VP, Client Success (Contract 3-6 months)

Role: Contract VP, Client Success

Location: United States or United Kingdom

Length: 3-6 months

The Interim Vice President, Client Success will provide executive leadership for Safeguard Global's Client Success global organization during a transitional period while the company conducts a search for a permanent VP, Client Success.

This role is responsible for ensuring continuity of leadership, protecting client retention, supporting strategic client relationships, driving operational execution, and maintaining team performance across the post-sale client lifecycle. The Interim VP will quickly assess the current state of the function, address immediate risks and opportunities, strengthen cross-functional alignment, and establish clear recommendations to support a successful long-term leadership transition.

The Interim VP will work closely with Client Success, Implementation, Service Operations, Product, Sales, Legal, Finance, and Executive Leadership to ensure clients continue to realize value from Safeguard Global's global workforce, payroll, HR, Employer of Record, and managed services solutions.

This role requires a highly experienced operator who can rapidly build credibility, provide leadership during change, and drive execution in a fast-paced global environment.

Key Responsibilities:
Leadership & Business Continuity

• Provide executive leadership and stability for the Client Success organization during the transition period.

• Maintain focus on client retention, satisfaction, and service excellence across the client portfolio.

• Serve as the executive escalation point for strategic clients and business-critical issues.

• Partner with the Executive Leadership Team to assess organizational priorities, risks, and opportunities.

Client Portfolio Management

• Oversee the health of the client portfolio, including retention, churn risk, executive engagement, and escalations.

• Support strategic client relationships and participate in executive business reviews as needed.

• Drive proactive risk identification and mitigation plans for at-risk accounts.

• Partner with Sales and Commercial teams to identify expansion and growth opportunities within existing accounts.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and support the Client Success leadership team and broader organization.

• Establish clear priorities, accountability, performance expectations, and operating rhythms.

• Assess organizational structure, capability gaps, and resource needs.

• Provide recommendations to strengthen the team and support long-term success.

Operational Excellence

• Partner with Implementation, Service Operations, Product, Legal, Finance, and Sales to drive a seamless client experience.

• Monitor key performance indicators, identify trends, and drive corrective actions where necessary.

• Improve governance, reporting, and operational discipline across the Client Success function.

• Ensure continuity of critical initiatives while identifying opportunities for process improvement.

Transition & Succession Support

• Document key priorities, risks, client insights, and organizational recommendations.

• Assist with onboarding and transition planning for the permanent VP, Client Success.

• Deliver a clear assessment of the current state of the business and recommended roadmap for future success.

• Proven executive leadership experience in Client Success, Customer Success, Account Management, or Client Services within global payroll, HR, EOR, workforce management, BPO, consulting, or managed services environments.

• Demonstrated success leading client-facing organizations through periods of growth, transformation, or organizational transition.

• Strong track record managing strategic client relationships, executive stakeholders, retention initiatives, and escalation management.

• Experience leading global and geographically distributed teams with a focus on accountability, coaching, and performance management.

• Strong operational and commercial acumen, including portfolio management, contract awareness, revenue retention, and growth opportunity identification.

• Proven ability to influence across highly matrixed organizations and drive alignment among multiple stakeholders.

• Experience assessing organizations, identifying improvement opportunities, and implementing practical solutions quickly.

• Exceptional communication, executive presence, and stakeholder management skills.

• Ability to rapidly understand business challenges, establish credibility, and deliver results in a short-term leadership assignment.

• Experience supporting business transitions, turnarounds, leadership changes, or organizational stabilization efforts strongly preferred.

At Safeguard Global, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and Guardians.