Director, Renewals

About the Role

WorkWave is seeking an experienced and high-impact Director of Renewals to build, lead, and scale a world-class Renewals organization. This individual will be responsible for owning and optimizing the global renewals motion across WorkWave’s software product lines, driving customer retention, reducing churn, and maximizing recurring revenue. This role represents a critical function in our post-sale lifecycle, enabling Sales to focus on new business while ensuring a best-in-class renewal experience for our customers.

As the leader of this newly established function, the Director of Renewals will define the vision, strategy, and operational framework needed to execute a high-volume, high-velocity renewal engine—while partnering across Sales, Customer Success, Finance, and Legal to support enterprise and SMB customer segments globally.

What You'll Do

Strategic Leadership

• Define and execute a comprehensive global renewals strategy aligned with WorkWave’s retention and revenue objectives.
• Build and scale a centralized Renewals team, including Renewal Managers and Renewal Operations resources.
• Segment renewals motions and playbooks across high-touch (Enterprise), mid-market, and tech-touch (SMB) accounts.
• Partner with Sales and Customer Success leadership to ensure seamless customer transitions and clear ownership across the customer lifecycle.

Operational Excellence

• Design and implement standardized processes, tools, and playbooks to manage the full renewals lifecycle - quote generation, pricing, contract negotiation, and close.
• Establish operational cadences for forecasting, pipeline hygiene, and performance reviews.
• Collaborate with Revenue Operations and Systems teams to deploy automation and streamline workflows.

Revenue Performance & Forecasting

• Own forecasting accuracy for renewals and associated KPIs such as Gross Retention Rate (GRR), churn, contraction, and early renewal rate.
• Provide executive-level reporting and insights into renewal performance, risk indicators, and opportunities for upsell/cross-sell collaboration.
• Partner with Finance on revenue recognition, bookings timing, and ARR/NRR implications.

Customer & Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with Customer Success to proactively identify risk and ensure early renewal engagement.
• Work cross-functionally with Legal and Finance to optimize contract terms and deal velocity.
• Represent the voice of the customer in internal strategic planning forums and drive improvements in the customer experience at the point of renewal.

Team Development & Culture

• Recruit, onboard, and coach high-performing renewal professionals.
• Foster a culture of accountability, learning, and results orientation.
• Develop scalable training programs and career paths for team growth.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree a plus.
• 8–10+ years of experience in SaaS renewals, account management, or customer success.
• 3–5+ years in a senior leadership role with direct responsibility for renewals or customer retention.
• Deep expertise in SaaS financial metrics including ARR, GRR, NRR, churn, CAC, and CLTV.
• Proven success managing high-volume renewals motions in both tech-touch (SMB) and high-touch (Enterprise) environments.
• Experience building or transforming a renewals function within a high-growth SaaS environment.
• Strong systems proficiency (e.g., Salesforce, Gainsight, CPQ tools) and renewal forecasting platforms.
• Advanced negotiation, influence, and executive communication skills.
• Analytical mindset with fluency in forecasting, pipeline analytics, and operational dashboards.
• Willingness to travel up to 10–15% for strategic planning and key customer engagements.
• Commutable to Holmdel, NJ headquarters preferred.

Compensation

$170,000 - $195,000 a year

In addition to the base salary, this role is bonus eligible. The final offer will be dependent on various factors, including the candidate's qualifications, relevant experience, and the organization's budget.