Microsoft Account Technology Strategist - Education 

South Africa 

710802769

As part of the key enablers for cultural and economic growth - transformation of the Education sector becomes pivotal in cultivating new skills and also shaping the future of work leveraging technology as a main enabler of innovation.

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Business or related field AND 4+ years technical consulting, technical consultative selling, business consulting, practice building, or related technical/sales experience
  • OR equivalent experience.

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years technical consulting, technical consultative selling, business consulting, practice building, or related technical/sales experience
  • OR equivalent experience.
• 4+ years experience in relevant customer industry (Education) or Public Sector
• 4+ years experience in digital transformation, or using technology to drive customer business outcomes.

• Generates business insights based on knowledge of the customer's technology landscape, engagement experience, and proactive collaboration with the customer, internal Industry Account team , to conduct forecasting and develop recommendations for managing accounts. Challenges customers to consider alternative business models to meet business and market needs, and adapts plans to insights. Orchestrates teams to gather information, collaborate on performance markers, and identify potential risks in customer accounts. Leads technical teams for driving opportunities with other teams, as necessary. Brings in business and industry insights to address the broader business challenges for the customer and deliver solutions.
• Applies deep expertise in customer businesses. technology platforms, and maturity to build digital technology strategy with the customer that is aligned to business outcomes. Challenges customers’ assumptions with constructive dialogue about their business and technology. Leverages education industry trends to gather insights and develop an informed perspective on similar issues that may occur within their industry/industries.

• Leverages account information technology (IT), industry, and business strategy to provide coaching to internal Microsoft teams on customer technology profiles and strategies. Provides technical guidance to internal teams to position technology while using customer landscape knowledge.
• Advises customer technical decision maker (TDM) and business decision maker (BDM) stakeholders on the benefits of embedding security throughout their technology landscape through the Microsoft Security and Zero Trust narratives. Establishes a sense of creating business value through implementing security and positions Microsoft's security credentials. Creates follow-up opportunities and orchestrates appropriate technical teams from the ATU, CSU and STU (as appropriate ) to pursue and close.
• Proactively builds and maintains a broad knowledge of Microsoft's product landscape, solutions, and strategy in the Education sector appropriate for assigned accounts, as well as relates to the business priorities and potential threats the customers face. Leverages leaders from the partner ecosystem to bridge process gaps. Coordinates with internal industry experts (e.g., Regional Experts) to gather industry data of assigned accounts and leverages knowledge of competitors to improve planning. Demonstrates a strong understanding of the customer's business strategy and the direction of the Education or Public sector industry.
• Acts as the voice of the customer, industry, and internal advocate by providing insights, feedback, and challenges from the customer to internal teams (e.g., product groups, engineers).

• Provides analysis of overall customer needs, outcomes, and potential blockers. Leverages understanding of business strategies and outcomes that technology can support to advise on gaps that would benefit from Microsoft solutions, and guides internal teams in overall strategy development (e.g., block identification, partner strategy) to identify and address gaps and drive end solutions.
• Ensures execution of technology strategy and/or digital transformation by identifying and resolving technical blockers that arise during strategy planning and implementation and driving technology adoption.
• Creates mid- to long-term (e.g., 12 or more months) technology and business roadmaps for Key prioritized accounts, to outline the digital transformation journey and core wins. Updates and articulates business changes in the roadmaps around foundational, traditional capabilities. Builds technical engagement or enablement plan, captures baseline, and drives envisioning to support mid- to long-term business plans. Discusses the strategy and plan with customer stakeholders. Translates an understanding of the customer's business objectives and scenarios in conjunction with Industry Sales Kits and Solution Plays to develop technology architecture. Ensures that developed architecture influences cloud journey to position all Microsoft clouds and drives consumption, usage, and a higher share of customer potential and propensity (CPP).

• Identifies customer issues, creates demand, and creates opportunities to uncover new solutions. Creates and qualifies a set number of opportunities for product sales, solution sales, or consumption. Leverages partners to drive demand generation and capitalize on opportunities. Works within a broader strategy to lead efforts with technical teams for driving opportunities including the core Account Team (ATU), Customer Success Unit (CSU), and others, as necessary. Contributes to efforts to reach out to key stakeholders to give customer-driven pitches and drives the appropriate customer reach together with the account executive to generate new demand. Uses technical knowledge of products to determine feasibility of technical customer requirements requests and works with core engineering teams to prepare solutions.
• Leads Account Strategy Envisioning with the extended account team, customer, and partner to deliver the outcomes for the customer through joint envisioning, as a vehicle for Industry Sales Kits and Solution Plays. Creates new opportunities, both billed and consumed, with technical decision maker (TDM) customer stakeholders, managing consumption pipeline with extended team to maintain velocity, and unblocking issues.
• Introduces the customer to benefits of AI and Industrial Metaverse to create interest and excitement about Microsoft's capabilities and shows them how Microsoft technologies can help accelerate their productivity as well as differentiate themselves in the market.

• Acts as the customer's Technology Mentor in established relationships with senior leaders including technical decision makers (TDMs) and/or Business Unit leaders at the CIO or CIO direct-report level by researching organization charts, identifying and contacting TDMs/BDMs, and beginning to advise on solutions and position Microsoft capabilities to best meet the customer's needs. Leads new opportunities and orchestrates internal teams to accelerate the customer business transformations through digital technologies by understanding the customer industry and position, engaging with customers to lead strategic technology direction/transformation within assigned accounts, and ensuring line-of-business wins are captured (e.g., testimonials) for referencing.
• Drives conversations with managed Education customers that present the strategic relationship between Microsoft technologies, products, and services compared with the competitor's solution and the customer's overall business goals and objectives. Provides an outside-in perspective around compete or other solutions that are also a requirement for the customer.

• Helps customer technical specialists build the message to sell Microsoft offerings to other parts of their business. Creates stakeholder maps for accounts, and determines, and orchestrates a coverage plan.
• Orchestrates internal teams and local partners (inclusive of global systems integrators and consultancy partners) to ensure sufficient technical resources for demand generation, when appropriate.
• Owns the technical portion of the account plan and leads the customer plan delivery.

• Influences customer technology engagement by engaging technical resources of customer, partner, and Microsoft towards customer’s business transformation. Contributes to the delivery of regular (e.g., quarterly, monthly) industry/technology briefings to customer technology decision-makers and technical teams.
• Uses existing and new readiness resources to support enablement plans for customer technology adoption at the national and regional level. Contributes to innovations to accelerate meeting goals for customer capacity, maximize reach and impact, and drive long-term engagement and thought leadership on the Microsoft platform. Supports customer skilling initiatives and execution.

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