Senior Manager, Renewals EMEA - German Speaking

About Us Sophos is a global leader and innovator of advanced security solutions that defeat cyberattacks, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and incident response services and a broad portfolio of endpoint, network, email, and cloud security technologies. As one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity providers, Sophos defends more than 600,000 organizations and more than 100 million users worldwide from active adversaries, ransomware, phishing, malware, and more. Sophos’ services and products connect through the Sophos Central management console and are powered by Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-domain threat intelligence unit. Sophos X-Ops intelligence optimizes the entire Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which includes a centralized data lake that leverages a rich set of open APIs available to customers, partners, developers, and other cybersecurity and information technology vendors. Sophos provides cybersecurity-as-a-service to organizations needing fully managed security solutions. Customers can also manage their cybersecurity directly with Sophos’ security operations platform or use a hybrid approach by supplementing their in-house teams with Sophos’ services, including threat hunting and remediation. Sophos sells through reseller partners and managed service providers (MSPs) worldwide. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.

At Sophos, we protect people from cybercrime by developing powerful and intuitive products and services that provide the world's most effective cybersecurity for organizations of any size.    The Sophos Global Renewals team is dedicated to ensuring every customer realizes the value they receive by renewing and expanding our business partnership.    As a Senior Manager, Renewals, you will lead a team of Renewals Account Managers to achieve and exceed renewal rate and ACV business targets.  Reporting to the Director, EMEA Renewals, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring the ongoing retention and growth of our customer base across various countries. You will be a leader, responsible for enabling, supporting, and coaching a team of account management sales professionals, accurately forecasting your business, and being part of the theater renewals leadership team.      Your team will work collaboratively with the new business sales team, ensuring that together we are ensuring all customers realize the value of both the Sophos solutions and our partnership by renewing and expanding that business relationship.   Your team will work closely with partners and distributors in the execution of the business and will collaborate with internal stakeholders and partners. 

What You Will Do:

• Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of Renewals Account Managers located in EMEA providing sales leadership, guidance, coaching, and driving accountability to achieving business targets.
• Strategic Planning: You will collaborate with new business sales counterparts to ensure a coordinated strategic sales plan is being defined and executed, and that the customer experience is enhanced through that partnership.
• Retention: Drive retention by identifying where renewal risk occurs and partnering with customer success and reseller partners to identify and mitigate that risk, leading to maximizing renewal rates.
• Expansion: Through the course of managing contract renewals, identify upsell, cross-sell and expansion opportunities within the existing customer base.
• Customer and Partner Engagement: Foster strong relationships with key customers, partners, and distributors, ensuring their satisfaction and addressing any concerns promptly.
• Performance Metrics: Track key performance metrics, analyzing data to make data-driven decisions and optimize the renewals process and drive rep productivity.
• Forecasting and Planning: Ensure accurate revenue forecasts and budgets for the renewal sales team, aligning with company objectives and the delivery of accurate and timely forecasts by the team for escalation reporting.
• Market Intelligence: Stay updated on industry trends, competitors, and customer needs to offer localize insights to global MI, including specific focus on trends regarding renewal best practices.
• Process Improvement: Continuously evaluate and improve renewals processes to enhance efficiency and customer experience.  Assist in developing automation plans that will improve the renewal process.
• Recruit and develop high performing teams and mentor the management team to follow best practice in this regard.
• Manage the performance of individuals through individual learning plans, performance feedback and career development.
• Handle performance issues timely and appropriately ensuring to partner with the right internal resources to support areas of underperformance, including identifying leading indicators to potential performance problems.
• Retain, through effective recognition and career development processes, highly effective teams, developing succession planning and cover on an ongoing basis and for future headcount planning.

What You Will Bring:

• The ideal candidate will be:

• Highly motivated and have a burning desire to exceed targets with a commitment to excellence.

• Coachable, with a learning mindset and willingness to put team over self, sharing credit and acknowledging others

• An excellent communicator and collaborator, able to motivate and inspire others by simplifying the complex

• The ideal candidate will bring:

• Degree in business, sales or marketing, or a related field; or relevant work experience.

• Proven track record of overachievement in a consultative and matrixed selling environment.

• Demonstrated success managing and growing renewals or sales teams with a heavy focus on recurring revenue / ARR.

• Strong understanding of subscription-based business models.

• Previous and proven leadership experience in the enterprise space, including first line management experience.

• Excellent communication and negotiation skills.

• Professional working proficiency in both German and English

• Analytical mindset with the ability to use data to drive decision-making.

• Experience in cybersecurity is a plus.