Job Description
Job Summary:
The International Sr. EMEA Solutions Consultant will provide the business with technical and commercial support in the life cycle from concept, design, deployment, delivery, and service creation. Working with SHI stakeholders and strategic vendors such as Cisco the consultant will be required to engage in the sales process with the creation of the “High Level Design” and ensure solutions meet both technical and commercial requirements. The consultant will ensure that the needs of the client will be met.
The International Sr. EMA Solutions Consultant will report to the Commercial Solutions Director – Cisco Solutions EMEA. The International Sr. EMA Solutions Consultant will reside within the UK and be based remotely or at our Milton Keynes based headquarters as required for business needs as determined by SHI management.
About Us:
SHI UK has been established for over 20 years, growing from a small satellite office to now our EMEA headquarters, with the support from our International partners and colleagues. We offer the opportunity to progress and develop a career within the IT Industry while working in a diverse, fun environment containing a range of departments and specialisms.
With our organic growth and stability within the EMEA market, we are able to provide a variety of technology products, solutions and services to businesses including Cloud Computing, Data Centre Infrastructure, Networking and Security solutions, Configuration and Integration services, Enterprise Mobility and IT Asset Management.
SHI provide innovative solutions and world-class support, as standard, from over 30 offices throughout the U.S., the U.K, Republic of Ireland, Canada, France, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Responsibilities:
Include but not limited to the following:
- Conduct customer stakeholder interviews across the customers business in order to assess the most appropriate solutions
- Collaborate with a virtual team of solutions consultants to build and design appropriate proposals
- Be the ultimate design authority for multi-discipline solutions
- Create a “High Level Design” that will include commercial understanding to balance the value to the customer with the financial interests of the company
- Recognize business outcomes that the solution will help ultimately deliver and be able to articulate those to the client
- Collaborate with team in response assignments and consolidate responses to ensure that the solution demonstrates interoperability and dependencies
- Present solutions to customers as part of the pre-sales cycle
- Ensure documentation is created to allow for smooth handover to project delivery teams including “Low Level Design”
- Technically lead team through key phases of project delivery in order to ensure consistency of solution and provide support to the Programme Manager and Engineering teams as appropriate
- Aid the delivery team with post sales customer experience services that align to the company and vendor programmes
- Evaluate feedback from customers to improve handover and successful delivery of solutions
- Revisit the customer as necessary, to seek lessons learned that can be fed back to the business to ensure continual improvement, and assess customer satisfaction
- Provide regular and constructive feedback to the senior management
- Provide assistance to sales in customer meetings onsite, in the company International offices or in vendor offices
- Consolidate and or provide High Level Design (HLD) services that delivers quotations, proposal documents, diagrams and input to the design and technical sections of tender response
- Provide presentation material of solutions and to present these to internal and external stakeholders and clients
- Provide clear solution handover information to Engineering and Operations, using an agreed format, Solution Document (with resource description, expectation and caveats) and via handover meetings with the assigned post sales team
- Attend low level design meetings with post-sales and customer staff
- Ensure that requests for assistance from the sales team and engineering staff involved with the implementation of scoped projects are serviced in a timely manner and, where applicable, within agreed time scales
- Ensure that where product capabilities are not fully understood, to seek assistance from a relevantly skilled Presales Consultant, vendor (or distributor) System Engineering staff to validate solutions prior to providing customer solutions or pricing
- Ensure that where problems exist that these are appropriately escalated to Management, and to take these up with the product manufacturers and to assist in this process if required.
- Conduct 121’s annual performance reviews with your team
- Maintain up to date vendor accreditation levels for key portfolio vendors including completing training and accreditations required for the company vendor partnership
- Complete training and certifications such as Cisco Fire Jumper in specified tracks and technologies as required as part of your role
- Complete continuous learning such as Cisco online and self-paced training as specified to keep the company partnership and accreditations
- Provide assistance at company organised events, trade shows and seminars with technical updates on new vendor solutions, products and services as required
Qualifications:
- Experience designing complex multi-vendor solutions
- Minimum 10 years’ experience in a similar role
- Understanding of Networking, Data Centre and Security infrastructure and Associated Managed Services
- Experience with business drivers – in both public and private sectors
- 10 years Cisco pre-sales and /or post-sales Experience (5 at a senior level).
- Minimum of a Cisco Certified Expert Certification CCIE
- Minimum of a Cisco Certified Professional Certification CCNP Collaboration
- Experience of using Cisco configuration tools (CCW) and other applicable resources.
- Cisco Campus Switching (Catalyst)
- Cisco Data Centre Switching (Nexus)
- Cisco Wireless (Catalyst).
- Cisco Prime
- Cisco Routing products and technologies
- Cisco Security (including ASA, Firepower, Umbrella, AMP, SecureX)
- Cisco Meraki cloud delivered products and services.
- Intent-based networking including SD-Access, ACI, Intent based network security, SD-WAN
- Cisco Enterprise Licensing Knowledge or Experience (EA)
Required Skills:
- Self-motivated and strives to go the extra mile
- Work using their own initiative and be creative to solve problems
- Keen eye for detail
- Personable and presentable
- Leads by example
- Excellent communication and relationship skills
- Ability to present in meetings up to and including board level
- Good personal time management
- Ability to learn new technologies
- Shares expertise with colleagues
- Excellent judgement and decision-making skills
- Offers mentoring and guidance to others
- Promotes teamwork
Preferred Skills and Qualifications:
- Seasoned Senior Presales or Post Sales Consultant with ability to strategically lead for large customers with often complex/multi-technology requirements
- Large public sector organisation (especially healthcare/ Government)
- Commercial and mid-market customers.
- Seeking a technology partner with a well-established, focused team that understands their unique business requirement
- Detailed knowledge of Cisco Routing and Switching Portfolio
- Knowledge of Cisco Data Centre Portfolio
- Knowledge of Cisco Security Portfolio
- Awareness of Cisco Unified Communications Portfolio
- General knowledge and experience of Cisco Products and Services including SmartNet, PSS.
- Intent-based networking including SD-Access, ACI, Intent based network security, SD-WAN
- Cisco Enterprise Licensing Knowledge or Experience (EA)
- Competitor technologies such as HP, Extreme, Dell etc
- Knowledge of general IT providers for integration and solutions delivery e.g Microsoft, VMWare, Azure, AWS etc
- Healthcare specific technologies such as HSCN, Govroam and NHS Cyber Alerts (formerly CareCERT).
- ServicePath Quoting Tool.
Unique Requirements:
- Some travel required for customer meetings
Additional Information:
- Business working hours are Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 17:00 with a 30-minute lunch break. However due to the nature of the role, with its international reach and shared project loads – working outside of these hours to service business needs will occur occasionally, and employees are expected to be readily available in these eventualities.