Head of Customer Operations

About Watershed

Watershed is an enterprise sustainability platform that helps companies manage climate and ESG data, generate audit-ready reporting for voluntary and regulatory needs such as CSRD, and accelerate real emissions reduction. Organizations including Airbnb, Carlyle Group, FedEx, Visa, and Dr. Martens rely on the platform. The company is looking for people who enjoy building products, thrive in a fast-moving mission-driven startup, and want to help shape a growing team’s culture.

Watershed has offices in San Francisco, New York, Denver, London, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, and Mexico City, and also supports remote teammates across the US and Europe.

Role overview

This position is a senior leadership role focused on strategy and operations for the Customer organization. It is described as equivalent to a Director role and sits over a four-person Operations team supporting Customer Success, Sustainability Advisory & Services, and Support. The ideal background is someone who has worked in customer-facing functions such as Customer Success, Services, or Support, and then spent the last 4 to 5+ years in Operations partnering closely with those teams.

The role owns the customer operating model, forecasting systems, lifecycle processes, data and systems architecture, and AI-enabled workflows that power the Customer organization. It also includes building and leading the operations team and defining the multi-year roadmap for world-class Customer Operations at Watershed. Success in the role means forecasts and plans for retention, accounts, staffing, and services P&L are trusted by leadership, customer health scoring meaningfully shapes strategic action, and AI is integrated into day-to-day work.

This role is based in New York, with San Francisco as an alternative location.

Key responsibilities

• Work with the Head of Customer and the broader leadership team to design the Customer organization’s operating model, including org structure, segmentation, engagement approaches, capacity planning, headcount planning, targets, P&L, performance frameworks, and incentives.
• Own forecasting for retention, expansion, and capacity from end to end, including the methodology, models, and operating discipline that leadership and the Board can rely on.
• Lead the Customer operating cadence, covering OKRs, business reviews, budgeting, long-range planning, forecast reviews, customer performance reviews, and QBRs.
• Define the AI and technology direction for the Customer organization, and deliver AI-first workflows, tools, and enablement that change how the team works.
• Build the data foundation that gives leadership live visibility into retention, expansion, adoption, service quality, customer health, and team performance through a single source of truth across CRM, product, and operations data.
• Improve operational efficiency by designing, rolling out, and refining customer lifecycle processes and systems, including post-sale handoffs, onboarding, expansion motions, renewals, service quality, and escalation handling.
• Own the systems strategy for the Customer organization, including what should be built versus purchased, and how CRM, CS platforms, support tools, and product data connect into one operating stack. Partner with GTM Engineering on larger implementations.
• Recruit, coach, and lead the Customer Operations team while creating alignment across Customer, Product, Sales, Finance, and Data.

Candidate profile

The right person brings deep experience in customer-facing GTM roles within high-growth B2B SaaS or AI companies, along with a strong track record leading operations for the full customer lifecycle. Prior responsibility for retention and expansion outcomes is a strong advantage.

You should have several years of people management experience, a proven ability to raise the bar for operators, and a history of developing team members into their next roles. Watershed is also looking for someone who has led a technology-driven transformation of a customer operations function at scale and who has clear convictions about what excellent operations should look like.

Experience building and operationalizing renewal motions, customer health systems, and retention/expansion programs in complex environments is important. The company also expects AI to be part of your daily workflow, and values a strong point of view on how AI will reshape Customer organizations over the next few years. Familiarity with Claude Code, Cursor, Clay, or similar tools is a plus.

You should also be technically fluent with Salesforce, including Flow and the data model, as well as SQL and BI tools such as Sigma, with enough hands-on ability to contribute directly when needed.

Workplace expectations

Employees in offices where Watershed has a hub are generally expected to work onsite four days per week. This requirement does not apply to roles that are specifically designated as remote.

Interview process

The hiring process usually begins with one to two introductory conversations with team members to discuss Watershed, your background, and your interests. Depending on the role, the next stage may include a skills or experience interview, followed by a virtual or in-person panel. The process is designed to be transparent and avoid surprises.

Accommodation support

Watershed provides reasonable accommodations for candidates who need support because of disabilities, long-term conditions, mental health needs, religious observance, neurodivergence, or pregnancy-related requirements. Candidates who need assistance during the hiring process should contact their recruiter.

Compensation

The stated salary range for this role is $200,000 to $245,000 per year.