Our Client a Global Tech firm is seeking a Senior Service Architect to join their team. They offer stability, growth, competitive salary along with benefits and a great working environment.
Note this role will report into India and work from South Africa, normal South African working times will apply.
Job Description
The Organization believes that by using innovative technology we can solve global challenges and create a world that is sustainable and secure. We are looking for curious people, from diverse backgrounds, that are keen to work in a fast-paced and agile environment.
The Senior Service Architect is a service solution crafter for clients in the business and they assist with identification of services sales. The individual focuses on the Technology Infrastructure Services (TIS) Hardware and Software Defined Infrastructure service portfolio and works with Regions to develop solutions that meet client needs.
The primary objective of a Senior Services Architect is to position the service portfolio within existing and prospective clients. Working with their regional counterparts they develop a thorough understanding of the client’s business needs and technology or service strategy and use this to define and build a services solution that supports the client’s business needs.
The Senior Service Architect is the subject matter expert on service portfolio and transformation agenda. With a deep understanding on the shift of IT infrastructure from Hardware to Software platforms and how to position services to clients at various stages of this journey.
Description
Assist with bid process
These employees demonstrate capable client consultative engagement skills with clients of a low to high complexity base. This requires the ability to participate or lead in the analysis, scope of work determination and services pricing models of RFP/RFI’s. The Services Architect works closely with the relevant internal stakeholders throughout this process and will also assist in the decision to pursue or abort a deal. Services Architect s engage with clients to gather requirements and translate these into existing services within the Technology Infrastructure Services (TIS) offering, building a specific value proposition for the client. They support the relevant internal stakeholders during the negotiation of contracts and service level agreements.
Develop service solutions
They assist the sales organization by contributing to the development and selection of optimal services solutions to meet ongoing client needs that are in line with industry best practice and standards. The Senior Services Architect utilizes existing service delivery models and maps these to the client’s based on their business requirements.
Assess commercial viability of deals
They utilize existing cost models and assists with risk mitigation by developing and understanding the cost drivers within an operational service, including those that build up fixed and variable costs of an operational support team. They contribute to the design of solutions for the client that will be commercially competitive whilst managing risk. These individuals will provide input into services pricing models and assists with the definition of go-to-market collateral.
Ensures sales
The individual is expected to achieve service sales to meet specified financial targets. The Senior Services Architect supports the sales team by providing service solution proposals in line with specified client requirements. These individuals work with the client manager or services sales to identify and scope an opportunity and contribute to deal strategy by engaging with clients to qualify their requirements. They work closely with the sales team, participating in client consultative engagements and assisting with the development of opportunities and when required assist with building specific value propositions for the client. Senior Services Architect s provide the sales team with operational and technical insight and support during the process of needs analysis, need awareness and solution satisfaction by delivering IT support assessments.
Transition management
Senior Services Architect s partner with the Transition Management team to ensure an understanding of the client’s requirements and the service solution, supporting the development of a transition-in plan. They are required to review and provide feedback on the transition-in plan. They may be required to coordinate due diligence investigations to verify solution assumptions defined during the sales process. They work closely with Transition and Service Governance teams to ensure the solution sold aligns to standard delivery models. They also work with the Service Management team to detail how service success is measured, including its contribution to the client’s business. They develop close relationships with members of the product management team to ensure that automated and repeat custom propositions are built with the client.
Best practice and knowledge management
These individuals research and maintain an understanding of trends within the market and understand the role of people, processes and systems in the development of efficiencies within operational services.
Client engagement
The Senior Services Architect s establish positive relationships with the client stakeholders during the sales process and engage with them on a regular basis. They plan and co-ordinate client engagement sessions with the Region and prepare for and facilitate these sessions. They ensure that all parties remain informed throughout the process by communicating on a regular basis.
Responsibilities
- Design complex managed service solutions to meet client requirements by integrating technology and service design across multiple domains, delivery units or geography
- Design the service delivery model for delivery units and apply to new and updated service offers, including service delivery improvements and optimisations for the delivery units
- Lead large and complex service design with clients and lead the internal service teams to enable business outcome and requirements mapping.
- Work to aggregate client and multi domain (factories, tech & geo) in mostly their infrastructure MS services with core skill in Service Management and delivery modelling.
- Focuses on portfolio offers, manage vendors, and support the transition to service delivery by providing Senior Services Architecture (e.g., service management, service consumption, delivery modelling).
- Leads the design of the Managed Service offering, interfacing with the platform delivery team.
- Responsible for the service design deliverables of the solution and interfacing with the offer development, R&D and delivery COEs to ensure supportability.
- Responsible for vendor management and support the transition to service delivery by providing Senior Services Architecture (e.g., service management, service consumption, delivery modelling).
- Managed services catalogue, operational and platform delivered portfolio subject matter expert.
- Deepen partnership relationships with MS client key service design and development, building new relationships, and deepening service and development knowledge
- Contribute to the knowledge base of development and services by sharing best practices with internal teams and clients.
- Use understanding of the client’s business, service demand-supply, operational model and breadth of knowledge on the specific solution (MS) and consulting (blueprints) to personalise the recommended solution in line with the client’s need.
