Head of customer success job description.
Planning to hire a head of customer success or lead a CS team? This head of customer success job description outlines senior responsibilities including strategy, coaching, and reporting — as well as career progression and pay expectations at leadership level.
What does a head of customer success do?
The head of customer success leads the customer success function, managing teams and defining the strategies that drive retention, satisfaction, and expansion. They align the customer journey with business outcomes and ensure scalable service delivery.
Key responsibilities include setting CS strategy, hiring and mentoring CSMs, managing renewals and upsells, and reporting on customer health to leadership. They also build processes for onboarding, engagement, and lifecycle management.
In smaller businesses, they establish customer success operations from the ground up. In enterprise settings, they lead regional or global CS teams and partner with product, marketing, and sales to maximise customer lifetime value.
Key responsibilities of a head of customer success.
The head of customer success defines and drives the CS function. Their responsibilities include:
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Leading CSMs, onboarding, and success operations teams
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Setting strategy for retention, expansion, and customer outcomes
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Managing playbooks, segmentation, and lifecycle journeys
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Reporting customer health, NRR, and CSAT to leadership
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Aligning success efforts with product, support, and sales
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Managing success tooling, data, and CS platforms
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Coaching team members and supporting performance growth
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Overseeing renewals, advocacy, and success programs
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Driving customer-centric culture across the business
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Supporting strategic clients and executive escalations
This role blends leadership, process design, and retention strategy.
Skills and requirements for a head of customer success.
Heads of customer success lead retention and customer satisfaction strategy. Employers typically look for:
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6–10 years of experience in customer success or account management
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Experience building or scaling customer success functions
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Strong leadership, coaching, and hiring skills
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Proven ability aligning success with product adoption and usage
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Skilled in lifecycle planning and playbook creation
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Familiarity with customer success platforms and usage analytics
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Confidence reporting on retention, churn, and engagement metrics
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Ability to collaborate across product, sales, and operations
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Commercial mindset focused on long-term value
Most heads of customer success focus on team growth, customer health, and alignment with business strategy.
Average salary for a head of customer success.
In the UK, the average salary for a head of customer success typically ranges from £50,000 to £80,000, based on team size, retention KPIs, and ARR responsibility.
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Mid-level heads of CS earn between £50,000 and £65,000
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Senior heads overseeing CS ops, account health, and renewal strategy can earn between £66,000 and £80,000
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Compensation may include bonuses for churn reduction and upsell success
London and scale-up CS teams offer the highest earning potential.
Career progression for a head of customer success.
A head of customer success leads the entire post-sale client engagement function, driving retention, satisfaction, and growth. This strategic role often evolves into directorship or VP-level leadership. A typical career path includes:
Customer success manager
Manages onboarding, adoption, and health metrics across a client portfolio.
Senior CSM / Team lead
Supports customer outcomes, manages renewals, and provides input on process improvements.
Head of customer success
Leads CS strategy and performance. Aligns with commercial leadership to reduce churn and increase LTV.
Director of customer success
Manages cross-functional teams, enterprise client strategy, and expansion goals.
VP of customer experience / CRO
In some orgs, transitions into board-level ownership of customer growth and loyalty strategy.
salary guide
Our UK operations salary guide.
Heads of customer success build scalable CS functions, define playbooks, and lead retention strategy. Salary should reflect commercial impact and cross-team alignment.
Use our UK operations salary guide to benchmark senior success roles, compare with 2024 data, and support planning through 2026
FAQS
Head of customer success FAQs.
They lead the customer success function — owning strategy, team structure, process, and retention metrics. This includes hiring, defining customer journeys, and representing CS in board-level retention and NRR discussions.
The head of CS is often the first CS leader — building the function from scratch. directors typically manage at scale. heads of CS must balance operational setup with customer advocacy and strategic reporting.
Experience building post-sale journeys, coaching CSMs, managing renewals, and influencing roadmap. UK businesses value leaders who’ve handled churn, implemented CS tooling, and shaped team KPIs.
Director of CS or VP of customer experience. Some move into RevOps or even CRO tracks — especially if they’ve handled commercial ownership and retention strategy.