[Hiring] Customer Advocacy & Reference Program Manager @Sophos

Role Description

The Customer Advocacy & Reference Program Manager is responsible for owning and operating the global customer advocacy and reference program, from intake and sourcing through content development, activation, and measurement. This role is accountable for the quality, credibility, consistency, and business impact of all customer advocacy outputs that support sales motions, campaigns, PR, and strategic initiatives across the business.

What You Will Do

• Own the global customer advocacy and reference program.
• Define and own the global vision, strategy, and operating model for customer advocacy and references, aligned to GTM priorities, solution focus areas, and pipeline needs.
• Serve as the single point of accountability for program performance, quality of output, governance, and business impact.
• Define and maintain clear standards, workflows, and guidance for how customer advocacy is sourced, managed, and used.
• Build and maintain a strong referenceable customer base.
• Create and manage a centralized, trusted library of reference customers and advocacy assets, including written and video case studies, testimonials, event speakers, peer reviews, and third-party validation.
• Partner with Sales, Customer Success, and Product Marketing to identify, qualify, and onboard high‑value customer advocates across regions, segments, and strategic product areas.
• Own customer advocacy content quality and execution.
• Own the end-to-end coordination of customer advocacy content, from intake and story development through approvals and final delivery.
• Work with Content, Product Marketing, and external teams to ensure customer stories are translated into clear, accurate, and compelling proof points.
• Ensure all customer advocacy assets meet quality, accuracy, and brand standards.
• Operationalize processes that scale.
• Design and run repeatable, scalable workflows for intake, reference matching, approvals, fulfillment, and tracking.
• Use automation and AI‑enabled tools to improve speed, accuracy, and consistency - while maintaining appropriate governance and data quality.
• Measure and improve program performance.
• Track and report on program effectiveness, including utilization, SLA performance, coverage gaps, advocate health, and business impact.
• Use insights to continuously optimize program design, prioritization, and execution.
• Drive internal adoption and use.
• Enable internal teams on how to request, access, and use customer advocacy appropriately and consistently.
• Feed customer advocacy insights into Growth Marketing’s broader personalization and content strategy, ensuring the voice of the customer informs targeting, messaging, and campaign development.

Qualifications

• 4–7+ years of experience in Customer Marketing, customer references, or B2B advocacy programs.
• Proven experience owning and scaling customer reference programs, with a strong understanding of how to combine people, process, and technology to operate at global scale.
• An operational mindset, with strong program management, prioritization, and systems thinking.
• Hands‑on ownership of program tooling and data quality, including CRM or reference platforms, intake mechanisms, tagging and taxonomy, dashboards, and reporting.
• Experience applying automation and AI‑enabled tools to improve operational efficiency, signal quality, and scalability, with appropriate governance and oversight.
• Strong understanding of customer reference governance, including consent, approvals, communications hygiene, advocate usage limits, and brand risk management.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with confidence partnering across Sales, Marketing, Product, PR, and Executive teams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to represent customer voices authentically and accurately.
• Experience in cybersecurity, enterprise SaaS, or a technical B2B environment is a plus.

Requirements

• In the United States, the base salary for this role ranges from $113,000 to $189,000.
• In addition to base salary, we offer additional compensation including bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits package.
• A candidate’s specific pay within this range will depend on a variety of factors, including job-related skills, training, location, experience, relevant education, certifications, and other business and organizational needs.

Benefits

• Sophos operates a remote-first working model, making remote work the primary option for most employees. However, some roles may necessitate a hybrid approach.
• Our people – we innovate and create, all of which are accompanied by a great sense of fun and team spirit.
• Employee-led diversity and inclusion networks that build community and provide education and advocacy.
• Annual charity and fundraising initiatives and volunteer days for employees to support local communities.
• Global employee sustainability initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint.
• Global fitness and trivia competitions to keep our bodies and minds sharp.
• Global wellbeing days for employees to relax and recharge.
• Monthly wellbeing webinars and training to support employee health and wellbeing.