Overview
The Vice President, Strategic Account & Program Management (VP/SAM-PM) is the enterprise executive accountable for the strategy, governance, and performance of ABM's Strategic Account Management (SAM) Program, inclusive of the ABM Plus cross-selling program. Positioned within Client Experience and Operations Support (CX-OS) and reporting directly to the SVP, CX-OS, this role serves as the single point of accountability for driving consistency and continuous improvement in how Industry Groups (IGs) plan, execute, and report on their Strategic Accounts. This newly created enterprise leadership role is intended to bring fresh capability, independent perspective, and consistent oversight to a program that today spans 62+ Strategic Accounts and approximately $800M in annual bookings targets across ABM Industry Groups ATS, AVI, B&I, EDU, M&D, and UK&I. The VP/SAM-PM does not own individual account P&Ls; rather, the role owns the infrastructure, discipline, and accountability mechanisms that allow IGs to consistently execute against their Strategic Account and ABM Plus commitments.
Benefit Information
ABM offers a comprehensive benefits package. For information about ABM's benefits, visit ABM Employee Benefits | Staff & Management (https://media.abm.com/wp-content/uploads/AnnualBenefitFlyers/Recruiting%20Flyer%20-%20Staff%20&%20Mgmt.pdf)
Responsibilities
Program Strategy, Governance & Portfolio Management
Own end-to-end governance of the Strategic Account Management Program, including account selection methodology, role structure (Account Lead, Growth Lead, IG Growth Owner), and the enterprise RACI defining accountability across all Strategic Account activities.
Continuously assess the effectiveness of the Strategic Accounts operating model, processes, and tools; recommend enhancements and lead implementation of changes that improve execution, accountability, and program outcomes.
Establish and maintain the annual portfolio planning cycle: direct IGs to propose FY strategic accounts, assign account leadership, and set budgeted and aspirational targets built bottom up from white space analysis, client relationships, and cross-sell potential.
Require bi-annual account white space refreshes and monthly account plan reviews with IG Presidents to keep account plans a living discipline rather than an administrative exercise.
Mandate and oversee Quarterly and Client Business Reviews (QBRs/CBRs) using ClientShare, strengthening the connection between account governance and the Client Experience organization.
Maintain the program's supporting infrastructure - reporting cadences, account-level dashboards, and account plan documentation - and drive full IG adoption and utilization of the tools already built.
Establish and oversee a formal cross-functional teaming model for Strategic Accounts, bringing account leadership and enterprise service-line partners together around shared account strategy, whitespace, and execution.
Account Performance & Accountability
Monitor bookings performance against target across all Strategic Accounts and IGs, identifying accounts and IGs that are ahead of, at, or behind pace and escalating risk areas to the SVP, CX-OS and ELT.
Partner with IG Presidents and Growth Owners to establish clear portfolio accountability, ensuring Account Leads and Growth Leads are held accountable for account health, service delivery, growth planning, and stakeholder relationships.
Partner with FP&A to incorporate Strategic Account revenue, margin, and retention results into regular ELT reporting, and ensure account targets are reflected in IG and account leaders' annual budgets.
Evaluate IG account and leadership recommendations during annual portfolio planning to determine organizational readiness and consistency with program standards.
Ensure a disciplined, appropriately-sized account portfolio that concentrates leadership attention, resources, and program value rather than diluting focus across too many accounts.
Enterprise Growth & ABM Plus
Serve as the enterprise program owner of ABM Plus, ABM's cross-selling initiative, overseeing the ABM Plus PMO, incentive structure, and Salesforce-based tracking and reporting infrastructure.
Ensure Strategic Accounts serve as a primary vehicle for expanding the breadth of ABM's capabilities within its most important client relationships.
Partner with IG Growth Owners - who act as each IG's ABM Plus ambassadors - to retool ABM Plus toward localized cross-sell strategies aligned with Growth Zones, and to set and track account-level cross-sell targets.
Oversee assignment of cross-sell targets at the account level to drive more intentional growth strategies, and monitor ABM Plus bookings against the enterprise target.