- Lead the design of solutions for the client that will be commercially competitive whilst managing risk.
- Lead the design authority for resource, transitional, delivery models and deliverables.
- Centralisation all service cost model inputs into commercial led.
- Lead the integration of services, process, applications, data, technology through a Managed Service design across multiple domains, delivery units or geography
- Coach, mentor, lead and act as advisor and decision maker in service design situations.
- Contribute to the qualification of the client based on their explicit business needs, likelihood of cost savings and propensity to outsource non-explicit ones like business transformation, business problem statement etc.
- Develop and execute a consulting approach that results in a consolidated statement of requirements, documented and financially based need for change, role of IT, definition of the AS-IS versus desired state (Future Mode of operation defined), gap analysis and roadmap, highlighted impacts, consequences and benefits of the intended transformation (business, people, process, technology).
- Review the client's services requirement landscape and develop a model, detailing the most suitable methods for the delivery and consumption of said service requirements. This is performed in collaboration with a Platform Architect, covering the design part of the platform.
- Map the client's needs against proposed set of services and architectures and lead the end-to-end solution development (Services, Tech, SIAM, SLA, ITSM costs).
- Develop a schedule describing how the organization will drive innovation within the client environment throughout the life of, or at certain points, or with Agile Devops approach in the contract; conducted in strong collaboration with the Platform Architect, covering any development of the platform.
- Take the service schedules & SLAs developed through the value proposition development phase, develop them to contract quality and deliver them for inclusion in the schedules of the master services agreement.
- Lead the validation processes by obtaining sign-off from technical, service and financial profiles.
- Understand and influence client operating models
- Demonstrate strong client consultative engagement skills with clients of a low to high complexity base.
- Assist the sales organization by assisting with the development and selection of optimal services solutions to meet ongoing client needs that are in line with industry best practice and standards.
- Have a deep understanding of service portfolio and transformation agenda. With particular emphasis on the shift of IT infrastructure from Hardware to Software platforms and how this applies to clients at various stages of this journey.
- Achieve service sales to meet specified financial targets.
- Work closely with Transition and Due Diligence teams to design, develop and implement the correct process for each account transition.
- Research and maintain an understanding of trends within the market and understand the role of people, processes and systems in the development of efficiencies within operational services.
- Establish positive relationships with the client stakeholders and engage with them on a regular basis.
What will make you a good fit for the role?
- Standard career level descriptor for job level:
- Have wide-ranging experience
- Uses professional concepts and company objectives to solve complex issues in creative ways
- Networks with others outside own area of expertise
- Exercises judgment in selecting methods, techniques and evaluation criteria to obtain results
- May coordinate others’ activities
- Typically requires significant related experience with a Bachelor’s or equivalent degree
- Knowledge, Skills and attributes
Knowledge, Skills and attributes
- Have a broad level of knowledge across Enterprise Architecture, Managed Services, Service Management consulting, and multiple solutions areas (Business Units), and across domains, delivery units, and geographies
- Ability to develop and execute a Managed Service design approach that results in a consolidated statement of requirements, documented and financially based need for change, role of IT, definition of the AS-IS versus desired state (Future Mode of operation defined), gap analysis and roadmap, highlighted impacts, consequences and benefits of the intended transformation (people, process, platform, technology)
- Have a domain level of knowledge in services industry, service delivery models, process improvements, consumption models and multiple MS Portfolio offers and GTM solution areas.
- Expert in core Managed Service Portfolio offer artifacts, techniques, demos, tools and deliverables.
- Ability to develop and articulate a service transformation architecture to deliver the transformation business, investments, activities, deliverables, schedules and risks across all service delivery.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the service delivery model
- A good understanding of the vast range of IT operations and Support Services offerings
- Display well developed presentation skills and ability to think outside the box
- Good consulting capabilities and client engagement skills
- Show willingness to drive transformational change and reposition capabilities in our client base
- Demonstrate the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with team members, contributing to team success
- Service consulting aptitude, focusing on business, service and sales aspects
- Ability to establish positive relationships at all levels of a client
- Strong vendor relationship is required to ensure an understanding of the vendor’s products business and services positioning
- Demonstrate strong client consultative engagement skills with clients of a mid-complexity base
- Business development experience would be advantageous
Work experience required
- 10+ years’ experience in the IT services industry working in multi-vendor service provider
- 5+ years in a Pre sales or Consulting role specialising in service solution design.
- 5+ years' experience in a consulting and IT role within a large scale (preferably multi-national) technology services environment
- A seasoned, experienced professional with a full understanding of area of specialization; resolves a wide range of issues in creative ways. This job is the fully qualified, career-oriented, journey-level position.
- Proven experience in designing and implementing new delivery models in a significant globally federated delivery organisation
- A good understanding of the vast range of IT Service Management and operations
- Demonstrated skills in a wide variety of IT Services, Applications, Software-Defined Infrastructure (Networking, Datacentre Communications (including Contact Centre)),Security, End-User Computing and Digital Business Solutions
- Client engagement and consulting experience coupled with solid experience in client needs assessment and change management
- Experience in integrating the solution for the project with the business domain,
- Experience in relevant services and products and understanding of industry best practices Sales and client engagement experience
