Director, Professional Services (Ellucian Colleague and Anthology)

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director serves as the senior delivery and client leader for an assigned portfolio of Ferrilli’s Colleague and Anthology engagements. Under the direction of the Associate Vice President, Professional Services, the Director is accountable for the overall success of these engagements: building trusted relationships with higher education executives, overseeing delivery quality and financial performance, leading escalation response and service recovery, partnering with Account Management to grow client relationships, and contributing to the methodologies that define how Ferrilli delivers. The position has no direct reports; the Director leads through influence, working closely with project managers, consultants, Account Management, Finance, and software partners to deliver measurable outcomes for clients.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Executive Client Relationships:

• Serve as the senior Ferrilli leader and executive sponsor for assigned engagements, building trusted relationships with presidents, cabinet members, CIOs, CFOs, and other institutional leaders.

• Lead or participate in steering committees and executive briefings, preparing clear, accurate, executive-ready updates on status, risks, and decisions.

• Understand each client’s strategic priorities and position Ferrilli’s work within them, including developing strategic roadmaps where appropriate.

• Monitor client satisfaction through NPS, CSAT, and ad-hoc feedback, and act promptly on what it reveals.

• Delivery Oversight and Quality Assurance:

• Provide oversight across concurrent engagements, partnering with project managers and PM leadership to ensure projects follow established methodologies and meet quality, schedule, and scope commitments.

• Review key deliverables (e.g., assessment reports, project and transition plans, executive presentations) before they are shared with clients, ensuring accuracy, alignment with scope, and a consistent Ferrilli standard.

• Monitor project health indicators, including hours consumed against plan, budget, schedule, and staffing, raising concerns early and driving corrective action.

• Clarify roles and ownership on each engagement so clients and internal teams have a single, consistent point of leadership.

• Escalation Management and Service Recovery:

• Serve as the primary escalation point for clients within practices, managing multiple concurrent escalations with urgency, composure, and sound judgment.

• Lead service recovery when expectations are not met: identify root causes, coordinate internal teams and software partners, communicate candidly with client leadership, and execute recovery plans that restore confidence.

• Facilitate after-action reviews and lessons learned, translating findings into improvements in delivery practice.

• Keep the Associate Vice President informed of emerging risks, active escalations, and recovery status.

• Growth and Business Development:

• Perform discovery calls and onsite discovery with Account Management to understand client needs and shape solutions.

• Contribute to proposals, RFI/RFP responses, and solution design for new and existing clients.

• Identify potential revenue-generating solutions and services within the portfolio, including multi-institution and consortium opportunities.

• Represent Ferrilli at conferences and events throughout the year, including co-presenting with clients where appropriate.

• Scope, Contract, and Financial Stewardship:

• Partner with Account Management and Finance to develop scopes of work, change orders, and pricing that are clear, deliverable, and financially sound.

• Identify scope gaps and exclusions early and address them through the appropriate contract mechanisms.

• Manage engagements to achieve target project margin, balancing client value with Ferrilli’s financial performance.

• Assist the Associate Vice President with identifying resource needs and staffing models for current and future work.

• Service Delivery Methodology and Practice Development:

• Contribute to building and refining Ferrilli’s service delivery methodologies, templates, and tools (e.g., migration frameworks, project charters, assessment standards, checklists, and delivery cadences).

• Participate in cross-functional initiatives that improve consistency, quality, and efficiency across the Colleague and Anthology practices.

• Share expertise and lessons learned across delivery teams to strengthen practice knowledge.

• Model and reinforce the guiding principles of the company values across delivery teams.

• Deliver presentations to the organization on company policies, manifesto items, or during orientations, when requested.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A Bachelor’s degree in related field required.

• A minimum of 8 years’ experience leading in higher education.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple project and client escalations simultaneously, driving each to resolution while preserving client trust.

• Exceptional attention to detail, with a track record of producing and reviewing accurate, high-quality client deliverables.

• Proven ability to manage multiple competing priorities across concurrent engagements, exercising sound judgment about where to focus.

• Executive presence: the ability to hold the room with higher education executives, deliver difficult messages clearly and constructively, and earn the confidence of senior leaders.

• Experience contributing to the design or improvement of service delivery methodologies, standards, or tools.

• Willingness to travel when required for client or internal business