We are supporting our clients as they adapt to a new world in the wake of COVID-19. We are now recruiting for roles which will help our clients to deliver vital services and to resume business wherever possible

We require an experienced Presales Network Solution Architect to join our team to help us meet our ambitious growth targets. The solution architect is responsible for evaluating and understanding the requirements of the customer and translating them into ‘best of breed’ solutions. This role is customer facing, acting as a thought leader and delivering quality customer focused solutions that beat our competition and exceed our customers’ expectations.

Job title:

Presales Solutions Architect - Networks

Job Description:

We require an experienced Presales Network Solution Architect to join our team to help us meet our ambitious growth targets. The solution architect is responsible for evaluating and understanding the requirements of the customer and translating them into ‘best of breed’ solutions. This role is customer facing, acting as a thought leader and delivering quality customer focused solutions that beat our competition and exceed our customers’ expectations.

Capita Technology Solutions is one of the key growth pillars for Capita, providing IT & Network services to our customers.  Presales has a key role in building the future, supporting our sales teams in leading the development of compelling, innovative, cost competitive and repeatable proposals.

We now require an experienced Presales Network Solution Architect to join our team to help us meet our ambitious growth targets. The solution architect is responsible for evaluating and understanding the requirements of the customer and translating them into ‘best of breed’ solutions. This role is customer facing, acting as a thought leader and delivering quality customer focused solutions that beat our competition and exceed our customers’ expectations.

Person Profile

• Proven presales experience, leading development of innovative and efficient proposals which achieve demonstrable success.

• Personal integrity that builds trust and confidence in clients and colleagues.
• Confident and personable with strong inter-personal skills, able to communicate effectively and compellingly at all levels of an organisation, through a variety of different methods (including verbal, written and presentation).
• Listen, engage and discuss appropriately (consultative, not afraid to challenge, positive and persuasive without the need to preach).
• Proactive and collaborative approach to working with clients, colleagues, partners & vendors.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and pricing of, often complex, large-scale managed WAN and perimeter security services.
• Take responsibility for the performance and quality of output to support growth; ensuring timescales are met, pricing and technical designs are completed in line with business strategy and targets.
• Working directly on customer opportunities, attending customer meetings and developing high quality responses to their needs.
• Working directly on customer market advertisements, responding to tenders and pre qualifications, understanding requirements and defining solutions to provide compelling submissions.
• Provide subject matter expertise to bids, assuring quality of input and overall proposals for bids.
• Innovation – drive innovation in our approach to customer needs.
• Knowledgebase - work closely with Sales & Marketing and Presales Improvement lead to generate a comprehensive knowledgebase/library to support the end-to-end presales and sales lifecycle.
• Provide presales support to the broader growth team, to help stimulate demand for services and inform/influence sales opportunities.
• To assist the Account Manager and/or Bid Manager with the technical qualification of a new business opportunity or prospect, or with a complex requirement within an existing Customer account, to ensure that it aligns with Capita target markets, portfolio, delivery and lifecycle services capability.
• Drive the simplification and standardisation of processes, tools and associated documents supporting the bid cycle.
• Ongoing vendor alignment to capture, latest releases, updates, pricing and technology roadmaps.
• Maintaining skills by way of attending seminars, courses and self-study, relevant to current business strategy.
• Attainment and retention of appropriate recognised industry and vendor qualifications.
• Identifying areas for improvement in the presales process to drive customer benefits.

Key Skills

• Broad knowledge of current Networking solutions and architectures, traditional and software-defined.
• Experience of designing solutions from our key vendors including Cisco, Palo Alto,  and Juniper and Silverpeak.
• Extensive experience of designing Wide Area Networking and security solutions.
• Knowledge of MPLS, SD-WAN, Cloud, Telco, Service Providers, Voice and Managed Services, and perimeter security such as Content filtering, Malware Detection, Intrusion Detection and application awareness.
• Good understanding of technology trends and how they affect Capita and our customers with a view of the broader technology market.
• Demonstrable skills in understanding the needs of organisations and designing and delivering compelling solutions to address them.
• Experience of working on complex bids focussed on the Public Sector.
• Able to work autonomously aligned with broad direction.
• Outcome driven against targets, strong focus on execution, “getting things done”.
• Proactive and collaborative approach to working with colleagues and clients.
• Able to manage competing priorities for own activities, to deliver against agreed priorities and deadlines, escalating if required.
• Comfortable working in a fast paced and dynamic environment.
• Proactive approach to managing actions.
• Clear and concise communication skills (verbal, written & presentational).
• Working closely and maintaining relationships with key vendors.

Essential

• Extensive experience of delivering solutions and proposals to address complex opportunities.
• Flexible, able to travel, and stay away from home when required.
• Able to build effective relationships, internal and external and at all levels.
• Attention to detail.
• Current full UK driving licence.

What we hope you’ll do next:

Looking to discover more? choose ‘Apply now’ to fill out our short application and send us your CV.

All interviews, assessments and background checks will continue to take place online, to completely remove the need for face-to-face contact. All Capita colleagues who can work from home should do so; and where it is not possible for colleagues to work remotely, we have taken important steps to protect those working from Capita’s offices. Social distancing, enhanced hygiene and safety measures are already in place at all Capita locations that are open to protect our colleagues and manage the risk of COVID-19. The welfare of our people is of paramount importance to us, and we’re doing everything we can to keep our colleagues and customers safe during this time.

We’re an equal opportunity employer, which means we’ll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and their passion for creating better outcomes, and we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.