, Customer Success, and Revenue Operations to ensure customers recognize the value of our offerings and continue their partnership with Zendesk.

Key Responsibilities:

• Independently manage the full renewal lifecycle for a designated portfolio of accounts, ensuring timely, accurate, and high-retention outcomes

• Collaborate with Customer Success Managers and Account Executives to strategize renewal approaches based on customer health, usage, and satisfaction

• Proactively engage customers through scheduled check-ins and tailored outreach to reinforce value and anticipate objections

• Analyze account history and product usage data to craft compelling renewal narratives and forecast renewal risk

• Assist with quote creation, pricing validation, and contract management processes in collaboration with Legal and Finance teamsMaintain CRM data accuracy (Salesforce) and contribute to forecasting and reporting dashboards

• Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities and route them appropriately to Sales or CSM partnersContinuously improve renewal workflows and contribute to the development of best practices and playbooks.

Core Competencies:

Business Knowledge

Stays current on product developments and competitive positioning, effectively mapping customer use cases to Zendesk solutions—including less common products—to support renewal success.

Relationship Management

Proactively builds trust with decision-makers, collaborates cross-functionally, and maintains regular touchpoints to strengthen the customer relationship and drive retention. Understands prompts for customer escalation and can execute quickly to gather appropriate audience.

Communication & Conflict Resolution

Clearly communicates Zendesk’s value while managing concerns with empathy and professionalism, adapting communication style to navigate conflicts and achieve win-win outcomes.

Analytical Skills

Capable of interpreting basic customer data to support forecasting and decision-making, with guidance from senior team members.

Negotiation

Understands the importance of negotiation in renewals and is learning how to communicate value, address objections, and present options aligned with customer needs.

Qualifications:

• 0–2 years of experience in SaaS renewals, account management, customer success, or sales support

• Proficiency with Salesforce or similar CRM tools; CPQ experience is a plus

• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple renewals in parallel

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English (fluent spoken and written).

• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret customer data and drive insights

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience

Where We Work
Zendesk is not your average tech company. We have all the stuff you’d expect - competitive pay, benefits, appealing offices, snacks, and more. We also have a culture deeply dedicated to enabling conversations and providing appreciative support. We help our staff keep work-life balance, from flexible hours to remote work, to the most dynamic parental leave plans on the market. Our Social Impact team is actively engaged in our community and enables us to invest thousands of hours with local community groups each year. We invest in diversity and inclusion so that our team reflects the diversity of the world around us. We have a whole crew dedicated to ensuring our workplace experience is top notch and welcoming for all.

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.