WHAT DOES A DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES DO?
Published: Nov 27, 2024 - The Director of Client Services participates in developing the annual preliminary budget for operations, adjusting programs and strategies to meet financial objectives, and ensuring ethical and professional standards in business conduct. Oversees monthly performance reports, resolves personnel issues, and maintains a culture of accountability through proper training and development of department staff. Coordinates comprehensive case management services and acts as a liaison between subcontractors, service providers, and other department directors, fostering professional growth and addressing evolving client needs.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Director of Client Services
1. Director of Client Services Duties
- Team Leadership: Plan, lead, manage, and mentor the Client Services team to succeed.
- Operations Management: Manage day-to-day operations effectively and efficiently.
- Communication Skills: Communicate in a constructive manner.
- Values Enforcement: Ensure company values are upheld.
- Productivity Management: Ensure proper level of productivity of team members.
- Client Experience: Ensure Prescott delivers an exceptional client experience.
- Client Relationship Management: Maintain awareness of outstanding client challenges.
- Process Improvement: Develop, implement, and improve processes and procedures.
- Technology Utilization: Utilize software and tools required for exceptional service.
- KPI Development: Develop KPIs/metrics for consistent operational reporting.
- Team Development: Hire, train, and motivate the team.
- Training Program Development: Build and implement a world-class training program.
- Certification Management: Maintain industry certifications.
- Service Delivery Management: Responsible for creating a stable, world-class service delivery team.
- Service Offering Development: Responsible for developing Prescott's service offerings.
- Training Excellence: Responsible to build an excellent training program.
- Process Excellence: Responsible for establishing excellent processes and procedures.
2. Director of Client Services Details
- Quality Assurance: Completing checkpoints at every stage of client work from pre-sales to delivery to ensure that standards are being met from own clients & for account managers’ clients in support.
- Performance Transparency: Ensuring results are presented in all teams & Quarterly Business Reviews so clients are clearly aware of EIMS’s achievements & EIMS therefore keeps clients for the long-term.
- Best Practices Advocacy: Championing the use of agreed best practice via the agreed access points by demonstrating this by own use & coaching & supporting the Account Managers in role.
- Process Optimization: Supporting the mapping & improvement of all business processes as a way of improving efficiency &/or client satisfaction & driving across the account management team.
- Revenue Management: Setting & delivering against revenue growth goals at account, individual Account Managers & team level & supporting in expanding client relationships.
- Business Development Support: Supporting EIMS Global in winning new business, typically through attending pitches &/or supporting with “client show times” to demonstrate EIMS’s capabilities along with leading own new business pitches within accounts.
- Sales Forecasting: Providing forecast accuracy through good sales management practice & regular pipeline scrutiny of team & own pipeline.
- Pricing Strategy: Ensuring pricing decisions are made within price book & that profitability of work is maintained across opportunities & those the account management team is working on delivering.
- Financial Review: Meeting monthly with the Financial Director to review the financial performance of Business Unit, make Work in Progress decisions & then reporting to the board on the financial performance of Business Unit.
- Quality Assurance in Reviews: Attending all "high value” Quarterly Business Reviews within the Business Unit & completing spot checks on all others, taking overall responsibility for executing consistently successful Quarterly Business Reviews to the high quality EIMS expects, & that is required to keep clients for the long-term
- Client Relationship Management: Proactively engaging with senior, high-value contacts within EIMS clients & fostering a “trusted advisor” relationship
- Talent Acquisition Partnership: Building & owning the relationships with local recruitment agencies to ensure EIMS gets the best possible talent & fills positions on time & to quality.
- Service Expansion: Proactively identify opportunities for additional new services and either directly propose and close these or enlist the support of GST sellers by providing well-qualified leads and directing the development of win plans.
- Service Quality Assurance: Ensure that TMF consistently provides high-quality service in line with the contract.
- Strategic Relationship Cultivation: Cultivates and maintains good strategic relationships with the client and TMF stakeholders.
- Client Needs Anticipation: Predicts client needs and provides appropriate solutions, effectively balances the needs of TMF and the needs of the client.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborates across markets and service lines to deliver the power of ONE TMF.
3. Director of Client Services Responsibilities
- Revenue Growth: Ensure year-on-year revenue growth from a portfolio of strategic clients.
- Relationship Management: Lead in developing of the commercial relationship with nominated clients.
- Revenue Protection: Protect and grow revenues & improve client satisfaction over time.
- Escalation Management: Serve as the senior point of escalation for both the client and TMF local offices.
- Team Leadership: Manage a team of Client Service Managers.
- Business Development: Work with specialist sellers as and when required to drive new business.
