- The
Principal Customer Response Manager
(CRM) is a specialized individual contributor role within the Global Support organization, responsible for owning and managing critical customer account escalations from onset through stabilization and closure. This role acts as the single point of accountability within Support for escalated accounts, ensuring issues are addressed with urgency, structure, and cross-functional alignment. - The CRM s primary objective is to stabilize high-risk customer accounts by driving the resolution of critical issues, coordinating closely with Support, Engineering, Cloud Operations, and Product teams. This includes ensuring proper prioritization of P1 and high-impact cases, enforcing case hygiene, facilitating timely Engineering engagement, and ensuring that internal escalation paths are triggered proactively before the customer or Sales team raises concerns externally.
- This role requires strong technical depth across ERP application architecture, infrastructure, and troubleshooting. The CRM must be able to understand complex technical landscapes, challenge and guide resolution strategies, and hold teams accountable for progress. While not responsible for direct implementation or relationship management, the CRM acts as the technical escalation leader for the account, ensuring a coordinated and transparent support response.
- Beyond day-to-day escalation handling, the Customer Response Manager plays a critical role in:
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Identifying systemic or recurring issues contributing to account instability.
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Driving and participating in account-level stabilization plans.
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Engaging in post-escalation reviews to strengthen processes and prevent reoccurrence.
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Ensuring clear and structured internal and external communication.
This is a high-visibility role requiring composure under pressure, strong cross-functional leadership without formal authority, and the ability to influence outcomes across multiple teams. Given the nature of escalated accounts, the position may require flexible working hours, on-call participation, and direct executive visibility.
Responsibilities:
Escalated Account Ownership:
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Act as the primary escalation lead for high-impact customer accounts, ensuring structured management of escalations from initiation through stabilization and closure.
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Drive internal alignment and ensure timely execution of action plans across Support, Engineering, Cloud Ops, and Product.
Stabilization and Resolution Strategy:
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Develop and execute account-level stabilization plans to address critical issues, reduce ticket volumes, and restore customer confidence.
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Proactively identify systemic issues contributing to escalations and drive resolution with the right internal stakeholders.
Escalation Governance:
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Ensure proper prioritization, case hygiene, and timely engagement of technical resources for all escalated accounts.
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Trigger and manage internal escalation paths proactively to avoid external escalations through CSM or Sales.
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Set customer expectations and provide updates regarding troubleshooting and resolution action plans for internal and customer-facing communications.
Technical Engagement and Resolution Acceleration:
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Leverage strong technical knowledge of ERP architecture and infrastructure to guide resolution strategies and validate progress.
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Collaborate closely with Critical Support team, Tier 2/3 engineers, SMEs, and product teams to remove technical blockers and accelerate resolution timelines.
Cross-Functional Coordination and Communication:
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Coordinate across Support, Engineering, Cloud Ops, Product Management, and CSM/CSDM teams to ensure alignment and accountability.
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Deliver clear, structured, and timely communications on escalation status, risks, and next steps to all stakeholders.
Feedback Loop and Product Improvement:
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Partner with CSM/CSDMs and Product Management to share customer feedback, recurring pain points, and systemic issues observed during escalations.
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Work with Engineering teams to help prioritize critical fixes and influence product stability and supportability improvements.
Shift Coverage and Flexibility:
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Participate in shift rotations, weekend shifts, and on-call coverage to provide uninterrupted global support.
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Adapt to varying scheduling requirements to ensure timely assistance for customers in different time zones.
Continuous Improvement and Post-Escalation Review:
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Lead or contribute to post-escalation reviews to identify root causes, process gaps, and product opportunities.
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Support implementation of preventive measures to minimize future escalations and strengthen overall support readiness.
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Collaborate with people managers and business leaders to drive continuous improvement in people, processes, and technology through a closed-loop process by identifying drivers for escalation
Education
Experience:
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6+ years of experience in enterprise product support, technical escalation management, or critical response roles in a SaaS or ERP environment.
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Demonstrated ability to own and drive critical account escalations, ensuring cross-functional alignment and rapid resolution.
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Proven experience in working closely with Engineering, Product Management, and Customer Success teams to resolve high-impact technical issues.
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Strong background in ERP systems (such as QAD, SAP, Oracle ERP, or Dynamics 365) with the ability to understand complex technical landscapes and influence resolution strategies.
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Experience coordinating multiple high-priority issues simultaneously under pressure, with clear accountability and customer focus.
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Hands-on technical experience in troubleshooting system-level issues, performance optimization, and infrastructure/application dependencies.
Technical Skills:
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Strong understanding of enterprise ERP architecture, system integrations, and infrastructure components.
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Proficiency in troubleshooting Unix, Windows, internet, and network environments.
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Working knowledge of Progress DBA tasks or similar DB platforms including monitoring, performance optimization, and backups/restores.
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Basic to intermediate SQL and scripting skills (Unix scripting, shell, etc.) to support issue triage and analysis.
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Ability to understand and validate technical resolution paths proposed by Support, Engineering, or Cloud Ops teams.
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Familiarity with incident and escalation management frameworks and best practices in SaaS or on-prem environments.
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QAD PKS or relevant industry certifications are a plus.
Soft Skills:
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Exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills, with a structured and methodical approach to escalation handling.
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Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, capable of engaging confidently with customers, executives, and technical teams.
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Proven ability to stay calm and drive structured action in high-pressure situations involving critical customer escalations.
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Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority, ensuring accountability and follow-through.
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Strong organizational and prioritization skills with the ability to handle multiple escalated accounts simultaneously.
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Collaborative mindset with a focus on transparency, clear communication, and resolution ownership.
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Strong collaboration skills with an emphasis on cross-functional teamwork.
