Senior Program Director, Managed Services

ABOUT THE ROLE

Accela’s Managed Application Services (MAS) business is entering a rapid growth and transformation phase driven by strong customer demand, complex enterprise workflows, and a strategic need to increase retention, win rates, and long-term account value.

We are seeking a Senior Program Director, Managed Services to build, scale, and lead an expanded MAS operating model that delivers high-quality, proactive managed services for our customers. This leader will own MAS operations, service quality, team capacity, and delivery excellence while partnering closely with Regional Directors (account health owners) and the Enterprise Technical Solutions team.

This role will be responsible for transforming our current ticket-fulfillment offering into a scalable, high-impact service that includes governance, release management, optimization, and complex Accela platform support.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership Program Ownership

• Build and lead the MAS program as a strategic service line aligned to Accela’s growth and customer success objectives.
• Own MAS roadmap, service catalog, SLAs, pricing inputs, and operating model (Tier 1/Tier 2 structure with SA Tier 3 support).
• Partner with Sales and Pre-Sales to position MAS as a key component of our complex workflow offerings, increasing win rates and deal velocity.
• Define KPIs and metrics to measure operational efficiency, customer outcomes, renewal risk, and financial performance.

Operational Excellence Delivery

• Own day-to-day MAS operations, team performance, quality of service, and customer experience.
• Establish standardized processes for intake, triage, prioritization, fulfillment, change management, and release cycles.
• Build backlog and SLA management frameworks, improving predictability and response/resolution times.
• Implement automation, scripts, and reusable components to reduce manual work and scale efficiency.

People Leadership Team Development

• Build and scale a blended MAS team including Tier 1 specialists, Tier 2 analysts, and offshore/nearshore resources.
• Partner with Solution Architecture on skill development for complex workflows, integrations, and modernization.
• Create clear career paths, performance standards, and training programs for MAS roles.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and customer-centricity.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate closely with Regional Directors to support account governance, customer satisfaction, and renewal/expansion opportunities.
• Work with the Solution Architecture team to define Tier 3 escalation paths, technical review processes, and reusable solution patterns.
• Ensure alignment with Support, Product, Engineering, Sales, and Finance on roadmap, tooling, value realization, and operational maturity.
• Serve as the MAS point-of-contact for executive escalations and internal alignment.

Financial Capacity Management

• Manage MAS PL inputs including staffing costs, utilization, margin targets, and forecasting.
• Develop capacity models to support 2× growth over the next 12–18 months.
• Provide accurate planning for revenue, cost-to-serve, and staffing requirements across all tiers.
• Recommend adjustments to pricing, packaging, and margin targets as the program matures.

Success in This Role Looks Like

• MAS service catalog expanded and launched (Enhanced + Premium tiers).
• SLA attainment and backlog health significantly improved.
• Strong cross-functional operating rhythm in place (RD–MAS–SA).
• First phase of hiring complete; capacity model aligned to pipeline.
• Embedded/onsite pilot defined and launched (where applicable).
• Margin targets aligned to realistic cost-to-serve.
• MAS becomes a key factor in increasingwin rates, improving retention, and protecting ARR.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years in Professional Services, Managed Services, SaaS operations, or technical delivery leadership.
• Proven experience scaling a services or support team in a high-growth SaaS or enterprise workflow environment.
• Strong operational and process design experience (SLAs, service catalogs, triage workflows, governance models).
• Experience managing blended teams (onshore/offshore) with a track record of improving efficiency at scale.
• Strong understanding of technical platforms, integrations, and complex solution delivery (preferably SaaS or low-code platforms).
• Excellent cross-functional leadership and communication skills, including ability to collaborate with Sales, Product, Support, and Exec leadership.
• Customer-first mindset with strong problem-solving and escalation management skills.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience in government technology, public sector IT, permitting/licensing/workflow platforms, or complex enterprise SaaS.
• Familiarity with Accela Civic Platform or similar configurable workflow systems.
• Background implementing automation, scripting, or AI-enabled service improvements.

ABOUT ACCELA
For nearly 20 years, Accela has been an industry leader in designing and delivering government software to improve efficiency, increase citizen engagement and enable the development of thriving communities. Today, citizens are savvy to how services should be delivered, and expect a consistently convenient, openly transparent view into their local government. While government agencies struggle to do more with less, our mission has never been more critical. Accela provides a robust, cloud-based platform of government software solutions that accelerate growth, efficiency, and transparency in communities of all sizes. From planning, to building, to service request management and more, Accela’s SaaS offerings level the playing field for small and medium governments and enable smaller agencies to leverage larger city technologies. Our open and flexible technology helps agencies address specific needs today, while ensuring they are well prepared for the emerging challenges of the future.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Accela believes in developing and nurturing a workplace community where our differences are celebrated, and everyone feels a sense of psychological safety and belonging. Accela is committed to putting resources and attention towards evolving our practices, policies, and philosophies to enable diversity to thrive and to support equity in opportunity for everyone.

COMPENSATION AND WELL-BEING
The annual base salary range for this full-time position is [$180,000-$210,000] (less applicable taxes). The actual annual base salary offered may be adjusted based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, location, education, skills, training, and experience. In addition to an annual base salary, this position is eligible for an annual bonus target. This is a discretionary bonus awarded based on company and individual goal achievement.

Accela’s U.S. team members will receive a generous benefits package consisting of options including flexible time off, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, family planning benefits, 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match, health savings account with company contributions, flexible spending account, life, accident, and disability coverage, business travel insurance, employee assistance programs, and other well-being benefits.

Accela is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer and will respond to requests for job accommodations.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status, or based on disability, gender identity, and sexual orientation.