Role
Role overview:
Working for a major UK Managed Service Brand; the growth of cloud service opportunities within various Business Units has driven the requirement for a Solutions Architect specialising in cloud solutions with the expertise to interpret diverse customer requirements and create compelling IT solutions based on the company’s service portfolio. Prospective candidates must have excellent knowledge and experience of working within a presales environment designing cloud-based solutions for multiple business applications across both public and private sectors.
Main tasks and responsibilities:
- Work with the Sales organisation to support the development of a sales pipeline and assist in the qualification of opportunities.
- Throughout the sales cycle, actively engage with and influence customers.
- Drive incremental sales in key clients by developing credible technical relationships at a senior level.
- Facilitate cloud strategy workshops with customers and undertake cloud readiness assessments.
- Support continuous evolution of through the design of compelling, cost-effective solutions focussed on cloud technologies.
- Own the solution design, costing and price modelling.
- Act as a cross technology authority and subject matter expert on cloud solutions.
- Provide leadership and challenge to ensure deliverable solutions at predictable margins, which meet customer needs.
- Provide pre-sales solution input and leadership to bids, tenders and quotations.
- Respond to formal paper based tender documents either individually or as part of a wider bid team.
- Develop and maintain collateral to support our sales operation.
- Support the continual development of quotation and pricing templates in relation to cloud services.
- Work with the delivery organisation to ensure solutions are appropriate, cost-effective, supportable and capable of meeting the needs of both customers and the company.
- Contribute to the ongoing development of the company Service Portfolio.
Pre-requisites:
- Strong background in IT Managed Services with an emphasis on Cloud solutions.
- Pre-sales experience in both public and private sector.
- Qualified to ITIL Foundation level or above.
- Working within consultative sales processes, formal tender or framework procurements.
- Good commercial awareness and understanding of business needs for public and private sector.
- Ability to provide expert technical advice and act as solution lead across multiple technologies including high level architectural design.
- Outgoing, articulate and able to engage effectively with technical and business stakeholders at all levels.
- Proven experience in private and public cloud technical architecture and designing customer and in-house solutions including Public Cloud (Azure, AWS), VMware, Citrix, High Availability and Disaster Recovery.
- Good knowledge of application presentation principles – IIS, Published Desktop and integration with Azure, O365.
- Good working knowledge of information security principles & of infrastructure management toolsets across public / private cloud – backup, monitoring, reporting, patching.
- Understanding commercial impact of design decisions and ensuring design is aligned with business requirements.
- Pragmatic approach to problem solving and troubleshooting from both a technical and commercial viewpoint.
- Excellent presentation, documentation and communication skills.
- Ability to quickly gain trust and establish credibility.
- Ability to deliver competing demands to tight deadlines under pressure.
- Negotiation skills, balancing deliverables against cost and price.
- Team oriented and self-motivated, with the ability to work well individually and also to support the development of knowledge and skills of our sales teams to become more effective in prospecting and qualification.
- High work ethic – quality and appearance of work as well as motivation and effort.
- Ability to influence and inspire/challenge technical staff to consider new requirements within opportunities.
Further info:
- Competitive salary & flex bens
- National / Home based
To apply:
Please either register your CV and complete the information fields requested or send your CV to referencing DJW5279 and your current salary