re you ready to seize an opportunity to join Microsoft’s Industry Team focused on Education?  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 industry solutions? This could be your next great career adventure!

The mission of the WW Education Service Line is to work with Microsoft’s largest Education Customers to help them accelerate towards their Institution's 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 Education Industry Solutions Architect is responsible for establishing growth for our Education customers, developing the strategy and the roadmap for a portfolio of industry solutions meeting 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.

Responsibilities

Trusted Advisor

• Develops a network of internal/external relationships to build influence in addressing problems/ blockers and facilitating additional views on the matter of interest. Stays up to date on Microsoft’s technologies, products, and services in order to communicate Microsoft's mission, strategy, and capabilities.
• 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. 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.
• Understands competitor solutions and identifies how customer business value can be driven through Microsoft's offerings. Steers the customer/partner conversations to the benefits of the solution rather than the features and functionalities.

Thought Leadership

• Shares ideas, insight, and strategic, technical input with technical teams, internal communities across the field, and the larger virtual team across Microsoft using a thorough knowledge of specific Microsoft products and their context in the competitive landscape.
• Participates in external architect community events.

Understanding Customer/Partner Technical Environment

• Gathers and propagates customer/partner insights from a broad range of stakeholders as well as the main business sponsor that will help shape and form both the definition and ongoing execution of the project. 
• Works with customer/partner stakeholders 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 evidence-based approach to function as 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.

Architecture Design and Deployment

• Leverages a structured approach to architecture projects using existing methodologies that make use of existing reference architecture and established architectural styles and design patterns. 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 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. Works with customers to understand and demonstrate business value (e.g., release of revenue, cost savings) that the business solution realizes.
• Works with the business sponsor and customer/partner stakeholders to gather and ratify requirements and constraints. Manages and resolves 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. 
• Collaborates 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 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. Exercises oversight and governance and establishes quality practices and standards to realize the business solution. Uses a cohesive build methodology with an agreed release schedule and timeline so the solution can be transitioned to live operations. 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.
• Identifies scenarios that could slow or impede pre-sales/delivery. Reports significant problems to Microsoft management and escalates when needed. Plans a way forward in complex and ambiguous situations with an innovative approach and durable design. Delegates and uses specialist skills of others to drive technical alignment across internal/external teams. Coordinates disparate approaches into a single plan of action.
• Works in close collaboration with the Project Manager and Account Team to 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.

Practice Development

• Generates new and/or improvements to existing intellectual property. Identifies which ideas should be culled. Drives the re-use of intellectual property and recommends practices in both pre-sales and delivery. Participates and contributes to internal/external communities.

• Embody our culture and values

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

• Experience with large enterprise deployment in complex environments in K-12, Universities, Libraries, or Museums
• Deep understanding of the Education Industry solutions, as well as key solutions and services such as Azure, Cloud, Platform & Productivity, Business Analytics, Devices & Mobility
• Proven experience of delivery/Implementation experience
• Proven experience selling or supporting services sales including project envisioning, planning, and scoping of work effort
• Ability to defining scope, creating estimates and crafting statements of work
• Solid understanding of Business and IT strategy and principled approach to broad architectural challenges and opportunities
• Executive-level interpersonal, verbal, written and presentation skills; ability to mesh well with customer decision makers, by being a good listener, a team builder and an articulate advocate of Microsoft's vision and value proposition