Presales Security Architect

The Company:

A global telecommunications provider operating in markets across Africa and the rest of the world is looking for a Presales Security Architect. The company has been providing ordinary South Africans with excellent services and values the individual contributions of its team members. Candidates can expect to form part of an elite team operating at the cutting edge of their relevant technologies. 

The Role:

• Work closely with Sales, Account Management and Service Delivery teams to develop Security solutions that meet customers’ business requirements.
• Conceptualize and design technical solutions to meet customer requirements while balancing business returns and value to clients.
• Contribute to the development, review, and analysis of Security Products and Services roadmaps to ensure alignment with client needs.
• Take ownership of the technical relationship with clients, providing guidance on security, cost, performance, reliability, operational efficiency, and best-practice architectures.
• Design Security product-specific pre-sales architecture in line with operational limits and product specifications.
• Deliver technical presentations and demonstrations to existing and prospective clients, providing insight into Security Product and Services offerings.
• Lead the technical design and build of custom elements of the solution to meet client business requirements.
• Provide pre-sales technical support to clients, examining their infrastructure, architecture, system capabilities, and business challenges.
• Take ownership of the proposed Security solution and transition implementation to the Delivery team.
• Leverage partnerships with Security Products and Alliances teams for complex solutions outside the organisation’s expertise.
• Proactively engage with clients to provide updates on the latest security trends, changes in the threat landscape, and new products and services offerings.
• Analyse client requirements and their current Security capabilities to ensure technical solutions accomplish client objectives.
• Provide training to Solution Sales and Account Management teams to enhance their product knowledge, technical acumen, and technical sales skills.
• Provide input into account management plans and go-to-market plays for all clients across segments and regions.
• Identify, develop and close key sales opportunities with sales specialists and account managers.
• Collaborate with sales specialists and account managers to propose and pre-qualify specific outcomes that would result in a professional services engagement.
• Build and maintain continuous technical relationships with corporate customers and partners to ensure high levels of satisfaction.
• Develop and design high-quality technical responses to RFPs/RFQs and RFIs that meet customer requirements in a timely manner, providing support with presenting solutions.
• Provide technical input on pricing for tenders and proposals.
• Maintain visibility of forecasting and sales pipeline to influence potential deals.
• Interface with both internal and external cybersecurity industry experts to anticipate customer needs and facilitate solutions development.
• Maintain alignment with the Group sales and pre-sales architect processes.
• Comply with relevant organisational policies and procedures.

Experience:

• Minimum of a 3-year diploma in an ICT-related field is necessary.
• Fluent in the language of the country of work and has basic command of English.
• At least 2 years of experience working in a business solutions pre-sales environment while servicing clients.
• Fundamental knowledge of cloud network security technology, endpoint security, data protection, and identity management systems is required.
• Prior experience providing telecom solutions to senior stakeholders within large enterprise client accounts.
• Prior work experience in a medium-sized organisation is preferred.