Senior Manager, Global Customer References

It all started in sunny San Diego, California in 2004 when a visionary engineer, Fred Luddy, saw the potential to transform how we work. Fast forward to today — ServiceNow stands as a global market leader, bringing innovative AI-enhanced technology to over 8,100 customers, including 85% of the Fortune 500®. Our intelligent cloud-based platform seamlessly connects people, systems, and processes to empower organizations to find smarter, faster, and better ways to work. But this is just the beginning of our journey. Join us as we pursue our purpose to make the world work better for everyone.

Role:

As the Global References Manager on the Customer Advocacy / Customer Marketing team, you will be the central coordinator of customer references across all regions. You’ll work closely with sales, product marketing, and regional Customer Marketing teams to identify, nurture, and showcase our most impactful customer stories. By building and maintaining a diverse, high-quality reference pool, you’ll ensure sales teams worldwide have compelling, real-world evidence to share with prospects. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Global Reference Strategy: Design and implement a company-wide references program, ensuring alignment with regional sales priorities and business goals. 

• Customer Identification & Recruitment: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to spot high-potential customers and convert them into reference advocates. 

• Reference Management: Coordinate one-to-one and group reference activities, including organizing calls, panels, and events to accelerate sales cycles. 

• Asset Amplification: Work with marketing and sales enablement teams to integrate customer references and success stories into global campaigns, collateral, and events. 

• Ongoing Customer Engagement: Build and maintain long-term relationships with reference customers, ensuring they see the value of continued advocacy. 

Detailed Responsibilities: 

Global Reference Pool Development 

• Recruit & Onboard: Expand and diversify the global reference pool by identifying new customer champions. 

• Regional Alignment: Work with sales leaders, partner marketing, and product marketing to target references that match regional sales objectives. 

• Reference Lifecycle: Periodically refresh or retire references to ensure relevance and maintain high engagement.

Reference Call Coordination 

• One-to-One Calls: Match the right reference customers with prospects, handle scheduling/logistics, and provide clear talking points. 

• Group Sessions & Panels: Organize and moderate multi-customer reference calls or webinar panels, ensuring discussions showcase a range of success stories. 

• Feedback & Insights: Gather feedback from reference calls to continually improve the process and share insights with internal teams. 

Amplification of Customer References 

• Global Campaign Integration: Partner with regional advocacy managers, field marketing, and sales enablement to feature reference stories in global programs, events, and demand-gen campaigns. 

• Asset Management: Ensure reference assets (videos, slides, written success stories) are easily accessible and effectively utilized across all geographies. 

• Performance Tracking: Measure the impact of reference assets on pipeline acceleration, deal size, and overall brand perception. 

Ongoing Relationship Management 

• Advocate Well-Being: Maintain positive relationships with reference customers by recognizing their contributions and providing exclusive benefits (e.g., early product access, executive briefings). 

• Customer Burnout Prevention: Monitor participation levels and schedule advocacy activities strategically to avoid overburdening the same references. 

• Growth & Retention: Identify additional opportunities for references to evolve their advocacy, such as speaking engagements or advisory board participation. 

Skills and Capabilities: 

• Reference Program Expertise: Proven experience managing or contributing to a large-scale references or advocacy program. 

• Collaboration: Skilled at working across sales, product marketing, and regional advocacy teams, fostering alignment and open communication. 

• Project Management: Adept at juggling multiple requests and timelines, ensuring reference activities are executed promptly and effectively. 

• Storytelling & Communication: Ability to translate technical product use cases into compelling, business-focused narratives. 

• Relationship Building: Demonstrated success in nurturing customer relationships and maintaining high levels of satisfaction. 

• Metrics & Reporting: Strong analytical mindset to track reference usage, measure program impact, and share data-driven insights. 

To be successful in this role you have: 

• 2+ years overseeing and/or mentoring a team of Reference Managers, providing guidance and support to achieve reference goals. 

• 8+ years sales or marketing experience, ideally in a B2B setting 

• Self-starter with excellent organizational skills who can drive projects from start to finish 

• Strong attention to detail and work ethic 

• Experience with Office software; proficiency in Excel required. Experience with CRM systems and Upland RO Innovation a definite plus 

• Bonus if you’ve demonstrated results in building/supporting a reference program and building strong relationships with sales and marketing teams 

• Knowledge of ServiceNow products a plus 

• A passion for the positive impact of technology on businesses and the people who make it possible.   

• 10-12+ years of total work experience including time working in the information technology and cloud industries in a consulting, customer advocacy, product marketing, customer success, value realization, content development, outbound product, sales or customer customer-facing marketing role.   

• Curiosity for AI & Innovation: We’re looking for candidates who are excited about AI and love experimenting with new ideas and tools. A passion for learning and innovation is a must! 

Not sure if you meet every qualification? We still encourage you to apply! We value inclusivity, welcoming candidates from diverse backgrounds, including non-traditional paths. Unique experiences enrich our team, and the willingness to dream big makes you an exceptional candidate!

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work. Learn more here.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ServiceNow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or nationality, ancestry, age, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. In addition, all qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with legal requirements. 

Accommodations

We strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process, or are unable to use this online application and need an alternative method to apply, please contact [email protected] for assistance. 

Export Control Regulations

For positions requiring access to controlled technology subject to export control regulations, including the U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR), ServiceNow may be required to obtain export control approval from government authorities for certain individuals. All employment is contingent upon ServiceNow obtaining any export license or other approval that may be required by relevant export control authorities. 

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