Senior Education Industry Architect in Reading, United Kingdom

Are you ready to seize an opportunity to join Microsoft’s Industry Team focused on Education? Getting in on the ground floor as Microsoft Services continue to expand its role in industry and solutions for our boldest customers? Are you ready to lead a virtual team of experts that will work with Microsoft’s most established and innovative customers, advising and supporting their Executives with the planning and realization of key digital transformation initiatives?

Do you have a passion for Microsoft’s technology & solutions, and are committed to accelerate our customers to a world of digital innovation and business transformation? Do you want to lead Microsoft into a new generation of consulting services? This could be your next great career adventure!

The mission of the Education Services team is to work with Microsoft’s largest Education Customers to help them accelerate towards their business goals, take advantage of the Digital Transformation, improve the business value from their Microsoft technology investments, and unleash innovation for their organization, their employees and customers.

The Industry architect is responsible for establishing and growing the Education business, including development of the strategy and the roadmap for a portfolio of industry solutions which meet customer business and mission requirements that align with industry trends and corporate goals. Role responsibilities include: development of customer executive relationships, presales process oversight, delivery quality improvement, and people management. The role is involved in business and technical risk management as well as the entire presales and delivery lifecycles, with broad focus on solution architect talent, consistent delivery, innovation, and technology alignment.

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Responsibilities

Understanding Customer/Partner Technical Environment

• Gathers customer/partner insights from a broad range of stakeholders as well as the main business sponsor to shape and form both the definition and ongoing execution of projects. Anticipates industry trends (customer industry verticals, information technology [IT] industry). Leverages insights to influence long-term technology strategy and influences others to focus and adapt business models, plans, and solutions to key insights.

• Works with customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Enterprise Architects, Security Team, Development Team, Operations Team) and business sponsor to socialize both the business solution and the project approach to determine if changes are needed to the business solution. Where the cost of change is accepted by the customer, shares this feedback with the project team and the broader account team to make the necessary adjustments using mechanisms such as updating the solution approach and projected costs in presales and change requests in delivery. Uses broad patterns of feedback to develop strategic and actionable insights and presents a compelling business case to program managers that influences product roadmaps and decision making. Contributes to Microsoft-centric operations and cadences to align with customer feedback.

• Uses evidence-based approach to represent the customer/partner as a customer advocate and share insights with Product Engineering teams and the business with a view to improving Microsoft technologies, products, services, and offerings such that they can better meet customer/partner needs across territories. Mentors peers on best practices around internal resources usage.

Architecture Design and Deployment

• Leverages a structured approach to architecture projects using existing methodologies (e.g., Waterfall, Agile, Iterative) that make use of existing reference architecture and established architectural styles and design patterns. Proposes and develops new solutions to scale across multiple customers/partners. Builds and maintains an architecture description document, an architecture decisions log, and a requirements/constraints traceability matrix to ensure the rationale for the business solution’s Architecture is known and understood.

• Defines and documents the architecture through an architecture description document, an architecture decisions log, and a requirements/constraints traceability matrix to communicate the value proposition of the business solution along with the project approach. Leads complex cost-based and technology-based discussions to explain the architecture in terms of its build, deployment, and ongoing operational use to determine customer appetite for the business solution. Uses a business-value approach that values return on investment (ROI) and customer costs-savings over technical ease of execution.

• Collaborates with the Project Manager to jointly drive project/technical governance of the design, build, and deployment into use of proof of concepts (POCs) and pilots, using enterprise architecture processes and ensuring quality control through peer review. Provides end-to-end governance, oversight, and thought leadership within assigned account. Works with customers to understand and demonstrate business value (e.g., release of revenue, cost savings) that the business solution realize.

• Works with the business sponsor and customer/partner stakeholders (e.g., Business users, Enterprise Architects, Security Team, Operations Team) to gather, ratify, and help enhance requirements and constraints across multiple, large projects. Manages and resolves highly complex ambiguity in the requirements and constraints and documents assumptions and implications where it cannot be resolved. Maintains the requirements/constraints traceability matrix to prove that solution components have a rationale/justification for inclusion in the architecture of the business solution. Drives development and execution of test plans to prove that each requirement/constraint has been implemented as expected by the customer. Where there are defects, works in close collaboration with the Project Manager and customer to redress or accept and document the status of the test results.

