Customer Reference Program Manager
Bonterra · Remote · $75,000–$95,000 (stated in the posting)
US Salary Range: $75,000 - $95,000
About Us
Bonterra exists to propel every doer of good to their peak impact. We measure that impact against our vision to increase the giving rate as a percentage of GDP from 2% to 3% by 2033. We know that this goal is lofty, but we are confident that the right technology and expertise will strengthen trust in the sector, allowing the social good industry to accelerate growth and reach peak impact. Bonterra's differentiated, end-to-end solutions collectively support a unique network of over 20,000 customers, including over 16,000 nonprofit organizations and over 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. Learn more at bonterratech.com.
About the Role
We are seeking an AI-fluent Customer Reference Program Manager to build and run Bonterra’s AI-first customer reference program within Commercial AI. You will own live reference requests, Champion HQ, and Peerbound, helping sellers advance active opportunities, especially New Logo / New Sale deals, through relevant customer conversations, contextualized one-pagers, and case studies.
You will shape how Bonterra combines customer insight, commercial judgment, and AI to deliver the right proof at the right moment in a sales cycle. This means designing repeatable processes and using AI agents and automation to triage requests, surface relevant matches, draft proof packages, and reduce manual work, with human oversight of customer relationships, consent, and approvals. You will also help shape the program’s 2027 operating model, evaluating where Champion HQ, Peerbound, and internally built capabilities deliver the greatest seller impact and return.
Reporting into Commercial AI, this is a hands-on individual contributor role with program ownership and no direct reports. You own the reference layer; broader advocacy remains with Customer Advocacy. Success means timely fulfillment, relevant matches, seller adoption, and measurable contribution to deal outcomes, while protecting customer relationships.
What You’ll Do
- Own live deal support. Manage reference requests from intake and qualification through matching, customer outreach, scheduling, briefing, and follow-up. Maintain coverage through the transition, clarify the buyer’s question and deal deadline, and close the loop with sellers on what helped the opportunity progress.
- Build a repeatable operating process. Define request types, priorities, required information, service-level agreements, escalation paths, and ownership. Establish a baseline for demand and fulfillment effort, document the workflow, and remove recurring bottlenecks before automating it.
- Make matching relevant to social good. Match on nonprofit mission and NTEE code/category, segment, products in use, competitor displaced, AI and technology stack (including Built With data), buyer persona, and geography. Identify coverage gaps with Sales and Customer Success, and qualify reference customers against real deal needs.
- Run Champion HQ. Maintain the roster, profiles, matching rules, request workflow, and Salesforce-connected ROI reporting; resolve automation and data gaps with the appropriate system owners. Validate the agreed reporting population: Opportunity Type = New Logo and Opportunity Subtype = New Sale.
- Turn Peerbound insights into deal-ready proof. Mine available customer voice sources to surface relevant evidence and potential references. Maintain source traceability, approvals, and freshness, and deliver approved proof where sellers can find and use it.
- Own the AI-first reference workflow. Design, test, and run AI-assisted triage, matching shortlists, first-draft assets, and proof assembly, partnering with Commercial AI to turn repeatable processes into reliable workflows. Define source requirements, review checkpoints, exception handling, and quality checks, then measure time saved, rework, and seller impact to continuously improve performance.
- Protect customer trust. Personally manage customer asks and coordinate with relationship owners on consent, availability, and participation limits. Track usage and fatigue, respect restrictions on quotes and logos, and keep customer commitments and legal approvals under human control.
- Connect operations to commercial outcomes. Track fill rate, time-to-fulfill, seller utilization and adoption, reference utilization and fatigue, and influenced pipeline and ARR. Partner with RevOps to assess win-rate and sales-cycle differences on referenced deals as volume permits, distinguishing observed influence from proven lift.
- Recommend the right stack and 2027 operating model. Evaluate Champion HQ and Peerbound using actual usage, seller impact, fulfillment effort, cost, and ROI. Recommend whether to retain, reshape, replace, or bring capabilities in-house, accounting for contract timing, integration and maintenance effort, migration risk, and the level of support each segment needs.
- Build adoption with your partners. Work with Sales, Customer Advocacy, Customer Success, Product Marketing, RevOps, Legal, and Commercial AI to maintain clear handoffs and a shared view of reference readiness. Enable sellers on the request path and reusable proof, and use their feedback to improve coverage and fulfillment.
Who You Are
- 4+ years of relevant B2B SaaS experience in customer references, advocacy operations, sales enablement, or commercial programs, including direct ownership of reference requests supporting active sales opportunities.
- Hands-on experience operating a reference platform such as Champion HQ or ReferenceEdge and a customer-proof platform such as Peerbound or a close equivalent, including profiles, workflows, permissions, and seller delivery.
- Fluent in Salesforce opportunity fields, report filters, and data validation, with the ability to connect reference activity to opportunities and recognize gaps in reporting.
- A proven process builder who has turned an inconsistent request workflow into clear intake rules, matching criteria, service levels, documentation, and reporting.
- AI-first and fluent in applying generative AI, knowledge bases, and workflow automation to day-to-day program operations. You can demonstrate workflows you have designed or improved, explain how you validate outputs, and measure quality, time saved, and business impact.
- Strong customer judgment and relationship skills, including making thoughtful requests, managing expectations, and balancing sales urgency with customer readiness and consent.
- Clear, concise writing skills and the ability to turn customer evidence into useful seller briefs and one-pagers without overstating results.
- Able to own priorities independently, work through incomplete data and evolving processes, and bring cross-functional partners with you as the program changes.
Bonus Points For
- Direct administration of Champion HQ and hands-on use of Peerbound are strongly preferred.
- Experience in nonprofit or social-good markets, including mission-based segmentation and NTEE taxonomies.
- Experience with Gong or other call intelligence tools, content repositories, and review-site content as sources of customer proof.
- Experience building reference ROI reporting or evaluating software vendors against an in-house operating model.
- Experience connecting AI workflows to CRM, call intelligence, or content systems through no-code tools or integration requirements.
At this time, we are unable to consider candidates who require current or future sponsorship for employment authorization.
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Our Culture
At Bonterra, we’re innovating with a higher purpose: to increase giving to 3% of US GDP by 2033, creating $573 billion more in global impact every year. At Bonterra, we foster an inclusive, equitable culture where every team member belongs and contributes to meaningful impact. Read more about our values and culture here.
Compensation & Benefits
We offer a comprehensive benefits package that supports your health, well-being and growth - explore full details here.
Compensation and benefits for this role apply to full-time employees in the United States and may vary based on local standards, laws and norms. Pay is determined by location, skills, experience, and education, and is one part of Bonterra’s total rewards package, which may also include bonuses, incentives, equity, and a comprehensive benefits program.
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Equal Opportunity & Accommodations
At Bonterra, we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please submit a request.