Senior Director, Pricing Escalations

The Senior Director, Pricing Escalations will lead the development and execution of ABM’s centralized pricing escalation function, overseeing the strategy, communication, negotiation, and implementation of client price increases across the organization. This leader will build and scale a new team, redesign processes, leverage financial and operational data to drive pricing decisions, and partner closely with Operations to balance client relationships with business objectives while leading enterprise-wide change management. Operating Model Transition & Redesign Lead the redesign of the Pricing Escalation Management SOP to reflect centralized FP&A ownership, re-anchoring final approval authority and escalation decision rights that currently sit with Operations roles (Industry Group President, Branch Manager/RVP, COO) to the centralized team and FP&A leadership. Define a clear operating model for how Operations stays involved going forward: participating in client delivery/negotiation where relationship history or local context adds value, and continuing to own day-to-day client relationship management — while cost analysis, pricing strategy, and final decisions sit with the centralized team. Stand up the centralized team's intake, case-management, and approval workflows to replace the field-led decision process end-to-end, including for escalations currently in flight under the legacy model. Determine, in partnership with the Head of FP&A and executive leadership, the revised approval matrix and thresholds (including resolving the open question of percentage-based vs. revenue-dollar-based triggers) now that approval sits centrally rather than in the field. Centralized Execution Own end-to-end execution of pricing escalations company-wide: pulling and analyzing ERP cost data, client notification, negotiation strategy, objection handling, and final documentation — directly, rather than solely supporting a field-led process. Directly own client-facing negotiation strategy for escalations that meet defined thresholds, bringing in the local Account Manager or Operations leader for relationship context and, where warranted, direct participation in the client conversation — while the centralized team retains decision authority on terms. Track every active escalation nationally against the required timeline (T-65 internal approval through T-60 client notification, T-45 conditional meeting, T-30 negotiation, T-15 documentation, T-0 go-live, and T+30 review), owning the schedule directly rather than monitoring it from the sidelines. Manage the expedited process for unplanned cost events (regulatory changes, supply chain shocks, force majeure), securing executive approval and documenting any deviations from standard timeline. Cross-Functional Coordination Pull and analyze cost and pricing data directly from ERP systems, with support from the broader FP&A team, to identify and prioritize which accounts the centralized team should pursue for escalation — replacing the field-supplied cost inputs in the legacy SOP. Build the cost-justification package for each escalation (CPI, labor, materials, and supplier cost trends) using ERP and FP&A analysis rather than data routed through Operations. Determine on a case-by-case basis when to bring Operations into client delivery — client meetings or negotiations — based on relationship history and local context, while retaining central decision authority over strategy and final terms. Partner with Legal/Contracts to confirm escalation-clause compliance, CPI/index caps, and required notice periods, and ensure cases meeting mandatory legal-review triggers (increases above 7%, CPI-capped clauses, active disputes, or regulated-industry contracts) are routed at least 15 business days ahead of client notification. Coordinate with RSS and Contract Set Up teams to submit new pricing ahead of billing cutoffs and confirm written sign-off before any escalation is considere…

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