• Leads collaboration with the Account Team and/or Bid Team to understand the business solution/problem. Drives agreement, based on the customer’s priorities, requirements/constraints, approach, principles, concepts, and expectations. Builds and documents a realistically costed, highly advanced/complex solution approach with traceability of requirements, constraints, decisions, and tradeoffs that balances risk, technical credibility, and technical innovation to meet customer need, predominantly based on existing solution offerings and/or reference architecture. Jointly leads the implementation in close partnership with the Project Manager. Leads oversight and governance and establishment of quality practices and standards to realize the business solution for large projects. Provides thought leadership and uses a cohesive build methodology with an agreed release schedule and timeline so the solution can be transitioned to live operations, leveraging solution expertise. Ensures communication of and adherence to the pre-sales value proposition. Works with the Project Manager to highlight where assumptions have proven false. Uses change requests to modify the solution/project approach when needed. As needed, collaborates with Subject Matter Experts to receive specialized advice that can help define the solution and project approach and increase the time to value for the customer.

• Anticipates and identifies scenarios that could slow or impede pre-sales/delivery. Leads and orchestrates the broader Microsoft team to address technical blockers and work with account/project team to resolve non-technical issues. Reports significant problems to Microsoft management and resolves complex escalations when needed. Plans a way forward in complex and ambiguous situations with an innovative approach and durable design. Develops and executes a strategy to circumvent and prevent complex or escalated scenarios. Delegates and leverages specialist skills of others to drive technical alignment across internal/external teams, leveraging deep knowledge of resources. Coordinates disparate approaches into a single plan of action for highly complex scenarios.

• Works in close collaboration with the Project Manager and Account Team to anticipate, identify, categorize, and communicate business and technical risks. Defines risk mitigation activities that are foundational to the project plan. Defines risk contingency plans for invocation should the risk occur. Outlines methodology and governance principles and practices for the broader organization that allows others to minimize risks. 

Practice Development

• Generates new and/or improvements to existing intellectual property. Anticipates and addresses organization- and industry-wide gaps, patterns, and needs to drive changes. Identifies which ideas should be culled, with consideration for scale across customers. Drives the re-use of intellectual property and recommends practices in both pre-sales and delivery. Leads and contributes to internal/external communities.

Trusted Advisor

• Develops a deep network of internal/external relationships with senior-level decision makers at high-impact customers/partners to build influence in addressing problems/blockers and facilitating additional views on the matter of interest. Acts as an advisor to external stakeholders. Provides direction to facilitate relationships between others. Stays up to date on Microsoft’s technologies, products, and services in order to communicate Microsoft’s mission, strategy, and capabilities. Provides guidance to others in doing so. When appropriate, develops a strategic relationship with key stakeholders within the customer portfolio, often as part of a steering committee, to ensure service delivery is on track and major issues are being anticipated, identified, and managed.

• Uses evidence-based arguments that articulate complex concepts in a simple manner to respectfully challenge Microsoft and customers/partners when a decision or course of action will not produce optimal results. Leverages strategic expertise to encourage alternative approaches where applicable. Leverages network and industry experience to connect customers/partners with ideas, people, and resources to support their success. Serves as the “technical conscience” to challenge the status quo and unrealistic expectations. Proactively resolves conflicts and seeks resolution to balance the overall outcome. Drives consensus where possible and leads decisions to resolve conflict when needed.

• Leads the adoption of Microsoft solutions technologies based on insight to all major customer/partner projects, understanding of competitor solutions, and understanding of how customer business value can be driven through Microsoft’s offerings. Differentiates Microsoft’s solutions in complex and/or high-risk customer/partner conversations to influence the industry-wide direction for specific architecture(s).

Thought Leadership

• Leads the direction that internal team members and stakeholders take with customers by sharing ideas, insight, and strategic, technical input across boundaries, and actively pursues opportunities that grow impact and capabilities of the broader organization. Provides thought leadership by sharing deep insight and driving critical decisions that impact Microsoft and the industry.

• Initiates and drives external architect community events (e.g., conferences, seminars, technical meetups, Webcasts, blogs, hackathons). Acts a mentor to less experienced colleagues by educating them on technical and non-technical concepts and sharing best practices. Serves as an industry-leading expert and drives recognition for Microsoft solutions through presentations and engagements with external audiences and publishing white papers around key technical topics and/or architecture design templates.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable expertise in the Primary/Secondary Education sector

• A background of advising senior decision-makers on digital transformations

• Ability to articulate the strategic and commercial benefits of cloud computing

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND extensive experience in technology solutions, practice development, architecture, consulting, and/or technology domain (e.g., Security) OR equivalent experience

• Experience managing multiple, complex projects or portfolios. 

• A track record of being matrix leadership of blended, multidisciplinary teams. 

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .