Sr. Manager, Customer Education Programs

Job DescriptionSenior Manager, Customer Education ProgramsZendesk’s Digital CX team is building the future of how customers connect, learn, and grow with Zendesk — and education is at the heart of that mission. From onboarding new customers to deepening adoption of AI and advanced CX features, we believe great education fuels great customer outcomes.We’re looking for a strategic, hands-on Senior Manager of Customer Education Programs to design and scale a global learning ecosystem that empowers every Zendesk user — customers, partners, and advocates — to master our products and realize value faster. This leader will build the foundation for free, retention-focused education experiences, evolve Zendesk’s certifications, and connect learning programs to measurable improvements in adoption and GRR.It’s a ground-up opportunity to shape a high-impact function within Zendesk’s Digital CX team, working directly with senior leaders across Product, Success, and Marketing to deliver learning that scales with our customers.What You’ll DoBuild and scale Zendesk’s education strategy & team.Own and operationalize a global Customer Education roadmap — spanning self-paced learning, in-product education, and partner enablement — that drives product adoption and retention. Build, manage and improve a small team to scale out impact.Evolve certification programs.Manage and continuously improve Zendesk’s global certification programs, modernizing learning experiences and ensuring alignment with the latest product capabilities and customer skill needs.Design programs for scale.Architect the systems, data flows, and success metrics to measure impact on customer behavior, usage, and value realization. Ensure content is accessible globally and localized where needed.Leverage AI to accelerate learning.Partner with AI and Knowledge teams to incorporate intelligent recommendations, content summarization, and personalization into learning journeys. Use AI insights to identify knowledge gaps and optimize program delivery.Collaborate Across Functions.Partner closely with Instructional Design, Product Marketing, Success, and Partner teams to co-develop content and learning paths. Align education experiences to major product launches, adoption campaigns, and scaled success motions.Integrate learning across the customer journey.Collaborate with Community, Knowledge, and Product teams to embed learning moments directly in Zendesk’s self-service and in-product experiences, ensuring customers can learn as they work.Build the foundation.Stand up core infrastructure — from LMS governance to analytics — while recruiting and mentoring a small, distributed team. Establish operating rhythms, feedback loops, and scalable playbooks for future growth.Prove impact.Define and track KPIs linking education to adoption, retention, and customer satisfaction. Report insights regularly to CX and Product leadership, shaping investment priorities.What You BringExperience: 6+ years in Customer Education, Enablement, or scaled Learning roles at a B2B SaaS company, with 2+ years leading teams. Bonus if you've built programs from the ground up.Operational mindset: Proven ability to design systems, processes, and metrics that scale globally — balancing creativity with disciplined execution.Cross-functional leadership: Comfortable collaborating with Product, Success, and Marketing peers to align education to business priorities and product strategy.AI fluency: Experience using AI tools to automate, personalize, and optimize learning content or insights — and curiosity to push the boundaries of what AI can do for customer education.Content expertise: Deep familiarity with learning platforms, certification programs, and best practices in adult learning; experience partnering with instructional designers to bring programs to life.Builder DNA: Thrives in ambiguity, builds structure from scratch, and moves fluidly between strategy and hands-on execution.Customer obsession: Passionate about helping users succeed and translating complex technology into clear, inspiring learning experiences.Global perspective: Experience designing programs for diverse, multilingual audiences and partnering across regions.Excellent communication: Strong written and verbal communicator who can connect strategy to action, and tell the story of impact across all levels of the organization.The US annualized base salary range for this position is $134,000.00-$202,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.The Intelligent Heart Of Customer ExperienceZendesk 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.