Senior Director of Support

About Foundant

Foundant builds software that helps mission-focused organizations manage data, workflows, and impact. Its solutions support grant management, community foundations, process automation, and data collaboration for nonprofits, charitable organizations, corporations, and government teams.

The company focuses on creating flexible tools that help organizations operate more effectively and advance their missions.

Role summary

The Senior Director of Support for the SmartSimple (SMS) product line is a senior leadership position accountable for the complete support experience for SMS customers. The role involves scaling a high-performing support team, bringing structure and discipline to operations, and acting as the main escalation contact and customer advocate inside the business. It combines team leadership, operational management, and strategic collaboration, with support expected to be a key differentiator for the SMS offering.

Work location

This is a remote-first role, offering flexibility to work from wherever you are most productive while remaining closely connected through digital collaboration. Foundant also has office hubs in Bozeman, Montana; Toronto, Canada; and Dublin, Ireland. Team members may work remotely or from one of these locations.

What you will do

• Direct, coach, and review the performance of the SMS support team.
• Design team structure, career progression paths, and staffing plans to meet current and future customer demand.
• Create a culture centered on accountability, ownership, and ongoing improvement.
• Oversee hiring, onboarding, and retention within the SMS support organization.
• Set and uphold SLAs, escalation processes, and incident response procedures for SMS clients.
• Track support performance using measures such as CSAT, first contact resolution, time to resolution, and ticket trends.
• Maintain oversight of queue health, backlog levels, and emerging issues across the team.
• Lead major incident and problem-management workflows, including follow-up reviews after incidents are resolved.
• Act as the top escalation contact for complex or high-impact client concerns.
• Work with Client Success to preserve continuity in the client relationship during support interactions.
• Use support trends and customer feedback to surface recurring issues and push for product or process improvements.
• Bring the client perspective into discussions with Product and Engineering.
• Coordinate with Implementation to ensure smooth handoff from launch to ongoing support.
• Partner with Product on release readiness so the support team is trained and prepared before launches.
• Collaborate with Sales when implementation or support complexity affects pre-sales discussions.
• Align with peer support leaders across GLM/SLM, CSuite, and GivingData to share best practices and keep operations consistent.
• Build scalable support systems, including knowledge bases, escalation guides, and training materials.
• Identify and roll out tools, automation, or AI-enabled workflows that improve efficiency and customer experience.
• Create reporting rhythms and dashboards that give leadership clear insight into support performance.
• Lead the evaluation, adoption, and scaling of AI within the support function.
• Implement AI-assisted ticket triage, response suggestions, and deflection tools to improve efficiency and resolution speed.
• Maintain an AI-supported knowledge base that stays current and reduces reliance on unwritten tribal knowledge.
• Help the team adopt AI tools through training, coaching, and change management.
• Use AI-driven ticket insights to spot patterns, forecast volume, and address customer issues early.
• Work with Product and Engineering on AI capabilities within the SMS platform that can reduce support demand over time.
• Set quality standards and safeguards for AI-generated support responses to protect accuracy, tone, and customer trust.

How success will be measured

In the first 90 days, success means developing a strong understanding of the SMS product, team, and customer base, forming a clear view of operational priorities, and earning early trust from the team and key stakeholders.

After six months and beyond, performance will be evaluated through improved CSAT, steady SLA adherence, lower escalation rates, healthier team retention and engagement, stronger first contact resolution, increased AI-driven deflection, shorter handle times, and stronger cross-functional feedback from Product, CS, and Sales.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of SaaS support experience, including 3 or more years in a senior leadership role overseeing managers or sizable teams.
• Proven success building and scaling support organizations during growth or organizational change.
• Strong operational expertise, including SLA design, ticketing platforms such as Zendesk, and support performance metrics.
• History of improving CSAT and lowering escalation volumes.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work effectively with frontline employees, executives, and customers.
• Experience collaborating across Product, Engineering, Sales, and Customer Success teams.
• Hands-on experience evaluating or deploying AI tools in a support or service setting.

Preferred background

• Experience supporting ERP, grants management, nonprofit technology, or similarly complex SaaS products.
• Exposure to the nonprofit or philanthropic sector.
• ITIL certification or equivalent service-management framework experience.
• Practical experience with AI-enabled support tools such as Intercom Fin, Zendesk AI, Guru, or similar platforms.
• Background leading AI adoption or change management within a support team.

Why this role stands out

Foundant is investing heavily in AI-assisted support across its product lines. In this role, you will help shape how AI is assessed, introduced, and scaled within SMS support. The position is not just about using new tools; it is about influencing how the team evolves alongside them.

Benefits and workplace highlights

• Competitive compensation and benefits, including tuition support, lifestyle reimbursements, and mindfulness and fitness initiatives.
• Flexible PTO that allows you to manage time in a way that supports your well-being and performance.
• Strong focus on professional development, cross-team collaboration, and exposure to a broader range of projects through the company merger.
• Opportunities for internal mobility and career growth across roles, teams, and departments.
• High autonomy and responsibility, with room to work independently and creatively.
• Employee recognition is an important part of the culture.

Equal opportunity and accommodations

Foundant is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applicants from all qualified backgrounds. Hiring decisions are made without discrimination based on race, color, citizenship, religion, sex, marital or family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, Indigenous status, age, disability, or the need for accommodation.

The company also provides accommodations throughout the interview and employment process in line with applicable human rights and accessibility laws. Candidates who need accommodation during recruitment are encouraged to request it through the contact provided by the employer.