- Strategic Planning: Document, present to senior management and undertake an account portfolio business plan, including specific strategic account plans where appropriate. Identify medium-term client objectives and define specific plans to develop and deliver opportunities and mitigate risks on an ongoing basis.
- Resource Allocation: Identify key resources and investments necessary to underpin this plan.
- Performance Management: Line manage a team of Client Service Managers, ensuring skills and performance levels are consistent with commercial and operational requirements.
- Relationship Strategy: Define and deliver the contact management strategy with the Client, mapping and then proactively manage all key relationships between the client and TMF.
- Operational Oversight: Maintain operational control of contract delivery ensuring that the users and influencers in the client are engaged and satisfied with the services consumed, so they will recommend TMF.
- Performance Tracking: Track and review contract performance at the client level, providing a revenue forecast against target reviewed each month.
- Gap Analysis: Identify and take actions to close any gaps in forecasted performance.
- Issue Resolution: Be the senior escalation point for resolving any ongoing client-related service issues by working with the client and TMF delivery teams, eradicating errors in service delivery managing scope and change requests.
- Contract Management: Ensure all contracts are current and administered correctly.
- Contract Strategy: Proactively plan and implement strategies for contract extension or renewal to avoid RFP risks.
- Contract Negotiation: Identify where changes to contracts (MSA or LSOW) are needed, define, price, and negotiate the necessary changes by gaining input from support teams (for example, local markets, global bid & pricing, group legal, etc).
4. Director of Client Services Accountabilities
- Strategic Planning: Define, refine, test, and implement strategic plans, including activities such as primary research, industry, market and competitive analysis, and customer needs assessment.
- Relationship Management: Identify, build, and manage long-term relationships with strategic partners.
- Knowledge Management: Develop, maintain, and communicate knowledge, awareness, and understanding of company policies and procedures, goals, objectives, and strategies.
- Program Oversight: Oversee programs and action plans, regularly evaluating the department's progress to meet company and departmental productivity goals.
- Budget Management: Participate in the development and preparation of the annual preliminary budget for operations and activities, and adjust programs and strategies to meet financial objectives.
- Performance Review: Review monthly and performance reports and ensure proper and timely resolution of personnel issues, complaints, and conflicts.
- Culture Development: Create and maintain a culture of accountability and ensure adequate training.
- Ethics Enforcement: Ensure business conducted within the organization is of the highest ethical and professional standards.
- Department Management: Develop and maintain an effective department through proper selection, training, and assignment of personnel.
- Priority Management: Assist in establishing and maintaining departmental timelines and priorities.
- Service Provision: Provide quality services to all residents through a team of Case Managers, Housing Specialists, and Recreational Coordinator.
- Case Management: Coordinate all case management services, including family assessments and development and implementation of service plans.
- Stakeholder Liaison: Act as the point person with subcontractors and/or service providers, including medical providers, school district personnel, mental health providers, employment services providers, etc.
- Program Development: Identify changing program needs and program gaps and develop new services, service directions, and/or programs to meet client needs.
- Team Supervision: Provide supervision and training to all Social Services team members to ensure professional growth and development for each individual and for the department as a whole.
- Interdepartmental Coordination: Act as a liaison with other department directors.
5. Director of Client Services Functions
- Client Relationship Management: Manage a portfolio of complex client relationships.
- Project Management: Act as the project manager, main POC for client interactions.
- Team Leadership: Lead a team of Client Partners and manage the collective portfolio.
- Framework Development: Responsible for building frameworks, procedures, and deliverables running from QBRs, Client Process and Delivery frameworks, Reporting, and Project Status Updates.
- Process Optimization: Facilitate post-mortems to identify process optimization opportunities, improve sales positioning of services, and overall project management gaps that may exist.
- Growth Strategy: Contribute to the client's growth and lead conversion strategy.
- Project Accountability: Aid or be directly accountable for SOWs, tracking and reporting project deliverables, and managing schedules.
- Success Planning: Define milestones for success in conjunction with the client and internal teams.
- Business Expansion: Identify, lead, and facilitate expansion discussions.
- KPI Management: Own department KPIs and contribute to the success of Professional Services CSAT/KPIs.
- Global Collaboration: Collaborate with globally dispersed teams.
- Business Strategy Understanding: Understand how the Professional Services group prioritizes margin, capacity, and revenue to drive Postclick business results.
- Strategic Marketing Development: Continually develop in conjunction with senior management the marketing strategic plan.
- Market Analysis: Maintain thorough knowledge of key market trends and identify future industry trends and client contact opportunities.
- Business Development: Serve as initial point of contact in developing and maintaining new business relationships.