Coordinate with IG Presidents and Growth Owners on incentive-payment approvals, program eligibility, and resolution of Operator or account-team questions escalated from the field.
Identify and scale enterprise cross-sell priorities (ATS, APS, ABM Connect, and related initiatives) that are underperforming within the Strategic Account portfolio.
Program Effectiveness & Risk Management
Monitor program adherence across IGs to ensure consistent execution of account planning, governance cadences, training completion, and reporting requirements defined in the RACI. - Architect a risk-mitigation framework to proactively flag stalled accounts, governance lapses, or delivery issues before they affect revenue or client relationships. - Lead enterprise-level escalation paths for systemic, cross-IG issues, partnering with Legal, Operations, and Service Lines to resolve complex, multi-group bottlenecks.
Standardize program and performance reporting for the SAM Program and ABM Plus, delivering transparent, consistent data to the Executive Leadership Team.
Account Leadership & Organizational Enablement
Partner with Growth Owners and IG Presidents to evaluate Account Lead and Growth Lead assignments, ensuring the right individuals - with the right client relationships and IG fit - are serving in these roles, including closing open role gaps.
Partner with IG and enterprise leaders to strengthen executive engagement across Strategic Accounts, including executive sponsorship and relationship planning that elevate client conversations and identify long-term growth opportunities.
Advocate for Growth Owners and Account Leads to have sufficient dedicated capacity (e.g., ~50% of time for Account Leads) against their Strategic Accounts rather than treating the role as an ancillary duty.
Develop training curricula and enablement playbooks to onboard and upskill Growth Owners, Account Leads, and Growth Leads on program methodology, tools, and governance expectations.
Build and maintain relationships with IG Presidents, Growth Owners, Sales Operations, and Client Experience leadership to ensure the program's infrastructure is understood, trusted, and used.
Qualifications
Education & Experience
Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field required; MBA or relevant Master's degree preferred.
12-15+ years of progressive experience in enterprise program management, strategic account/key account management, client operations, or corporate governance, ideally including prior experience as a strategic or global account manager.
7+ years operating within complex, highly matrixed enterprise organizations spanning multiple divisions or industry groups.
Demonstrated experience designing, launching, or scaling enterprise-wide account governance, compliance, or cross-sell/growth programs; experience with programs analogous to a Type 2 (SAM) or Type 3 (GAM) account management model is strongly preferred.
Prior experience as an external hire bringing new perspective to an established organization is a plus, consistent with ELT's intent to recruit fresh capability into this role. 2
Core Competencies
Matrix Navigation & Influence: Exceptional ability to drive accountability, build consensus, and exert functional influence across dotted-line, matrixed teams without direct hiring authority.
Strategic Account Management: Deep understanding of strategic account management, enterprise growth, whitespace development, cross-selling, and client retention, with the ability to translate account strategy into measurable results.
Governance & Compliance Rigor: Deep familiarity with account governance frameworks, QBR/CBR cadences, RACI design, and program compliance auditing across large, distributed organizations.
Commercial & Financial Acumen: Comfort working with bookings, pipeline, margin, and retention data; ability to translate account-level performance into ELT-ready reporting in partnership with FP&A.
Executive Presence: Polished presentation, negotiation, and relationship-building skills sufficient to engage credibly with IG Presidents, Growth Owners, and the Executive Leadership Team.
Program & Tools Infrastructure: Experience evaluating and implementing account planning, CRM, and reporting infrastructure (e.g., Salesforce, ClientShare, or comparable PMO tooling).
Change Leadership & Enablement: Proven ability to drive adoption of new operating models, expectations, tools, and behaviors across diverse teams while building organizational commitment and accountability.
Certifications: Active certification in PMP, PgMP, or Lean Six Sigma highly preferred.
ABM is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
ABM is committed to diversity and inclusion and encourages individuals from all backgrounds to apply.
REQNUMBER: 165582
ABM is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer qualified applicants without regard race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran or any other protected factor under federal, state, or local law. ABM is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you have a disability and need assistance in completing the employment application, please call 888-328-8606. We will provide you with assistance and make a determination on your request for reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis.
