Sales Operations Lead - job 1 of 2

Job Description

Are you a commercially-savvy sales operations leader who thrives at the intersection of process design, data-driven decision making, and organisational change? Do you excel at building scalable operational frameworks and bringing structure to complexity; whether that's a rapidly scaling AI sales motion, a harmonisation programme, or the integration of an acquired business?

At Zendesk, the AI Product Specialist organisation is central to how we scale AI capabilities embedded in customer experience solutions. As we grow, we need a dedicated operational leader to own the design, execution, and continuous improvement of the sales operations function that underpins this business.

As Sales Operations Lead for AI Product Specialists, you will be the primary operational partner to AI sales leadership, owning the end-to-end operating model; from pipeline governance and forecasting rigour to process harmonisation and M&A integration. You will partner closely with GTM Operations, RevOps, Finance, Data, and Engineering to align operating models, standardise definitions, and improve execution across disparate systems and evolving organisational structures.

This is a high-impact leadership role requiring mastery in CRM management, automation, analytics, process design, and senior stakeholder management; with the additional scope to lead process harmonisation initiatives and drive the operational integration of M&A activity affecting the AI specialist segment.

What You'll Own

Sales Operations Leadership and Operating Model

• Own and drive the operating model for the AI Product Specialist sales motion; process, governance, cadence, and accountability.

• Serve as the primary Sales Operations voice for AI sales leadership; shaping operational priorities and ensuring they align to quarterly and annual business goals.

• Partner with AI sales leadership and AI product stakeholders to design and continuously improve workflows that support quota attainment, pipeline conversion, and AI product adoption.

• Define success metrics and ensure operational priorities; process, tooling, reporting; are consistently delivered.

Process Design and Harmonisation

• Architect scalable, standardised sales processes capable of absorbing organisational change; whether driven by growth, restructuring, or acquisition activity.

• Lead process harmonisation programmes when AI specialist workflows diverge across teams or geographies, producing documented, version-controlled frameworks adopted across the organisation.

• Work cross-functionally to identify best-in-class practices at the sub-regional or team level and advocate for their adoption across the broader business.

M&A Integration

• Act as the Sales Operations lead for M&A activity impacting the AI specialist segment, owning the integration workstream from Day 1 planning through to steady-state.

• Drive CRM migration, territory and quota rationalisation, compensation alignment, data deduplication, and process unification for acquired sales organisations.

• Ensure newly combined sales teams operate from unified frameworks, tooling, and governance without disruption to in-flight pipeline or performance.

Data and Systems Governance

• Establish and enforce data quality standards across Salesforce and connected systems; ensure consistent definitions, taxonomy, and reporting logic.

• Own pipeline integrity mechanisms; stage definitions, required fields, hygiene routines, audit checks; to improve specialist performance reporting and forecast accuracy.

• Drive improvements to integrations and data flows to maintain trusted datasets during scaling and operational change, including integration of acquired systems.

Automation and Process Optimisation

• Build and maintain automation pipelines to streamline data synchronisation, reporting, sales notifications, and governance checks; reducing manual workload and errors during periods of operational change.

• Set and manage the automation roadmap; identify bottlenecks and implement measurable process improvements that increase specialist productivity and consistency.

Strategic Analytics, Forecasting, and Compensation Operations

• Own forecasting cadence and rigour for the AI specialist motion; ensuring consistent methodology, regular inspection, and leadership-ready outputs.

• Translate complex datasets into insights and recommendations covering pipeline coverage, conversion trends, adoption signals, and opportunity areas.

• Manage compensation operations support; incentive model administration, data validation, governance, and issue resolution; in partnership with Finance and RevOps, including the added complexity of acquired teams with legacy compensation structures.

Cross-Functional Operational Partnership

• Serve as the primary operational partner connecting AI Product Specialists with RevOps, GTM Ops, Product, Engineering, Data teams, and Finance.

• Drive alignment on data standards, workflow definitions, and measurement across functions; resolving ambiguity and ensuring consistent execution.

• Lead cross-functional initiatives from problem definition through implementation, adoption, and performance tracking.

Compliance, Controls, and Best Practices

• Own operational governance related to process adherence, data controls, compensation integrity, and policy compliance.

• Monitor and improve compliance via enablement, audits, and system guardrails; especially during transitions or integrations.

• Ensure operational changes are documented, communicated, and embedded with sustainable change management.

What You'll Bring

Core Experience and Mindset

• 5+ years of experience in Sales Operations or Revenue Operations within SaaS or AI-driven environments.

• Demonstrable experience leading or co-leading M&A sales integration programmes, including CRM migration, quota rationalisation, and process unification.

• Track record of designing and delivering process harmonisation at scale across disparate teams, geographies, or acquired businesses.

• Strong operational rigour with a passion for accuracy, data integrity, and process improvement; particularly in complex or rapidly evolving organisational settings.

• Demonstrated ability to drive cross-functional collaboration and influence without direct authority in matrixed and multi-unit organisations.

• Enthusiasm for AI technologies and their role in transforming sales and customer experience.

• Highly autonomous, proactive, and resilient navigating change and scale.

Technical Expertise

• Proficient in Salesforce CRM and related sales acceleration tools

• Fluency in data tools; SQL, Snowflake or similar; and automation methodologies.

• Familiarity with AI product ecosystems and integrating disparate systems is a strong plus.

• Demonstrated experience using LLM-based tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot) to improve delivery speed, automate repetitive tasks, and enhance analytical workflows.

Strategic and Interpersonal Skills

• Expert at converting complex datasets into strategic insights that inform sales and product decisions across evolving organisational structures.

• Effective communicator and collaborator; comfortable presenting to VP+ audiences and navigating across regions, teams, and seniority levels with clarity and credibility.

• Strong organisational and project management skills to juggle multiple initiatives efficiently in dynamic settings.

#LI-LM5

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $118,000.00-$178,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location. Please note that the compensation details listed in US role postings reflect the base salary only (or OTE for commissions based roles), and do not include bonus, benefits, or related incentives.

Hybrid: In this role, our hybrid experience is designed at the team level to give you a rich onsite experience packed with connection, collaboration, learning, and celebration - while also giving you flexibility to work remotely for part of the week. This role must attend our local office for part of the week. The specific in-office schedule is to be determined by the hiring manager.

The intelligent heart of customer experience

Zendesk software was built to bring a sense of calm to the chaotic world of customer service. Today we power billions of conversations with brands you know and love.

Zendesk believes in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

As part of our commitment to fairness and transparency, we inform all applicants that artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications for this position, in accordance with Company guidelines and applicable law.

Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster global diversity, equity, & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment and employees at Zendesk are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employer. If you are based in the United States and would like more information about your EEO rights under the law, please click here.

Zendesk endeavors to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities and disabled veterans pursuant to applicable federal and state law. If you are an individual with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to submit this application, complete any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participate in the employee selection process, please send an e-mail to peopleandplaces@zendesk.com with your specific accommodation request.