[Hiring] SVP, Global Services @Percona

Role Description

Percona is entering a new chapter. Under CEO Peter Farkas, we are sharpening our focus, moving faster, and asking every leader to challenge how things have always been done. As Senior Vice President of Global Services, you will own the global delivery, strategic planning, and financial (P&L) management for Percona's entire portfolio of service offerings, spanning Support, Managed Services, and Professional Services, as well as any future services. You are directly accountable for ensuring every customer experiences consistently excellent service across all interactions.

This role is not a caretaker role. We are not looking for someone to simply keep the trains running. We want a leader who treats the current way of doing things as a starting point, not a finish line: someone who will question long-standing assumptions, run small experiments to test new approaches, and move on quickly from what does not work so the team can double down on what does. You will shape our product strategy alongside Product and Engineering, ensuring our services keep pace with where the market and our customers are heading, not just where they have been.

Beyond the operational scope, this is a senior leadership role. You will sit alongside our executive leadership team, bringing cross-functional thought leadership to bear on company-wide priorities well beyond Global Services alone.

This is one of the most critical roles at Percona. Open source is the foundation of our business, and our ability to deliver deep technical expertise with an outstanding customer experience is what sets us apart. You will be at the center of reimagining what great open source service delivery looks like, not just maintaining it.

What You Will Do

• Lead the Global Services division (Support, Managed Services, Global Advanced Services, Professional Services, Project Management, Technical Leads, and Delivery Operations), providing the kind of leadership, coaching, and mentorship that builds a team unafraid to raise its hand and try something new.
• Own the end-to-end quality, timeliness, and satisfaction of service delivery to our customers, while staying alert to smarter, faster ways to get there.
• Set the strategic direction for Global Services in step with company objectives and shifting market dynamics, and be willing to revisit that strategy as conditions change.
• Champion an AI-first approach to how we operate and deliver services, using automation and new technology to scale efficiently and free the team to focus on the hardest, most complex problems our customers face.
• Build and continuously refine the KPIs for service delivery, customer satisfaction, and team performance, using them not as a scorecard but as fuel for ongoing improvement.
• Put real systems in place to capture, share, and reuse knowledge across Global Services, so good ideas do not stay siloed within one person or team.
• Maintain and grow Percona's reputation as the experts in open source database technologies.
• Stay close to key customers, understand how their needs are evolving, and translate that directly into how we deliver services.
• Champion the Percona community by encouraging delivery teams to contribute high-impact content and expertise back to it.
• Hold P&L responsibility for the organization: track financial performance, allocate resources wisely, and identify where the real growth opportunities are.
• Look for efficiency and optimization wherever they exist, and be comfortable piloting new approaches, tools, or processes on a small scale before scaling what works.
• Partner closely with Go-to-Market, Product Management, and Engineering to inform product strategy, spot market trends early, and help drive innovation across the business.
• Build strong relationships with customers, partners, and the community, and bring their feedback back into how we shape our services.
• Treat service delivery processes, methodologies, and tools as things to be improved, not preserved, in the name of better efficiency and customer outcomes.
• As a member of the senior leadership team, contribute thought leadership and hands-on support to strategic priorities that reach well beyond Global Services.
• Keep a pulse on industry trends, emerging technology, and the competitive landscape, and use that awareness to keep our services ahead of the curve rather than catching up to it.

What You Have Done

• Led globally distributed, remote teams effectively.
• 15+ years leading global delivery organizations, including Support, Managed Services, and Professional/Project Services teams, in software or technology.
• Built a strong command of the database software industry, including open source technologies, and where they are headed.
• Delivered complex projects and services to customers, consistently meeting or exceeding expectations, while also being willing to change course when a project called for it.
• Translated business goals into actionable strategic plans with measurable outcomes.
• Managed P&L, financial analysis, and resource allocation with rigor.
• Led and developed high-performing teams, and know how to bring people along through change rather than just announcing it.
• Communicated and influenced effectively across internal and external stakeholders, including in moments that required navigating ambiguity or pushback.
• Used data and metrics to make decisions, and have a track record of testing an idea, learning from the result, and adjusting quickly.

What Will Make You Successful Here

• Genuinely energized by delivering world-class technical services, not just managing them.
• A global mindset, comfortable operating across regions, time zones, and cultures.
• Real ownership and pride in outcomes, not just activity.
• A change agent at heart: someone who does not accept "this is how we've always done it" as a good enough answer, and who is willing to experiment, take smart risks, and fail fast when the evidence points that way.
• Curious and current, with a genuine passion for keeping up with new technology and new ways of working.
• Analytical, but not paralyzed by analysis. Able to make a good call with incomplete information.
• Adaptable and resourceful, able to operate well inside ambiguity rather than waiting for it to resolve.
• Solutions-oriented, with a bias toward finding a better way rather than defending the existing one.
• Self-directed and able to create momentum rather than waiting for it.
• Diplomatic, tactful, and collaborative, especially when driving change that not everyone will initially welcome.
• Highly organized, dependable, and reliable.
• Able to stay composed and effective under pressure and in complex, high-stakes situations.

Benefits

• Flexible work hours and various paid time off programs.
• All your equipment for your remote office.
• Funds for career development (external training, certifications, conferences).
• Ongoing connectivity allowances.
• Opportunity to participate in our equity incentive plan.
• Support for a healthy work/life balance through initiatives like The Percona Adventure Team, Work-from-Anywhere, FlowDays, FryDays, and overall flexibility.
• Support for social responsibility through our PAVE volunteering program and Women Transforming Technology.